Trekking in Cambodia (2007)

In 2007 I decided to do a sponsored trek for Macmillan, because they had helped our family after my dad was diagnosed. I had seen an advert for a trek in Cambodia (at the time I didn't even know where it was!!)

It sounded so exotic and far flung, I had never been anywhere like it and I thought it was a cool place to go. I had to raise £3000 plus travel expenses, buy trekking boots, a backpack and all my trekking clothes. I was also meant to train for the trek but I didn't have a huge amount of time although I had been cycling 9 miles a day for my previous job, so I was fairly fit at that time.

Day 1

We flew to Siem Reap on Malaysian Airways and we stopped over in Kuala Lumpur for a few hours. It was nice to stretch our legs and move about. It was a long flight, the longest I had been on. We met everyone at the airport and then we hung out with a few people and started getting to know them. There were loads of people from all walks of life which made it interesting to hear their stories and why they decided to do the trek.

Day 2

We landed in Siem Reap and then all got in our minibuses that were waiting. We got in one with hats so we all put them on, only after would we realise they were all covered in bugs - gross and not the last encounter with bugs in Cambodia....errrrrrrr!!! We then arrived at our hotel where we stayed at the beginning of the trek and at the end. We then went down for a meeting about what we were going to do and what to expect. I was nervous but excited. We then got into tuk-tuks (a kind of bike with extra seats) to go into Siem Reap. The local market was amazing and I think when I go back I would take a whole suitcase just for souvenirs.

It was certainly a bit of an adventure in the tuk-tuks, we thought at one point we were being taken to the wrong place on the way back and started panicking. I have to say as well, the tuk-tuk drivers don't slow down when going round corners, I nearly slid out of the side of it on one occasion.

Day 3

So we were up early and ready to start trekking, we were taken to our starting point. We trekked through miles of rice-paddies and tiny villages with huts dotted along our route. As we walked through the small village, the locals waved and came out to see us as we walked through. We walked north for about 6 hours to the Pagoda, where we were going to stay that night. We also saw monks who were in bright orange robes which were so vibrant against the green grass of the rice-paddies. We had to be careful about taking their picture and asking permission first and we were told that they were not meant to look at women directly. We then set up camp which was interesting and quite an experience, putting up our tents. We then had our dinner cooked for us and we sat and ate it on the little sofa cushions we had set up.

Day 4

We were woken up pretty early, I think it was about 5.00am, we were woken by the bells and the monks chanting as well as a cockerel crowing rather loudly. The reality of going back to basics and going off the grid for a while wasn't actually as fun or as picture perfect as I thought.We walked through different landscapes and we walked for about 9 hours to Wat Preash Bat Bun Tham. We saw many temples and pagodas and a few animals.

Day 5

So we trekked from the Wat Preash Bat Bun Tham towards Kulen Mountain, we trekked across the rice paddies. We could see the Phnom Kulem in the distance and we trekked to Beoung Maealeo where we saw ruins and temples, we explored the ruins (which I believe were used in Tomb Raider). I think this was the temple where I saw the bullet holes with the sun streaming through. It was so atmospheric and it made me tear up. We got to our campsite at Svoy Leu Pagoda, we trekked for about 8 hours. I think it might have been on this day where we stayed near a little bar in the middle of nowhere but we heard them playing 'Who Let the Dogs Out' but I actually think they were singing 'who let the frogs out' - very random! I think some of us went to have a dance but I was tired so I went to bed earlier that night.

Day 6

We finally reached the Kulen Mountain and we trekked to the top which was 487km. We had amazing views across the forest and fields, dotted with temples in the distance once we got to the top. We had lunch at Anlong Thom where we looked at another temple. We saw the Big Buddha at the top of the mountain (which was Cambodia's sacred mountain). We then trekked to our campsite next to the most beautiful waterfall, we swam in the River of 1000 Lingas (we changed it to 1000 mingers because we were all pretty much covered in mud). I think this was the day I had a blister and had to sit on the ox cart, our guide told me that the locals were worried about my legs because they thought that they were covered in blood but it was just red mud. We all had a good giggle once they realised I was ok!! It was probably the best bit of the day, swimming in the waterfall (although I was a bit worried about leeches but luckily there weren't any!) We had trekked for about 8 hours so we enjoyed the opportunity to enjoy some relaxing/downtime.

Day 7

We trekked back down the mountain through a jungly trail, I think this was when I tried to go to the toilet just off the path but unaware that I had stepped in a nest of fire ants and then just as I had built up courage to go for a wee there was a noise just to the side of my head, as I turned I saw this green snake. Needless to say I think I flashed the other trekkers that were waiting for me because I bolted out of there while trying to pull up my shorts. Not really helping with my fear of snakes!! We trekked through more villages and we stopped at a few schools. Most of us gave most of our clothes away to the children, so there are probably a lot of children wandering around with Macmillan t-shirts on. It was interesting that a lot of the classes were open air. I think this was the day we had a lunch from the La Residence D'Ankor which was a very special packed lunch (wish I could have kept the box but I wasn't allowed!) We trekked for about 7 hours before we reached our campsite. I think this was the night there was a massive thunder and lightning storm, so we stayed up and watched it for a few hours before we went to bed and the storm rolled off into the distance.

Day 8

The final day of trekking, we headed for Ankor Wat which was our finish line. I felt excited and nervous as well as sad because we knew that the trek was nearly over. I think I could have continued to trek for many more weeks. Ankor Wat was so amazing and as we got closer we saw some amazing views of it. I got so close to the finish line I had a mini celebration and I was so happy. I couldn't believe that I had actually completed the trek. It made me realise I was capable of doing anything I set out to achieve. I think this was the best thing I took away from my trek. I finally reached the finish line and we celebrated with everyone. We were all very happy that we completed our trek. I hugged everyone I think. The middle pic at the top is the girls who I trekked with and who I made friends with while I was there. We had our lunch at Ankor Wat and we had the prettiest meal. Cambodian food was so delicious and I can't wait to go back and try more and explore more places too. The last pics were taken by Macmillan and I really love these pics.

So after all the hard work, we then went back to our hotel and got as dressed up as we could with no makeup and limited pretty/dressy clothes (I bought a traditional Cambodian top to wear.) We then headed out to have a meal and talk about the treks and experiences we had as a group. We laughed, cried and cheered when people made their speeches. We had a lovely evening and a delicious meal for our last night in Cambodia. We could have stayed longer but that was all the time off I could get as I had just joined the police.