We had now become accustomed to hitting the road early and after the rest day, people were keen to get going.
A short ride on a graded highway took the group to the start of ox carts that are the lifeline to the villages in this part of the country. The track was a mix of sand and dirt with some sections blocked by fallen trees which meant the search for the alternate route that the villages had created. A trip across a dried-out paddy field proved not the correct answer but after a while, we found the correct trail and continued on our way. Shortly after we can across another washed-out part of the track which required a detour across a paddy field this time filled with water. So it carefully riding the bike along the narrow paths avoided the wet fields though some of the group just cut drove through the fields.
After some more riding along the trail we arrived at a small river after a quick recce it was decided to ride the bikes across. The water was deep enough in the middle of the river to fill our boots with water. On the other side, some of the party decided to cool down by floating in the river while the rest of the group crossed.
Two of our group decided to help a local moped rider load his bike on a small ferry much to the amusement of the local villages watching from the top of the river bank 6 metres above the river.
Once the party was all across we get kitted up and headed for the big river crossing at Siem Pan. The ferry was a couple of canoes. Our guides tried to convince the ferryman to take more than 3 bikes at a time which required careful loading to avoid the front of the canoes going underwater.
Once the whole group was across at Siem Pan it was 5 pm and we still had 80kms to get to destination Strung Treng. The sun was setting while we were still on the graded highway and driving through dust clouds at dusk was interesting. Eventually, we hit the tarmac road to Stung Treng and a 40-minute group formation ride saw us go across the bridge into Stung Treng at 7 pm.
