Extreme dedication to the temple cause

We'd heard that cycling around the temples of Angkor was the best way to see them, and as we both enjoy riding bikes this seemed like a great way to experience the culture and history for which we'd come to Siem Reap.

Garden Village rented out bicycles and even though they were a bit on the rickety side, they were cheap and convenient, and we were itching to get going. 

The Roluos Temples, about 13km out from Siem Reap, are among the earlier temples built by the Khmers in the area and it's recommended that if you have a few days to explore this is a good place to start, as they give you an idea of the development of the architecture.

It was a long ride but as Cambodia is so flat it wasn't a difficult one, and it gave us the opportunity to see some of the countryside and life along the road, like buffalo-pulled carts and kids walking to school jostling for the chance to wave at us and shout 'hello!'

We arrived at our first temple, hot and thirsty, and after a quick rest in the shade and the guzzling of lots of cold water, made our way to the entrance. A man asked for our tickets and as we hadn't bought them yet we enquired where they could be purchased. At the ticket office near Angkor Wat, was the answer. Angkor Wat, the signs for which we'd cycled past on our way here, about 10km ago. The only place you can buy the tickets to see any of the temples. Right.

Back on our bikes we got, even though the morning was getting on and the sun was climbing higher in the sky. After we'd cycled back the way we had come a little way, we spotted a signpost pointing to Angkor Wat and decided to follow it away from the main road to try and find the ticket office. There was less traffic down this road and it was still very flat, we passed a few lodgings with more smiling shouting children, and a few tuk-tuks passed us, each one receiving increasingly envious looks from me as they disappeared into the distance and we ate up the kilometers a pedal at a time.

The road went on and on. And the day got hotter and hotter. And the lack of suspension or padding on our bikes became more and more noticeable. And the road went on. And on. The signposts seemed to run out and the signs of life did too. It eventually reached that point where we had come too far to turn back, even though we both knew we'd made a mistake turning off of the main drag and coming down this road that was some kind of mockery, like the never-ending path that Jennifer Connelly is on in the film Labyrinth that just keeps stretching ahead of her into the distance, no matter how fast or how far she runs. 

Dave cycles five days a week in London and is generally fitter than I am, but my legs were failing, I was saddlesore, and I was having to stop pretty regularly. Plus, concerned about my Irish so-white-I'm-nearly-blue complexion, I had put on the denim shirt I'd packed for modesty in the temples and borrowed Dave's hat to save myself from burning to a crisp, whilst sweltering under the extra clothes. 

We had probably been cycling for a couple of hours by this point and it must have been around midday. Finally we came to a turn off that was flanked by a couple of restaurants and we stopped for cold drinks and a break from the razorblade saddles and relentless pedalling. Checking the map, we could see that we weren't far from Angkor Wat but would be coming in on the wrong side of it for the ticket office. By this point all I wanted was a shower and to lie motionless on a soft bed, so we decided to cut our losses and head back. Once we'd gotten back on the bikes - an action that took every ounce of will I had; if I'd seen an available tuk-tuk at that point I'd have ditched the bike and taken the consequences upon returning to the guesthouse - it didn't take too long before we started seeing signs for Siem Reap. With a lot of stops and fighting back tears from me (this was not my idea of a holiday) and a lot of encouraging words from Dave (heroic once again) we eventually got back to our room, where I hobbled into the shower.

When I came out and eased myself onto the bed, Dave was looking at Google Maps on the laptop. "Would you like to know how far we rode today?" he asked, a look somewhere between triumph and wonder on his face. I nodded. "Fifty five kilometers," he told me, "On the world's most uncomfortable bikes, in the Cambodian midday sun". And I, genuinely kind of proud of myself that I hadn't DIED, fell back onto the pillows, the most relieved I've ever been to not be on a bike.

The next day we resumed our temple mission, this time in a tuk-tuk, and with far more success...

Getting to know Ubud

The road Jalan Hanoman, where our homestay was, is charming. It runs off of Jalan Raya Ubud - the main drag through the town, which struggles with heavy traffic of both the motorised and tourist varieties, and includes the large market, main temple and loads of shops and restaurants.

Jalan Raya Ubud

Hanoman has a quieter pace, though still busy, and is pretty upmarket compared to some places we've seen since. The shops sell all the common souvenir stuff like bright cotton trousers and tie-dye dresses, bangles and beads, and then there are little boutiques selling jewellery, jams, art, yoga wear and soaps. The eateries range from average Indonesian warungs to Western-inspired, new age cafes serving homemade cakes and pastries (huge slabs of almond chocolate cake, apple pie and glazed fruit danishes), potato wedges, chicken parmigiana, huge salads and health juices. They're popular spots with tourists and ex-pats - all sporting deep tans, linen pants and Apple hardware. The food is great but pricey and the staff lack the charm of smaller, less commercial places.

Kafe is the key example and has a sister branch at the nearby Yoga Barn (A.K.A. The Hippy Mothership). We headed over for their Monday night movie, which was really good fun. We paid 85,000 rupiah each (about £5.50) for an all-you-can-eat buffet of delicious food. There was green salad, grilled tuna, watermelon, pasta, rice, tofu and tempe*. The movie (Lost In La Mancha) was after dinner, projected onto a screen in a massive wooden yoga hall. There were probably 30-40 people there so it was cozy with a nice atmosphere and we all laid on the floor with cushions and yoga mats, munching free fresh popcorn and listening to the rain hit the thatch overhead.

*Tempe is a soya bean product used as a meat alternative, but the beans are left more intact than in the mushy curd they use for tofu. And it's great. Good taste and texture and really versatile; during our time in Indonesia we ate it marinated and stir-fried, deep fried and crispy, curried, in omelettes and more. I can't understand why that bland crap tofu has become so pervasive in the West yet we've never heard of tempe!

Jalan Hanoman also has some cool stone carvings/statues etc... 

Check out this little dude throwing a peace sign

And this badass tiger! Rargh.

The weather in Ubud was much greyer than it had been on the north coast. We didn't get much rain but there was a lot more cloud cover to break up the sunshine. Still hot though!

We rented bikes one day and cycled up to the Neka Art Museum, which is reputed to have the best examples of Balinese art in the area. It didn't disappoint. We saw a wide variety of traditional paintings - many based on the aesthetic style of old shadow puppet shows - through to some by the 'Ubud School' depicting everyday life, and contemporary artists doing more abstract work. The Arie Smit collection was lovely too. Interesting sculpture as well, both traditional and modern. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours and the setting itself was peaceful, set out among a quiet compound of gardens and pavilions. It was good to absorb something really Balinese, away from the tourist-centric town centre.

A door carving

Dave contemplating

A little of the Keith Haring about this one, m'thinks

Our next experience of hired transport was the bemo... retrofitted minivans that have the seats replaced with low benches running the length of the vehicle, which speed along with no seat belts and the doors open. Fast and fun! Our driver Kadek took us out of Ubud to see a couple of sights.

We went to a largish temple (Pura Ibu Pejeng) that houses the Moon of Pejeng, the largest bronze kettle drum on earth. It was 'on display' at the top of a tall, decorated (but dilapidated) stone platform and you couldn't see much. The temple was practically deserted and in places was very shabby, but it was nice to wander around the grassy areas with trees and bright tropical flowers dotted about, seeing the stone Hindu idols, the towering pagoda-like stupas, the statues draped in different coloured cloths and the gold-painted wood carvings. 

The Moon of Pejeng

Dogs sleeping on the platform of the largest pavilion, which looked newer than the rest.

We had a nice encounter with the couple of young lads manning the entrance of the temple. One tied on our obligatory sarongs, carefully reaching round our waists and deftly knotting them. We didn't have the correct money for the donation and they didn't have change, which wasn't a problem and we went in to look around giving it no more thought. But as we were leaving and returning our sarongs, one of the boys handed me a few rupiah - they'd clearly gotten the right money from another tourist while we'd been inside and remembered to give it back to me. It was a heartwarming example of thoughtfulness that was refreshing after the regular barrage of pushy hawkers we'd encountered a few times in town. Obviously, I asked them to keep the money.

After Pejeng, Kadek drove us to Yeh Pulu, a small area among some rice fields that's home to some 14th century reliefs carved into the rockface. And more hawkers and chancers...! "I show you stones? Tour? You have transport? You need trek tomorrow? Sarong sarong? My wife makes! Transport? Tour?" Plus the lady sitting by the carvings who ignored by protests against the blessing she forced on me and quickly uncovered an until then hidden pile of folded donations which I was then obliged to contribute to. 

But the carvings were cool, and we saw a praying mantis.

All in all, a few good days sightseeing and getting to know Ubud and the surrounding area.