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20 NOVEMBER 2013 - BATTAMBANG TO KAMPONG CHHNANG: 138KM

For the first time in six days the crew awoke to the sounds of silence -- and not a cowpat in sight!  The lovely Maisons Wat Kor offered a peaceful night’s sleep in an oasis of calm and serenity, a much needed respite for all.  Determined to meet his minimum commitment of swimming, running and cycling a total of 675km, Sam decided to make up for lost time the previous two days by covering a total distance of 138km in one day.  So today was about pounding the tarmac -- cycling and running the highway in scorching temperatures that hit over 90 degrees by midday.

Not losing sight of the bigger picture, Sam swapped his usual orange T-shirt for a purple one bearing the slogan 'Stop Human Trafficking Before It Starts’, a sobering reminder that there are an estimated 29.8 million people in modern slavery today. (Global Slavery Index, UN Gift, 2013).

En route out of town, urban life rumbled by as Sam resolutely ran and cycled at intervals.  Honking trucks and tooting motorcyclists whizzed past, along with giggling school children on over-sized bikes and chattering women selling their wares from bicycle stalls.  Traditional brick-making kilns sat roadside next to cell towers, along with

rice factories, technology companies and water buffaloes grazing in roadside paddies.  All of this while a man in a purple T-shirt simultaneously swerved and greeted Cambodian life as it happens on the road.

The road was literally rough today and the coarse pavement caused Sam to tear through four bicycle tubes and two tires. This made repair stops mandatory and dictated that Sam run during the hot midday hours.  One of the crew cars peeled off and stopped to investigate repair options. New tire supplies were on their way from Phnom Penh but an intermediary solution was necessary in order to make sure Sam could put mileage on without interruption.

What to do? Anyone who has the pleasure of spending time in South East Asia can attest to the brilliant ingenuity that can emerge from the most unassuming of repair shops, and minutes after our car arrived at a tiny roadside tire stall we had assessment and action.  One of our damaged tubes was stretched, submerged and fixed in a matter of minutes to the tune of $1 in repair costs.

During one of Sam's pitstops he formed a particularly poignant connection with a shop owner's family.  Struck by the dignity and apparent closeness of the three generations of women, from the 75 year-old grandmother to her five-year old granddaughter, Sam was reminded of the

importance for girls especially to receive the support and guidance of their elders in a country where so many young people are at risk of trafficking.

Sam powered on well into the night, finishing the day by running a total of 21km and cycling 117km.  After more than 18 hours on the road, the team tented in the sprawling Wat Thommanon Whan pagoda in Kampong Chhnang.

Donate to support Sam, Sala Bai and the fight against human trafficking.

Watch 'A Step Between', a short documentary film that chronicles Sam's 2012 Cross-Cambodia Journey through the voice of one courageous human trafficking survivor.

And learn how Sala Bai empowers Cambodia's most impoverished young women to obtain employment in Siem Reap's growing hospitality industry in 'Khatna's Journey: A Sala Bai Story'.

- Meghan Shea and Gaynor Fitzgibbon

*In the Khmer language, the term barang has also come to mean a foreigner, particularly one of European ancestry.