Quad Biking in Rural Cambodia

On the way

While researching my trip to Cambodia, Quad biking appeared as a top attraction. Without wasting any time, I booked a 21 kms long easy tour via Quad Biking Cambodia priced at $37, a month in advance, as the slots are generally limited.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, one that I highly recommend to anyone visiting Siem Reap. 

I was picked up from my hostel in a quad bike half an hour before my tour was to begin. We zipped through the streets on a lazy Sunday afternoon, as other tourists watched in amazement. The actual tour takes places on the out skirts of the city, about ten minutes away. I was first taught the basics of riding a quad bike, familiarized with its various functions and given safety training. After a test ride with a trainer, I was deemed fit to ride on my own.  After signing a liability waiver form and making payment, off we went!

Wooden houses on stilts amidst paddy fields

I had the quad bike to myself and was following the guide on a bike in front of me. We rode on all kinds of terrain; from dirt tracks to paved roads to going cross country through barren, bumpy fields. As we passed through villages, grazing cows and hens, dried up lotus fields, paddy fields, ponds, canals and lots of smiling Cambodians outside their wooden houses; I got a glimpse into their simple, rural lifestyle.

A family of ducks in a canal

The highlight of the tour was our stop at the breeding pool for red fish. Amidst paddy fields, there was a pond that housed 200 of these orangish-red, wide eyed, hungry fish. It was an incredible sight. My guide asked me to go to the end of a wooden boardwalk and play with the red fish as he took some amazing pictures. I resisted putting my hand in as they would pick at it, much like the live fish massages in town, of which I am not a fan.

Red Fish

As the sun began to set, we rode back cross country through the fields and various dirt tracks. As I was now used to the vehicle, I decided to accelerate, which led to a bumpy, yet fun ride back to base. All in all, it was a memorable and adventurous afternoon, one that I will relish for a long time to come.