J-emine's reflexionando

The temple runs in Siem Reap is breathtaking. In all of its history and glory but after three runs in the sweltering heat, cramming our way around stone-lined pathway with way too many humans and selfie-sticks, it wasn’t long before the white flag was raised.

So one can imagine the thrill on our faces when it was time to embark on our short but eventful ATV escapade. I must say it was the best USD 30 per pax we spent throughout the whole trip.

From the bumpy ride into the village, waving to the toothless grins of the old village folks (and being scolded for taking my hands of the steering), receiving cheery waves from the village kids running after us, almost running the atv into the herd of cows – they get the rights to go first :), witnessing acres and acres of green padi fields, and finally the breathtaking sunset that showered upon us a beautiful dance of blue-red hues as it slowly disappear behind the faraway mountain. It was exhilarating, calming and so much FUN.

The short-stop in the middle of the padi field allowed us to take a minute or so away from each other to soak up the fresh, crisp village air before we went back to taking pictures ( or selfie with the nearby cow – of course I wasn’t the one taking such selfie). As much as I enjoyed experiencing this with the family, it was equally therapeutic to soak my toes in the misty soil and say a little prayer of gratitude and wish that he was there as well.

It was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend for anyone heading to Siem Reap, it gives you a different visual outlook towards Siem Reap’s village life in all of it’ au natural surrounding. For those interested, the tour was conducted by Quad Adventure Cambodia, those with a driver’s license they would do a short test to see if you could ride on your own, and those without you’ll ride with the help of an instructor and if you’re unsure of your own functional driving capacity you can opt for an instructor to sit behind to make sure you don’t drive the atv into the muddy field or into a herd of cows.