Companions

There is a joy and freedom in solo travel that is beyond anything that I know. And yet, one of the great rewards of travel are the friendships struck along the journey.

Several years ago I was fortunate enough to fall into a little knot of travelers. This fortuitous event took place in Chiang Rai, a provincial city in Northern Thailand. We were three Americans, two Austrians and two Italians. We enjoyed each other's company for two days, sharing meals, and swapping travel stories and offers to visit each other should the opportunity present itself.

Through the miracle of email, I have staying in touch with Sabine and Madjid, the couple from Vienna. As I was planning this years journey, I found out that Sabine and Madjid would be on sabbatical in SE Asia. Madjid will actually be traveling for a full year. Lucky devil.

So we made vague plans to meet in Cambodia. The reason I am in Kratie is that I had to veer east to intersect their path before they head further North into Lao. And here we are.

The joys of solo travel have been given over to the joys of companionship. We have traipsed about, sweated and pedaled, and done a glorious lot of nothing as well. We sit, we talk, we laugh. Long conversations about everything, including plans to spend time together in Seattle and in Vienna. The traveler network expands, grows more inclusive.

With luck, they will both be my guests in Seattle in April or May as they see some of the Western United States and then Alaska. I may even fly up to Anchorage to meet them and our friends John and Kat, the other Americans in the group from Chiang Rai. One of the other great joys in my life, besides travel, is hosting fellow travelers in my home, such as it is.

This is our last evening together. We will watch the sun sink into the Mekong, share another meal, a relish each other's company. For tomorrow we must part. Until we meet again, in who knows what other journey, we will be friends across the distances.

Tomorrow, I start to turn towards the West, towards Siam Reap and the temples of Angkor. But not in one leg. I will stop along the way, trying to get to the ruins of Sambor and the hill of Sambor Prey Kuk. Both these ancient ruins pre-date the temples of Angkor Wat, a primer if you will, before seeing the wonders of the Khmer Kingdom of old. This will be a side trip off of the normal Cambodian tourist trail. Sambor Pry Kuk is well off any of the main roads, and is the gateway to an even more remote section of Northern Cambodia.

So, it is back to the dusty roads for a travel day, and likely not the easiest. The route is south from Kratie to the bridge over the Mekong at Kampong Cham and then back to the north and west to the town of Kampong Thom.

Blogging may be intermittent for the next few days, as wifi may be scarce until I emerge in Siam Reap, a modern tourist enclave.