We're in Kampot after 2 nights in Phnom Penh.  Some quick notes to whet your appetites.  The biggest city in Cambodia was busy and loud, but we rode in and out. Our group in front of the Royal Palace.  The next day we caught a glimpse of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni through the gate as he took an evening walk in the gardens. The riding is FLAT, which is good because it's hot.  A typical day's ride is 30-35 miles with 300-500 feet of elevation gain and we share the road with many interesting things.b 3 times we've had a van transfer of a couple of hours to get us down the road. (Cambodia uses the US Dollar as a primary currency) The food has been excellent. Some highlights:  Prahok Ling in tamarind sauce (a lifetime top 10, maybe 5), lychee martini, pork larb, banana flower and green papaya salads, mangos, fish amok (green coconut milk curry cooked in banana leaves, prawns in...

We started our bike tour with a bang, riding in the dark to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat.  It's very impressive, especially the detailed sculpture... And plenty of tourists... With the bikes we cruised around to see other temples easily. Including one with a selfie crowd... Not unnecessary - Peter, a Kiwi in our group, had a macaque jump on him! That night we had a nice dinner at Hoem's (tour leader) house.  There are 8 in the group, 3 from New Zealand and 3 from Australia ( a mom and 2 teenager boys on their first international trip!) besides us.  Hoem drives the SAG van and Buntry guides the riders while Ra, who's a bike mechanic, rides sweep. Day 2 we rode 50km through the countryside with a 4-hour boat ride in the middle. Fishing sustains the people in the wetlands, but not very well judging by the liv...

A Khmer Happy New Year from Siem Reap in Cambodia!  Noel and I are almost recovered from our 39-hour trip to get here and are enjoying a new region for both of us.  We're here to start a 16-day supported bike tour to Ho Chi Minh City.  From there we fly to Laos for a week+ before returning to Cambodia for a few days of island time.   We did not try these fried goodies at the spider market en route from Pnohm Penh to Siem Reap.  The food's been very good, even if pictures are lacking so far.   We spent the first day wandering around Siem Reap getting used to the tropical heat. In a park we found this pro-peace art project.  Fortunately Thailand and Cambodia implemented a cease fire before we arrived (we're staying far from the conflict area along the border). Display of 1000 Buddhas in the Angkor National Museum. Today we got up early for a birding ...

 After a relaxing week in Tossa de Mar we (me, Noel and our daughters Claire and Margo) took off for France where we visited Carcassone. While heavily touristed, it's still worth a visit if you're in the area.  The driving tour was so different than biking.  In one day we visited a small town with a big church (lots of those around), found an organic winery, stopped in Lourdes and climbed 40km to a spectacular national pack, all in air conditioned comfort :-)! We ended up in Gavarnie at the edge of the Parc national des Pyrénées with a view of the tallest waterfall in Europe (top photo) from our hotel.  I've wondered about the mountain hut hiking in Europe for years and it didn't disappoint. After this highlight it was time to cross back into Spain where we went in four different directions:  Margo to the Baltics, Claire to Seattle and her new job, Noel to Austria for a bike tour from Salzburg to Grado on the Adriatic, and my return to Boulder from Barcelona....