This week the Dream and I have been getting along famously. I have been using the Dream much more often (partly to stop the kids downstairs chanting ‘barang chi kong’ at me although there has been no let up so far!) and also to build up my confidence on the roads of my district. Like me, the Dream takes a bit of warming up to get started in the morning and I have been riding pillion on my VA’s moto when I’ve had the chance. Sarey has been off sick this week though so leaving my Dream at home has been less of an option. The roads aren’t too bad and being the dry season, there is no fear of getting stuck in the mud! However, being dry and hot, the roads become very very dusty and therefore present a different set of challenges. In some places the surface of the roads is almost like sand so can be quite slippery and some are very potholed. Despite being offered the back seat of a colleague’s moto, this week I decided to take the bull by the horns and ride myself to the school visit on Wednesday. Little did I realise how treacherous the roads were, how far away the school was and how much I would regret that decision!
As well as trying to keep up with the speed my Khmer colleagues travel at (they have been riding motos since their feet reached the pedals, I have been riding since September!), I had to dodge the potholes as best I could and dodge any oncoming traffic which wasn’t always on the correct side of the road. It was a fairly long journey too and the school we were visiting was quite remote. As you can see from the pictures, we had to cross a rickety little bridge (after paying a toll!) and travel through countryside where the road was barely a road, more of a sandy track really! After sliding my back wheel out a few times and in a slight panic completely forgetting whether I should be applying more front or back break, or both the same, I began to lose my nerve. Finally, I stopped and feeling a bit pathetic, I explained to my deputy director that I was finding it difficult to manage the roads and keep up with the pace of travel and that I feared that if I carried on I might have an accident. (Actually, what I did was stop, shrug my shoulders and say in Khmer “please, me ride with you?” but I think he understood the rationale behind my request.) We left my moto by the side of the track and I rode pillion through the worst of it. With a huge sigh of relief I thought that we would continue and collect my moto on the way home, but no. It was collected there and then for me to continue riding!
Needless to say we reached our destination but there were a few hair raising moments including pot holes so big I almost gave up again and water buffalo who couldn’t decide which side of the road they wanted and although they look like quite gentle creatures, they are actually quite scary looking when you’re up close!! – Oh, how I can laugh about it all now! I’m not sure how I did it but I actually managed to create a traffic jam in the most remote part of no-where – no mean feat!
Once at the school visit (remember I was without translator today) I kept hearing my name being mentioned in the same sentence as the word ‘moto’ and realised that my very kind Khmer colleagues were organising a way to get me and my moto back home without me having to ride it. I tried to explain that in England I would be called a chicken for not being very brave and this became topic of conversation for a good 20 minutes.
The school was lovely and the day was fantastic – although I did record on my school visit notes how difficult the journey had been. I was ferried home on the back of my bike (I am such a wimp!) and took the opportunity to snap some pictures... and just to add that touch of authenticity, you can see the Dream's mirror in nearly each photo...
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