A BREAK IN ARIYAKSAT - Koh Norea Bridge Driving Tour

 A few days spent strolling through the streets of the capital will be enough to show you that Phnom Penh, the peaceful city of Quatre Bras, is no longer the dormant capital that is often described in colonial literature. The Pearl of Asia has become a buzzing and honking city, like any self-respecting Asian capital, and if you appreciate its vitality, it is sometimes good to take a rest. ..

Ten minutes are enough to change out of the maze of numbered streets and immerse yourself in Cambodia with a completely different atmosphere.

Direction Ariyaksat, on the other side of the Mekong, aboard a ferry that will be found on the docks just behind Dreamland near the Naga casino. Get off and embark on a large flat barge, among the cars, motorcycles, cargoes of vegetables and other loads, the departure is made as soon as the ferry is full which is generally not long to wait, the connection being ensured continuously until around 9 p.m. in the evening.

Lotus field - Cambodia, Phnom Penh

In a few cables, and, past the cloud of smoke triggered on arrival by the restarting of the motorcycles which quickly disperse at the exit of the metal boat, it is the Cambodian countryside that we find. On the small main road which leads to the place of embarkation, there are one or two houses which offer a few bikes for hire. The place is ideal as a starting point for a beautiful ride, but the opening of these more or less improvised bicycle rental shops is quite random. A few hundred meters already lead you to the outskirts of charming fields of lotus and lemongrass of which Ariyaksat has made a specialty.

Ariyaksat, the Cambodian countryside a few minutes from Phnom Penh

Strolls on an improvised route will take you to visit pagodas and villages, whose main earth arteries are lined with traditional Khmer houses mounted on stilts and recognizable by their blue-gray color, the wooden walls of which are repainted.

You will also have the opportunity to delve a little more into the multitude of fruit trees that surround you, and although the majority of the fruits that you find in the markets of Phnom Penh generally come from neighboring countries, the Khmer countryside and Ariyaksat is full of fruit trees, papaya, coconut palms, banana and mango trees for the most identifiable ... Guava trees, longan trees, and a thousand more ...

Drawings ready to be painted in a pagoda outside Phnom Penh

On a motorbike, you will be able, while you stroll just as randomly to cross on your way villages of which certain houses are specialized in fishing and the smoking of fish, or quite simply in the making of Kantel, these famous colored carpets braided of rush. A detour in the enclosure of one of the always welcoming village pagodas may surprise you with an improvised exhibition, whether you decide to walk along the banks of the Mekong or to go deeper into the land.

The banks of the Mekong - Kandal Province

Ariyaksat-Phnom Penh Ferry:
700 riel for a motorbike, plus 500 per person. Getting on a van will cost 10,000 riel. We can generally pay indifferently when boarding or disembarking the ferry, at the level of the small barracks.

For your return, you will find ferries at regular distance on the banks of the Mekong
which will drop you back on the other side of the river.
It is possible, if you are on a motorbike, to reach Oknha Tey Island (Koh Okhna Tey) and Silk Island (Koh Dach) by roads, heading north. you will then take the ferry which will bring you back to Bakheng, and you will return to Phnom Penh by taking the Japanese bridge.