Phnom Penh-Kampong Chhnang

Total Distance:89.23km
Total Time:3h59m26s
Average Speed:22.4km/h
Maximum Speed:35.5km/h
Total Distance So Far:3144.18km

I spent the night in Phnom Penh among the vermin, and the next morning could not get out of there fast enough. Don't get me wrong. Phnom Penh is definitely a city worth visiting. However, as this was my second time there, and as there will most likely be a third on the way to Vietnam, I had no desire to stick around. The only good thing about an over night visit to the city is that there is an abundance of restaurants which serve early morning, western breakfast. A cyclists dream. Leaving Phnom Penh is a timely fashion was nothing more than wishful thinking. Being that I have little sense of direction I, of course, spent an hour trying to navigate my way out of the city. I'm really quite shocked that I haven't gotten lost more often. I guess someone's watching out for me. Eventually I did find my way to the highway, and I was off.
I must say, I really enjoyed the ride out to Kampong Chhnang. The last time I was in the southwestern part of Cambodia I found it dry and dusty, the roads leaving something to be desired. This trip was different though. It was still pretty flat, but the surrounding landscape was much more lush and green. It was a nice, peaceful ride. It's a good thing too, because I'll soon find myself back there as I head toward the border.
Kampong Chhnang is a quiet little place, but there isn't much to do there aside from checking out the floating village. The town could surely use a couple more places to eat. There's really only one good restaurant there. It could have been worse though. The food was at least tasty, the portions generous, and the price was right. Once again I encountered some of my cyclist brethren there. There were two cyclists I didn't get a chance to meet, but I know they were there having seen their bikes chained up outside the guesthouse I was staying at. Valarie and Antoine, from Montreal, were two cyclists I did meet. My first run in with Canadians doing Asia by bike. They had just started there trip, and were still finding there groove. It reminded me of when I first started in Kuala Lumpur. Listen to me, after just two months I'm talking like I'm some kind of expert.
At first I was unsure about my decision to head back up north. I'm confident now that it was the right call. I'd rather see something new than sit around being lazy and getting out of shape.