More from the Mondulkiri tour

The elephant support vehicle and AK47-armed Park Ranger

If Day 1 had been tough on my creaking old bones then Day 2 was scheduled to be even tougher. Another 50+kms, this time through the heart of the forest, in order to reach our main target, the Srepok Wilderness headquarters at Mereuch, on the banks of the Srepok River. I had already decided, as I dragged myself through the pain barrier of the first day, that Day 2 for me would be a rest day, so I waved the other seven intrepid, and considerably more experienced, mountainbikers off at Trapeang Thmeir, at 7.30am, expecting to see them arrive at their destination by late afternoon. Because of the forest terrain, their support vehicle on Day 2 was in fact an elephant, that was loaded up with food and water.

A dried riverbed called O Rovei River on the way to Mereuch

The Srepok River just in front of the Mereuch Ranger HQ. We used the boat to travel upstream.

I took a spot, with my bike and the group's bags, in the rear of the back-up pick-up truck for the 40kms to Mereuch and arrived at 10am, spending the rest of the morning and afternoon, idling by the river. By late afternoon it was clear something had gone awry with the group and frantic communications between the Park Rangers at the HQ and the Ranger mahout on the elephant, indicated that the group had got lost in the forest and were in dire need of provisions. I forgot to mention that Mondulkiri's reputation for cooler weather was not applicable in the forest, where it was as hot as the city, so that merely added to the situation. The news got better when the group arrived at an outpost called Trapeang Chhouk but they were still four hours away from their intended destination and were mightily relieved to jump on board the pick-up truck that had been sent from Mereuch. They finally arrived, minus their bikes, an hour from midnight, exhausted, battered and bruised from their experience. My decision to take a raincheck on Day 2 had proved a good one.

The Srepok River, made famous in the Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now

Day 4 and the support vehicle is starting to fill up with bikes, bags and people

Day 3 was a virtual rest-day for all, with a morning boat trip along the Srepok River to look over the intended site of an eco-tourism lodge and a late afternoon walk along the riverbank. Both nights at Mereuch were spent in beds rather than hammocks, and we had a shower and sit-down loo so conditions were okay. The plan for Day 4 changed a few times before it was agreed on another route through the forest back to Trapeang Thmeir for lunch and onto Sen Monorom. I decided to test my weary bones with an hour's worth of forest cycling before returning to the flat bed of the truck with my bike, to be joined by a few others before we reached the outpost at 1.30pm. The ride in the pick-up was nearly as uncomfortable as the bike riding on Day 1! I was back in my hotel room in Sen Monorom in the middle of the afternoon and headed straight for a hot shower to wash off the dust and grime of the last few days and to take a nap on a comfortable mattress. Heaven. More on my Mondulkiri experience soon.