DescriptionBike grease, temples, sweat, hills, dirt roads, cycle-short suntans, and pristine Cambodian countryside…all this by human pedal power. Do you have what it takes? This year’s PEPY Ride, our signature cycling tour, is for the true, hardened adventurer. This is our most off-road tour to date, the first of its kind for PEPY, so we are looking for people who are flexible, up for a challenge, and ready to get dusty! Overview Following routes never before tackled in our cycling tours, The PEPY Ride VI, our most adventurous and challenging tour yet, gives participants a rare opportunity to travel to corners of the country rarely visited by tourists. Starting in Siem Reap, home to Cambodia’s most admired temples, we will share the stunning sights of the Angkor Wat temple complex with students from PEPY’s partner schools in Chanleas Dai. Despite living just 65km from the amazing ancient temples, this will be the first time many of these students will have seen this national heritage site. This is a chance for you to learn from them about Cambodia’s education system and current issues facing the country which effect their lives. Leaving behind the hectic hustle and bustle of the tourist center, our off-road adventure will take us north around the top of the immense Tonle Sap Lake, to areas close to the Thai border where illegal migration is rampant. We will meet the PEPY education team to learn about how migrations to Thailand are effecting schools and the development of communities in rural areas as well as have a chance to learn more about the programs our funding is supporting. Our route will take us far west into Cambodia’s remote province of Pailin before looping back to reconnect with the lake and the country’s bustling capital, Phnom Penh. We will end our journey by heading to Cambodia’s beautiful southern coast. This is a very “doable” ride, for those who are willing to do some riding before the trip. Remember, if we are going toreach our massive goal of 1000km, we’ll need to have some big days from time to time periodically covering distances of over 100km per day. As we cycle through the dusty rural roads, we’ll be greeted by smiling faces when we stop for delicious noodles, refreshing sugarcane juice and thirst-quenching coconuts. Along the way we will learn about modern Cambodia by meeting with people in communities throughout the country. We will visit the major cities and delve into recent history at significant landmarks in Phnom Penh, but also enjoy many rural areas where we will cycle past water buffalo, school children and pigs on the back of motorcycles! We will make our way through riverside towns down to Kep and then run straight off our bikes and into the sea in celebration of our phenomenal ride! Throughout the trip, as we hop between cities, participants will have the opportunity to visit some of Cambodia’s many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to learn about the issues inherent in “aid” work. These visits will give great insight into development work and best practices and create an opportunity to reflect upon how this type of work can be both beneficial and detrimental to communities. Our hope is that participants on our tours will become more educated and engaged donors and critical consumers upon return to their home countries. This educational aspect of PEPY Tours is highly valued amongst our past participants. For those die-hard cyclists out there, this 6th year is going to be our most awe-inspiring and invigorating ride yet. If you have what it takes, we look forward to seeing you in December! Responsible TourismMore importantly, you will be able to give back to the projects we visit, both through your funding, and your time. We will focus our tour on learning throughout the trip, from development issues to responsible tourism, often debating the pros and cons of the work that we see as we travel throughout Cambodia. In addition, this trip will offer support to the community of Kompong Sammaki as they explore the development of their community based tourism initiative: mangrove boat tours. Read this post on “Lessons I Learned” about how this project might look. (If you are a professional graphic designer and want to get involved in the management of this project, let us know via our contact us page!
Highlights:
Trip FactsGroup Size: 5-12 people
Grade: Strenuous. The tour includes medium to high level physical activity such as 100+ km cycling days, long treks or the like. Good level of fitness is recommended. Pricing
Tour Price and Fundraising Fee: For trip prices and further information, please contact info@pepytours.com
Inclusions: The trip includes all transportation listed while in Cambodia, bike rental* (for those not bringing their own bike), all overnight stays, all tour and entrance fees for listed attractions, and most meals. We leave a few meals free as there are many choices in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and past participants have enjoyed the chance to find their favorite food!
*PEPY has its own supply of Trek mountain bikes, which are available at no extra charge on a first-come, first-served basis. (All the more reason to sign up early!) Once our bicycles are spoken for, we can arrange rentals for the trip's duration with one of our cycle partners, at a cost of US $200. Cancellation Policy: If five people have not signed up for the trip four weeks before the start date, PEPY staff may cancel the tour and any deposits will be refunded in full (this trip already has 6 people signed up so it's going for sure). If a participant cancels for any reason, their $200 deposit is non-refundable. Refunds will be made for the remainder of the tour fees (excluding deposit and fundraised money) on this schedule: Full - more than 3 weeks before trip’s start 50% - more than 2 weeks before trip’s start 25% - more than 3 days before trip’s start 0% - less than 3 days before trip’s start
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