The Angkor Wat Bike Trip

This year the famous migration to Angkor Wat from Phnom Penh happened in the middle of March. Eighty students and thirteen chaperones traveled to Siem Reap to ride bikes around the Angkor Wat temples.

This is my 6th year organizing the trip with the PE team and I feel since most of us have done it now for at least 3 or 4 years, it just gets easier every time. It has changed over the years from its previous way of being when it used to be a “bike race” organized by Bike4kids.com and the run as part of the annual “Angkor Wat International Half Marathon”

As I said to our whole team, “It takes a village” and it really does.

The positive attitude of students and teachers since the beginning of the trip really help to make this experience a positive one for all.

Students cycled in the early morning on Saturday around the Angkor Thom complex.

Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ [ʔɑŋkɔː tʰom]; meaning “Great City”), was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer Empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII.^[1]^{: 378–382}^[2]^: 170 It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the center of the city is Jayavarman’s state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around Victory Square immediately to the north. The site is one of the major tourist attractions of southeast Asia.

The bike ride is beautiful. We go over the rampart wall entering the complex by the south gate of Angkor Thom, a very famous spot within Angkor Archeological Park. Admiring the sheer scale, we find ourselves drifting back in time to imagine how it must have felt to approach this spectacular city in its prosperity times is an experience all of us will hold forever.

This year we had 80 kids and divided them into 5 biking groups by skill level with 2, 3, or 4 chaperones, depending on their level and needs.

The route is beautiful, a bit challenging for some, and easier for others, like everything else in life.

I’m glad my son got to experience this opportunity while living in Cambodia and ride bikes, swim in the pool or play games, and walk around the Angkor Wat temples with his friends.