We are following some of the routes in the “Mekong Discovery Trail” and by far the most challenging is the ride down the length of Roungeav Island, the largest island in the Mekong river. The route follows rough and sandy ox cart tracks, which sometimes fade away or come to intersections with no direction. We spent much of the morning pushing our loaded bicycles through sand, but after lunch and a rest in the shade, the center of the island had a firmer dirt track through the forest. -k.
The Mekong Discovery Trail is a project to bring tourism and income to the people who live along the river from Strong Treng to the near the Laos border. It includes bike routes and possible home stays in small villages that would never support a hotel. We read of an ox cart track you could cycle on an island in the middle of the Mekong. We hired a boat (same man whose home we stayed in the night before) and he delivered us to the beginning of the trail. It was a long day. Sand and loaded bikes don’t mix very well. But we managed. Here, Kat cycles under a gateway of towering snags in the heat of the day. -w
Leave a Reply