Cycling Cambodia

Most true adventurers are well aware that cycling is really one of the best ways to explore and experience a new place. There are no barriers to separate you from the environment that surrounds you which makes for an experience that is pure, energizing and magically engaging. Combining this essential mode of travel with Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage, diverse landscapes and charming friendliness, travelers will be rewarded with a rollercoaster ride of a lifetime.

Pedaling across sandy beaches and hidden trails, ‘saddle travel’ gives you exciting access to the remote wonders so often bypassed by trains and buses. Travel the dirt roads and dusty trails to experience the untold adventures of the nation’s northern forests and the magnificent splendor of Cambodia’s Khmer temples and all at your own pace.

Acknowledged as the most exquisite example of ancient architecture in Southeast Asia, the Angkor ruins of Siem Reap are the spiritual and cultural heartbeat of the country and have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

What better way to discover these magical ruins than by cycling through the grounds, stopping to clamber through the fascinating ruins at your leisure. Cycling is also the ideal way to fully experience Cambodia’s stunning and diverse scenery. Whether pedaling through orchards or rainforests, gliding along the Mekong or spectacular coastal trails in the south, or rising to the challenge of a hilly stretch, cycling in Cambodia is a sensory overload of scenes, smells and even tastes that just can’t be replicated in the confines of a car.

The freedom of biking also allows for a uniquely intimate interaction with the Cambodian communities you encounter as you ride. Weaving through temples, market crowds and villagers, you can pause at any time to chat and interact with locals, take a well-earned breather and experience the customary warmth (and tasty delicacies!) of this relatively unexplored land.

Explore Cambodia, pedal through it!

Tribal Nations - Living the High Life

Along the borders of Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and China, there are dozens of mountain-dwelling semi-nomadic people collectively known as ‘hilltribes’. Although they do share an elevated lifestyle, these colorful communities actually represent a diverse myriad of languages, cultures and belief systems.

The Akha, one complex hilltribe group in the region, are closely related to the Hani of China’s Yunnan province but speak their own distinct language which comes from a branch of the Tibeto-Burman language group. The Akha are traditionally subsistence farmers, and Akha Zang (The Akha Way) combines animism, ancestor worship and their deep relationship with the land.

Also originally hailing from Yunnan, the Lisu have primarily earned their name as a tribe alive with color, and are considered to use the greatest variety of colors of all the hill tribes. Their confident decision-making and independence is reflected in the way the Lisu use powerful combinations of colors to decorate their costumes.

The Karen are one of the largest hilltribes in Southeast Asia with a total population of about three million spread throughout Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. Famed for the ‘long necks’ of their women, the Karen now live at relatively low elevations in permanent villages, and have developed environmentally sustainable terraced rice fields.

The Lahu are a strongly independent and very diverse ethnic group. In Thailand alone there are no fewer than six different Lahu tribes, some of whose languages are not mutually intelligible. Although primarily subsistence farmers, the Lahu are also proud of their hunter-warrior heritage and are strongly committed to principles of unity and working together for survival.

This brief look at just a few of these fascinating groups illustrates the complex diversity of Southeast Asian hilltribe communities.

Experience these remarkable ethnic groups for yourself on our Shan Homestay in Tham Lod.