The Hungry Cyclist - Pedalling The Mekong For The Perfect Meal

Dust and Trucks in Cambodia. Video Post

Water buffalo, bicycles the occasional cart and perhpas a 4x4. One of the joys of cycling in South East Asia is the comparative lack of traffic once you get away from the main roads. But, as Cambodia and Laos start to develop this changes. Find yourself cycling on a road that connects a growing industry or newly discovered natural resource you are sharing the road with vast trucks that drag behind them a world of dust and noise. As a tourist I only have to put up with being coated in red earth for a few days, but for the people who live on these once quite tracks I can only imagine how hard life must have become.

Following The Mekong Discovery Trail - Video Post

While following the Mekong river in Cambodia I was lucky enough to stumble onto the Mekong Discovery Trail. After 30 years of war and civil unrest and the resulting poverty one of the priorities of the Cambodian Government is to improve the living standards of people in rural areas, who are some of the poorest people in the world and sustainable tourism provides a great oppertunity for the people of Cambodia and her wildlife.

The Mekong Discovery Trail provides a development opportunity through sustainable community-based ecotourism. Following the Mekong from the town of Kratie to Cambodia's border with Loas, the Mekong Discovery Trail takes you off the beaten track providing a perfect insight into Mekong river life and some pretty hairy cycling too! This short video will give you an idea of what some of the trails more wild sections can be cycled.

• For more information about The Mekong Discovery Trail click here
• Photos from cycling in Cambodia
• Recipes from Cambodia

Giant Mekong Catfish

Having just written a post about the joys of cycle touring and fishing and which rod to pack when on the road, I am now having second thoughts about wetting my line in the muddy waters of the Mekong. The picture below will explain why.

The size and length of the Mekong mean it's an incredibly fertile breeding and growing ground for all sorts of fish but the Giant Mekong Catfish is the daddy of them all.

One of the largest freshwater fish species in the world the Mekong's giant catfish are only found in the Mekong river and its tributaries in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Local fishermen have previously caught specimens weighing over 300kg and more than 3m in length and reports tell us that over a century ago, the Mekong giant catfish could be found the entire length of the river from Vietnam to southern China and were abundant.

However threatened by overfishing and loss of habitat and spawning sites, due to changes to the river, including pollution, dam construction, canalization of river banks, port construction and the blasting of rapids, the Giant Catfish is now in decline. Industrial changes are killing off these majestic fish but the knock on effect is also having a direct effect on those who live on the Mekong.

Rivers have played an important and life-sustaining role in human societies for thousands of years, which is why many of the world's great cities sit on the bank of a great river. We use them as a source of water, for transport, for recreation, as a source of power to drive machinery, and as a means of disposing of waste. And of course we use them as a source of food.

Rivers continue to be an important source of food for societies around the world. Apart from being a rich source of fish, rivers indirectly aid in cultivation with its supply of water for the crops.

Catfish have been eaten for centuries on the Mekong and although scarce today are still cooked in many riverside homes in Southern Vietnam. Traditionally filleted and cooked in clay pots I certainly hope to try this giant of the river but also plan to research what can be done to help reinstate this magnificent fish.

Gone Fishing - Fishing and Cycle Touring

"Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration." - Izaac Walton

One of the questions I am asked most often by friends or when public speaking is what luxuries do I allow myself to take when I am cycle touring. Weight on a bicycle is imperative, life on the road can be hard and lonely, and with little to no space left in the panniers once you have stuffed them with clothes, tools, tents and food what luxuries you take must be small and worth the extra effort.

One of the joys of cycle touring is being able to trim my life down to a few bare essential, but I also appreciate a little luxury once in a while and anything that helps me while away those long lonely hours and helps me enjoy my own company gets my vote.

A small radio, watercolor set, herbs and spices, a good camera and MP3 player always come with me now and for this trip up the Mekong it seemed only right to invest in one more treat. A fishing rod. A keen fisherman as a youngster until now my bicycles and fishing rods have not gone together well, but after some intensive web research I have found the solution to cycle touring and fishing.

The Shimano Exage AX STC Mini Tele spinning rod is the perfect cycle touring fishing rod. Well built, light-weight and packing down to a tiny 30cm (that's school ruler small) , it stows away in its own tough case ready for a bumpy ride on the back of the bike. 

Along with my tiny Shakespeare reel and a simple box of lures, hooks, floats and jigs I hope to be joining locals on the river banks, enjoying quite evenings watching the sun go down behind the Mekong and fishing. And if all goes to plan and I'll catch some Mekong fish, cook them up and share the recipes here with you. 

• Read more posts about planning a cycling trip