Adrian: off the road and the beaten track

I am tired but restless tonight. Each day has been melting into the other and time has been flowing slowly connecting experiences, emotions, images, thoughts and people. It feels like I have lived in Siem Reap for a long long time. I am attached to my friends.  I feel connected to the locals. They no longer treat me as a sighting. I have adapted so well that they don’t chase me up to offer me tuk tuk lifts or sell me things in the same frequency. I don’t feel, and perhaps this is why I don’t seem, lost. Tonight, I have done the maths and I realise am leaving on Saturday, in just one and a half days. My departure is impending.

I jump on a green bicycle today and head to Matt’s Chilli bar. Matt is a friendly Aussie who runs a bar along the river 10 minutes away from my hostel on the bike. I was attracted to the bar by its beautiful outdoor riverside area with a swing. A few nights ago Matt joined me for a chat as I was enjoying an quiet evening on the swing. Inside the bar I met Annie, Tammy and Eda. Annie has lived in Cmabodia for 10 years and runs a language school and Tammy and Eda work here as English teachers. Annie I have not written much about but I do hope she keeps in touch with me because she is just so interesting.  Tonight I am back to leave Annie my ….marmite jar. Here I said it: I admit I am aaddicted to Marmite and brought it along with me. In my defense this is because some internet forum entries had convinced me that Marmite, which is high in vitamin B, is an effective mosquito repellent (when eaten and not applied to the skin). Soon I find that DEET is the only effective mosquito repellent for me. Annie is gagging for marmite so I think it best to pass the wonderful substance from one marmite junky to another.

But Annie is not around tonight, the bar is heaving  and is unrecognisable. It is mainly a group of 30 jolly men that fill the bar with laughter. They are not aggressive and drunk, just full of energy.

I almost regret getting a beer and sitting at my favourite spot , when about ten of them  come and sit at a table next to me. Have I become a recluse, a hermit and a snob of western crowds? As I observe them swiftly, I think ‘What an odd ensemble on different nationalities and ages?’.   The one closest to me introduces himself and starts chatting away.

Adrian and the boys are an ‘off road bikers’ group. The got together in Phnom Penh and biked around the country through to Siem Reap. Most of them don’t know each other. They book similar journeys at least once a year and travel through countries for 2 -3 or more weeks. There is a Welsh lad who waives excitedly when he hears I live in Cardiff. I mainly chat to Adrian about their journey. He comes to life when he talks about traveling through the countryside and the jungle not following roads and tracks, camping and sleeping in monasteries where they are welcomed by monks. He has crossed Cambodia in just over a week and will continue traveling around the rest of it for the remaining time. Tonight is their night of luxury.

I enjoy meeting people who introduce me to new ways of viewing the world. Traveling off road on a motorbike offers a different perspective and gives you much freedom from conventional routes. I would still prefer cycling through and I joke with Adrian about the group's environmental impact.

Adrian also tells me about visiting Ghana in the same manner. On that journey the group planned to stop at different schools and charities and do some hands on work. The groups are diverse in professions, skills and crafts. Some of the plumbers and electricians were deified in Africa and did essential work to schools and hospitals when they passed through.

Adrian who is down to earth and approachable seem to run a large and profitable business. He is really modest about it.  I am suddenly very tired and the rest of the group wants to head the noisy pub street near the old market. I really want to stop them from going there but then who am I am to interfere with people’s choice? I am somehow convinced that they will not last long there.