Angkor Wat Half-Marathon

After having such a grand time travelling to the Fukuoka Half-Marathon in Kyushu last autumn, we searched for other interesting destinations where a half-marathon could be the impetus for group trip to some fascinating destination. A marathon is too exhausting (before and after the run), a 10k is too short for me to justify epic travel, and triathlons require so much logistics and eliminate 90% of my teammates. I found several websites such as RW's race index which suggested half-marathons in Lisbon, Sweden, Italy and Taiwan (all of which I hope to do someday). But the most intriguing event was the Angkor Wat Half-Marathon, a destination I had long hoped to visit, and one that is near the same time zone and award travel routes from Tokyo.

Alas the Angkor Wat Half-Marathon is held in mid-December, and with Christmas, Japanese bonenkai events, my REIT IPO work, Phuket Triathlon, my US trip, and other end of year activities I did not think myself or any other teammates would actually be able to schedule such an international journey. However I spoke to Arnaud from the Singapore MR25 team for whom the Angkor Wat Half-Marathon is a required annual pilgrimage, and Arnaud became a passionate evangelist for the event among the Nambanners, encouraging a dozen members of the team to travel to Cambodia. As is my custom, I waited until the last second to commit, but managed to book a last-minute convoluted travel itinerary.

So on December 15th I delightedly greet 16 other Namban and MR25 runners as we converged at Casa Angkor Hotel from different flights from Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Casa Angkor Hotel is charming and comfortable enough, especially at only $45 per night. For the next for days we feast on superb Khmer curries and fish amok at atmospheric restaurants and hang out at the cafes of pubstreet and sleek FCC. One of the pleasures I find in Southeast Asia is travel by the open tuks-tuks. Siem Reap's streets are still mostly streaming along with bicycles and pedestrians and dogs rather than completely clogged with cars and trucks. Granted the streets are often strewn with garbage, but the colonial architecture, parks, tree-lined and upscale new hotels are impressive. For a country with average per capita income of $200/month and the huge wealth disparity between the visitors and locals, the people of Siem Reap strike me as friendly and unaggressive relative to other developing countries I have recently visited.

Cambodia seems to be priced like a 100-yen shop (one-dollar store) - everything for foreigners costs $1 - tuk-tuk rides of widely varying distance, french bakery items, coffee, cards, papers, books, beer, trinkets, internet usage, etc. I neglect to learn the rule that foreigners are supposed to use US dollars and I convert some Japanese yen at the airport into 200,000 Cambodian rial, and immediately found how wildly inconvenient it is to use the local currency. Fortunately I find a New Zealand Bank ATM machine along a dusty street which rather remarkably spit out a stack of US $20 bills.

THE RUN

I had yet to visit the Angkor Wat site prior to arriving for the race in the pre-dawn darkness on Sunday morning. So it was a transcendent experience watching the sun rise over the temple complex as we warmed up. So transcendent that I only realized I left my chip in the van as officials announced that there were 3 minutes to the starting gun. So after a frantic dash to get the chip, I had a bit of adrenaline going at the start and went out in 3:45, a pace which proved too ambitious. In fact I was already fading by the U-turn at 4-kilometers, dropping to 4-minute pace. I probably would have felt OK about this but for the fact the Singapore mates running the opposite direction (Arnaud, Mika, Chuck..) all yelled out comments like "C'mon Jay get up there" "What is the matter with you Jay" "Lets get going Jay - you are supposed to be with the leaders". Wow, I thought America was a competitive place. Apparently Singapore is a much more demanding environment than the relaxed and accepting Namban Rengo culture.

From 7k to the finish I found myself beside a Cambodian teenager running the most erratic pace. We talked and encouraged each other though my command of Khmer language is limited. I managed to look around and admire the course even though I was working pretty hard to maintain 4-minute pace.

PHNOM PENH

I felt compelled to see more of Cambodia than just the heavily-visited town of Siem Reap. so after 4 days in Siem Reap I return home via a boat trip to the capital, Phnom Penh. I found the journey to Phnom Penh the most vivid part of the trip though it is not really designed for lazy travellers like me accustomed to business travel and the polite efficiency of Japan (most grown-up travelers simply fly in and out of Siem Reap and the true backpackers travel by the $4 bus). The biggest challenge is getting off the tuk-tuk and getting on the boat in Siem Reap. I was completely set upon by villagers hawking food for the boat trip, trying to carry my bag for a tip, hook me up with a driver in Phom Penh, etc (this can be a bit threatening when you are by yourself and struggling in the mud with one of those rolling flight attendant bags). I imagine the bus to Bangkok would have been really exhausting. Since the clientele is poorer, maybe there are less vultures? or maybe I would stand out as the best target?

Anyway after that the boat is a relatively comfortable, upscale backpacker experience The boat crosses the remarkably vast Tongle Lake and its colorful floating villages, and then down the Tongle RIver where you get a glimpse of the lifestyle of rural Cambodia. I found it pleasant to alternate between the inside seats and sitting on the deck in the sunshine. At one point the boat engine stopped and we drifted into a mud flats where we surrounded by curious peasant farmers. Five minutes pass, ten minutes pass, and I was growing concerned, but then somehow the crew got us going again. I was braced for Phnom Penh to be such a squalid, threatening, hell-hole, that I was pleasantly surprised when the area fronting the Mekong River turned out to be relatively clean and functioning (even upscale in places). In fact it was comfortable enough to sit outside at the numerous charming sidewalk cafes that line the riverfront -- the merchants seem to pay to keep the wall of beggars a certain distance away -- but once I stood up and start walking down the sidewalk I got besieged again. I did not get the impression there is much to see though beyond the riverfront area and the Killing Field Museum - but then I was not terribly adventurous. Unlike Bangkok there is much less motorized traffic and the air (at least this week) was crystal clear.

After the fun and camaraderie of Angkor Wat, talk turns to the next run-as-an-excuse-to-travel and several people start preparing for (I am not kidding) the Gobi Desert Half-Marathon