Made it to Siem Reap today (Cambodia) which is where Angkor Wat is.

It's about 95 miles from the Thai border along National Highway 6.The first 30 miles consists of a series of large and fairly deep potholes, each ringed with a sliver of crumbling tarmac. I followed the moped in front as he seemd to know where he was going, and on the premise that if he could do that route so could I.

The next 43 miles (see how accurate I can be when I try) consisted of no tarmac, lots of variously-sized sharp stones and rocks, with the occasional nice soft sandy up and down on and off a bridge made of rickety planks. The locals in both ordinary cars and 4x4s are in training for the Dakar, as are some of the trucks and buses. It is illegal to ride with headlights on in Cambodia, especially at night, but most people ignore that rule so that they have a chance of being seen through the dust clouds. How I got here without a puncture or three is nothing short of miraculous (or it could be those Russian inner tubes). It was a three-shower day so I've run out of towels - I do wish the hotels wouldn't provide white ones; it's very embarrassing.

The last 22 miles was sealed and I was able to get into top gear, although the corrugated surface prevented progress at much more than 30mph.

So I'm taking the day off tomorrow to do sightseeing