Cambodia - Part 2

And so, the journey begins..

The bikes are all packed and loaded. 
And when the alarm rang, I have very little time to get everything in pace.
The dogs needed their walk, but it had to be cut down to half the distance. From the average 5.4km in the mornings, I had to bring it down to 2.25km.
By the time the kidz are satisfied with their walk, I uploaded some songs onto my smartphone and began to move our duffel bag down to the main living room. Other equipment such as cameras, tablet and power cords were packed in our knapsack. Michelle lugged her trusted Mountainsmith daypack while I used my Camelbak Octane 24. These are enough to haul the essentials.
I also packed a small fanny pack on the Dahon Airporter. The rest of the cycling gear such as helmet, lights and tools were stashed with the bike.

Feeding the kidz before leaving for the airport

Our ride.. 

Checking-in our bikes

The total weight of our gear, bikes and luggage..

Membership has it privileges..

Our cab came at exactly 09:00am.
We loaded the bikes and our packs, fed the kidz and gave them a treat before boarding the Proton Exora MPV (only car big enough to lug our gear).
The ride cost us RM90 (flat-rate) from Subang Jaya to the KLIA. 
It didn't take too long for us to arrive at the departure hall and since Michelle has Gold frequent-flier membership, we checked-in at the Business Class counter.
This was a breeze as we do not need to queue-up like the rest of the passengers.
Immediately after checking-in the bikes at the oversized luggage counter, we passed through immigration and the security check-point.
Since Asean destinations are all located at the main terminal, there is no need to take the transit rail to the satellite terminal.
Michelle and I then entered the hospitality lounge and there, we helped ourselves to some coffee while waiting to board the plane.

Signing-in at the airport's hospitality lounge

Hanging out and grabbing a bite..

We chilled out at the lounge and while I had a nice cup of coffee, Michelle was on the phone, sorting out her business.
After an hour there, it's time to board the flight to Siem Reap.
We made our way to the departure gate, which was full with passengers.
Since she is a Gold club member, Michelle boarded first.
The queue wasn't that long as the passengers slowly made their way to the airplane.
While we were waiting, there were a couple of guys with really strong body odor. We were glad that they were seated pretty far away from us.

At the departure gate

All aboard!

Destination: Siem Reap

The Happy Campers

Our meal

Cheers! 

The two-hour flight..

Once onboard the aircraft, Michelle went on to view the in-flight entertainment.
I took some snapshots of the landscape below and about 45-minutes into the flight, food was served.
The down-sizing of Malaysia Airlines didn't really affect their service, but the food part, well, it took a dip.
I was not complaining because my airfare was pretty affordable. I had chicken with steamed rice while Michelle ate the fish option.
We kept the peanuts for the beers and enjoyed the rest of the flight until the "fasten seatbelt" sign was flashing to signal our arrival in Cambodia...

Cambodia - Part 1

Crossing an item on my bucket-list..

My first visit to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia back in 2000

Michelle and I had planned at least four outings in a year. Be it domestic or international, we made it a point to get away from work before it consumes us.
So, I did some research and on the drawing board, I've always wanted to cycle in Cambodia.
After an exhaustive search for flights and accommodation, I found a neat package deal from Expedia.com - offering hotel and air transport for RM635.00 per person. 
This was for 5 days 4 nights in Siem Reap and it was just "perfect" and too good to refuse. I told Michelle about this and immediately placed a booking for the travel deal.

Why Cambodia?

My first visit to Cambodia was back in 1992, I was in Battambang and in 1998, I visited Phnom Penh. This was followed by another trip back in 2000 where I traveled to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. I know that for a fact, there's lots to see in this country which is rapidly developing after it came of out conflict in the early 90s. Today, Cambodia is very different. My main focus was Siem Reap and a few years ago, I toyed with the idea of cycling from Thailand to Cambodia. But with Michelle's tight working schedule, I had to forgo my plans.
Hence the flight and hotel package that made it really sweet. So, this time round, we packed our bikes and worked with as little gear as possible to meet the weight-limit requirements. Fortunately, the allowable luggage weight is 30kgs and this made our bikepacking trip possible.
Now, the other factor about Siem Reap is Angkor Wat. This magnificent temple complex is a World Heritage sight. Michelle jumped at the chance to cycle around the historical site. Next, was Tonle Sap lake, which is within the vicinity of Siem Reap.

Our travel itinerary by Expedia

The right bikes for the job..

My 2011 Dahon Jetstream EX

Neatly packed in my Dahon Airporter

There's no doubt that the Dahon Jetstream EX and P8 are the "go-everywhere" bikes for this trip.
It has full-suspension capabilities and recently, I've upgraded the bike with a Rockshox rear suspension that gave it a really smooth ride and a set of Shimano Zee downhill hydraulic disk brakes. 
From my experience in Indonesia, I knew that the road conditions in certain parts of Siem Reap requires a hardy bike.
The Jetstream was an excellent choice. 
Why? It's compact enough to be packed with my Dahon Airporter (it's tricky, but if you know what to remove, this bike fits like a glove!) and with all the tools thrown in, we are good to go.
I spent some time figuring out the packing part and when I got it right, I went to work straight away with Michelle's Dahon Jetstream P8.
The bikes have been serviced and deem roadworthy for the trip. All we needed, was the right tools and spare tire tubes for the ride.

Bah! Another "husband and wife adventure"..

Me and my cycling partner..

As a troll on my blog had put it: "Another husband & wife adventure, what a letdown..", well, it might as well be! Hahahah! 
Back in the early days, we are grateful to a handful of friends who had organized overland trips for us. 
We learned their good traits and are thankful for their efforts to put together trips that we had thoroughly enjoyed.
Traveling in a group has it's advantages and shortcomings.
To blatantly put it: "You win some and you lose some.."
I have no issues traveling with my wife, we communicate well and are pretty disciplined on the road. 
With experience in hand, we avoided the following characters:

• Master-gurus - folks who know it all, but at the end, are just plain washouts.
• The Dictator - It's my way, or the highway.
• Rockstars - people who want it all, but offer nothing in return to the cause and always want to to be in the limelight. These kind of characters have no common-sense and make their own rules, totally undisciplined and expect others to treat them like celebrities.
• The Man-child - immature characters who put the lives of others in danger.
• OCDians - Folks who are very obsessed with the littlest things, meticulous to details and refuses to listen to others even when they make mistakes.
• The new Aristocrats - Folks with fancy and expensive bikes who want to ride in clean places and thinks that their bikes are more important than anything else in existence.

With folks as such, there are bound to be conflicts. So, it's best that we do our own thing and enjoy the peace.
That said, I am just glad that my wife and I share the same interest.

Preparations

Now that I've got the itinerary planned and the trip paid in full, the next step, is to stash enough cash for the expenses.
At the time I booked the trip (confirmed and paid for back in June), my task was to get as much US Dollars as possible in loose change.
Why? That's the main currency accepted in Cambodia. The exchange rate was around RM3.65 in June and I managed to round up as many small notes as possible to pay for transport and food, including the US$20 day pass at Angkor Wat.
I expected to pay around US$15 (RM61.54) for our meals and on the average, we paid around US$25 (RM102.57) for the entire day. There really is no point whining about the high-exchange rate and to my surprise, Cambodia, despite the US Dollar rates, is pretty affordable. In a certain way, traveling around is much cheaper than our own country.
I have stashed up around US$200 (RM820) for this trip, which is enough to get by for the both of us.
The trick is not to spend on shopping. And well, Michelle is not a big fan of that anyway. Our main idea, is to have fun and that is food and entertainment.. 
As far as clothing is concerned, we were minimalists. We packed our riding shorts and shirts, and that was about it.
Since we are staying in a reputable accommodation, we don't have to pack our towels.
On keeping in touch with the world, there's free WiFi in Siem Reap and their mobile network supports 4G LTE. This came as a big surprise to me as SIM cards offering data plans up to 3GB is available at US$5 (RM20.51) at the Siem Reap International Airport.
With all that in mind, the Cambodia trip became a highly-anticipated event for us this year.. 

Monster Chill Archery Tournament - Round 2

Samo's first archery tournament..

At the tournament site in Tanjung Keling, Malacca

My buddy cikgu Lau asked if I am interested to join him at a traditional archery tournament in Malacca.
It was posted in Facebook sometime back by a company called "Monster Chill Archery" which is based in Malacca.
Ironically, this retail outlet is also said to be one of the best archery pro shops in the country.
The only thing that caught my attention: is the Samick Sage bow that they are selling. I was told that it's available off the shelves.
The tournament was in it's second-stage of a 12-round grand-slam.
At the end of it, there is a RM15,000 cash prize waiting for the winner with the highest points accumulated from the tournament.

A first time for everything...

I have never competed before and going to the Monster Chill tournament is a good experience for me.
Prior to departure, Lau said he will drive and my plan was to split the cost with him.
The tournament organizers catered food and there was no entrance fees charged for competitors.
At the venue ground in Tanjung Keling, I was told by Zahir Yousuff, the organizer, that some 1,000 people had signed-up.
"We had to cut off at 400 and many couldn't make it today (Aug 1) because they were turned back at Putrajaya."
Despite that, the turnout was really good.
Archers representing teams, schools as well as individuals came from all over the country.
Noticeable, were men in traditional costumes and their Korean horse bows. Some even made their own bows from PVC pipes.
At the Men's traditional bow category, there were more than 290 contestants.
The morning began with a briefing from the official and an elimination round.
Lau was competitor number 285, while I was given 290 as my official number.
We waited till mid-noon till our number was called to the respective lanes.

Making new friends: Lau talking to a fellow archer from Kuala Lumpur

Registration for the Men's traditional category

Special preference..

Lau told me that since there weren't enough non-Malay contestants, we were given two spots to take part. 
Initially, I wasn't keen at all. 
And in a crowd consisting Malay and Islamic warriors, we stuck out like sore thumbs. The organizer also allowed takedown recurve bows to be used in the traditional tournament. As lot as there's no target sight. I am fine with that. So, my choice bow for this tournament was my Martin Panther #45 takedown recurve bow.
But seeing as it is, I decided to keep Lau company at the event.
I must say that I was very nervous when our turn was up.
Participants were given 1 minute 30 seconds to shoot 9 arrows onto the target bud.
I watched from a distance as the participants shot away during the practice rounds and eventually lined up in a row to determine if they have what it takes to move forward to the second round.
The format was very simple: at 30 yards, the archer must put his arrows into a target paper and at the end of the 1 and a-half minute shootout, get the highest points earned.
There were judges to take score and entertain protests. And the way it was organized, I must say that Zahir's team had done an excellent job.

Traditional archers in action

The compound bow category

Judges taking points at the elimination round

Stay calm, shoot tight..

When you stand in a row of 10 archers, there's a lot of tension and nervousness.
Letting go 9 arrows in 1 minute 30 seconds can make a man fumble.
Arrows were flying everywhere, some bounced off the hard ground and made it's way to the brush while some hits it's intended target.
In such a short time with more than 20 ends back-to-back, the crowd of 290 men were reduced to 64 archers during the elimination round.
My turn was up and I was at the last lane (10 lanes per end).
I was trying very hard to calm my nerves and my first arrow landed low.
There was enough time to compensate as I slowly zeroed-in on the target paper.
By the end of the shootout, I had two arrows in the outer yellow ring (18 points) and one in the blue (6 points).
All-in, I scored 24 points. That was enough to qualify for the second-round. Lau managed to put one - dead center and earned 10 points. But, that was not enough to carry him forward to the second-round.

Lau and I during practice round

The excellent lunch break

Official results - elimination..

We moved to the main area where lunch was served. 
The organizers provided meals for the competitors and one of the main highlights was roast lamb.
I must say that the simple food was excellent and there was enough time for us to mingle with the rest of the archers.
It turned out that despite the "warrior" looks and mentality, those guys are really friendly.
During lunch, I spoke to Wan Rohafizan, a fellow traditional recurve archer. He was shooting a Hoyt Buffalo with Quattro carbon-fibre limbs. The bow poundage was reduced to 32lbs and this guy shoots very well.
When you carry a 64" takedown recurve, you tend to stick out like a sore thumb. It also attracts attention from archers who have never seen a hunting bow. 
I must say that I have little expectation at this event and all that was in my mind -- was to learn and have fun.
After the meals, we moved back into the main tent. 
An announcement was made and the entry number of the archers were called up. In a chart, there was knock-out round to determine who goes to round 3 and the finals.

Wan Rohafizan in action, he finished first in the Men's traditional archery category

Squaring-off with a fellow archer from Kelantan during the quarter-finals

A photo-ops at the tournament

The quarter-finals

But mid-day, the best archers in the house were called-in to square-off. 
Each man was given 2 minutes to hit a target paper, 45 yards away and as a bonus, a 3D bunny was place. 
This will earn the archer another 15 points if he managed to put two arrows on it.
At such a distance, things got really technical.
There's elevation and windage and to be frank, I have never shot beyond 30 yards.
It's all up to pure skills and a little bit of luck to land the arrow on the paper.
Everyone was nervous and when my turn was up, I tried to put all my 9 arrows onto the target bud.
From a distance (ranged at 45 yards by a dude with a range-finder), my arrows seemed to land low on the target bud.
None of it had hit the inner or outer ring.
My opponent, a young man from Kelantan on lane 10, did very well. 
After collecting the arrows (I didn't lose any), I walked to my opponent and shook his hands. He's a better archer.
To me, this became a valuable experience and motivation to shoot 30 yards for a better grouping.
Lau, his son Joshua and I left Tanjung Keling and headed straight to Subang Jaya after I had dropped out from the tournament.
He is determined to train for round 3 of the Monster Chill tournament which will be held in Kuala Lumpur..