Another exotic Asian destination for motorbiking – or any travel for that matter. You need to get there NOW, as the country is developing fast. You will be well received and people are kind and will look after you!
How about joining us for the tour around the east Cambodia, east of lake Tonle Sap. There is an earlier video about the west, when we did it like the locals do on a scooter.
This is a “homevideo” for the three of us who were there but if you would like to know what the trip was like and/or are planning anything similar, please enjoy watching the film!
After my solo adventure in Northern Thailand, it was time to join a couple of friends for a ride in eastern Cambodia. Just last year I did the west side of the Tonle Sap Lake “Like the locals do” and now it was time for the eastern side.
For this ride we were now three guys starting from Rayong in Thailand. It is always nice to ride solo but it is also great to ride with good company.
Our starting point will be Rayong by the Siam bay, just under 200 km south-east from Bangkok. The distance from Rayong to Khlong Yai Border checkpoint / Koh Kong in Cambodia is some 260 km. To get to our starting point in Rayong, I flew from Chiang Mai to Suvarnabhumi airport, where I met one of my buddies, Petri, whose plane from Finland landed roughly the same time as mine from Chiang Mai. From the airport we continued by taxi to Rayong to meet the third adventurer, Severi, at his condo.
Things started to look interesting when we decided that I would ride Severi’s spare bike, a Yamaha FZ1 1000 cc. To me FZ1 is a really feisty, high revving plastic bullet. This is a bike I would deem not suitable for the expected circumstances in Cambodia at all! I was thinking more like CRF 300 would be better there. My mind was more in Myanmar and Laos jungle roads and previous year’s Cambodian slippery dirt roads. The bike had also been standing for a good number of covid-years years and we were not sure how it would perform on the road again.
If I were to end up on the red clay roads in the rain with the FZ1, the prospects were daunting. We had no idea what the roads would be like and the plan was to ride along the infamous Death road in the east. Severi knew the old roads well form the past, but those memories were about a decade ago, and as we all know, Asia is developing at warp-speed! The development in Cambodia is so fast that it is virtually futile asking anyone about the conditions unless they have actually been on the road within the last month.
The plan was to take two bikes across to Cambodia and to hire a third bike from Phnom Penh. Severi had a Honda 500x and I had Petri on the pillion to start with on the FZ1.
The roads in Cambodia are improving at warp-speed. If you stay on the western side of the lake Tonle Sap, the road north from PP to Bat Dambang is new and four lanes wide. My understanding is that it is good all the way to Siem Reab, although did not ride the final bit to Siem Reab. From Bat Dambang to Pailin border crossing also a good, albeit a smaller road.
Ended up on a dirt road on the way south from Bat Dambang towards Koh Kong, which was being repaired and new bridges being built. I assume even this the road is also good by now.
The road PP – Preah Vihear – Ban Bung – Banlung – Senmonorom is in good condition with very little road works going on. Some small stretches mainly down from Banlung with well manageable very short gravel sections. No deep loose gravel or sand.
From Senmonorom to Neak Loeung (Magnificent Tsubasa bridge!), roads 7, 8, 11. Good roads with little roadworks, some minor on rd 8. And monkeys 🙊 on the roadside. No worries riding these roads.
The roads were surprisingly good virtually everywhere with the notable exception – the really bad roads are in the south, closer to Kep and towards Kampot and Sihanoukville and Koh Kong. These roads are under repair and they may by now be really good.
Or not!
This “mountain” is only about 1100 meters high but a key landmark in Kampot Cambodia. Many remember the road leading to the top as a difficult and rocky dirt road taking a day or even two to ride up. Today it is all tarmac and a leisurely ride on a winding road, filled with tourists, many of which are youngsters on their scooters.
If you wonder what the road is like today, the video is a speedy run through from the main road 3 to the Buddha statue on top.
The structures on the top are eery and in varying condition, hotels, churches, wats, guard posts, resorts, casino, even a former Kings summer residence the Black Palace, etc.
They have been rebuilt a number of times and the seem to have fallen apart equally many times. But that is a completely different story, perhaps in another post. In any case, apart from the ride and the view and the monkeys, they are a good reason to go up and to see for yourself!
Scootering the Cambodian CoutrysideIt is a few years since I was last time in Cambodia. During my previous visit, I did all the main tourist sites in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Now this time I wanted to venture a bit closer to the regular Cambodian and tour the countryside.
My verdict on the scooter I had for this ride, can be found at the end of this post!
I took this trip without much preparations, as my idea was just to “go for a ride”. Now after Covid-19, it turned out that many bike rentals no longer existed and getting a decent off-road bike was not as easy as before.
Somehow, I thought that it would be a nice idea to do my tour on a scooter “like the locals do”. Bike rentals in Phnom Penh were not very eager to rent a bike for taking it outside PP but I found Victory motorcycle rental (nothing to do with Victory motorcycles!), who were happy to give me a bike – a scooter rather.
Furthermore, I had crossed roads with my old friend Arto, who was touring Asia and had some time available and was keen join me for the ride. Great, now we were two on the road! As a seasoned traveler he was not too bothered with my lack of plans and was happy to go with the flow, deciding next steps based on what we would find ahead.
First thing one notices, as without exception anywhere in Asia, is the rapid development mainly in the cities and key artery roads. This is the case really everywhere, but obviously in a different scale outside the main cities and growth centres.
Heading north, out of Phnom Penh, the new dual lane highway was being finalized. Driving to Battambang (presumably further to Siem Reap as well) will be very quick in the near future. Even now it was quick with only some unfathomable sections where traffic was guided from one side of the road to the other, at times without any visible reason. The obvious outcome was that all vehicles rode on both sides to both directions. Motorbikes usually picking the side with less cars and trucks. Locals also saw the opportunity to dry rice on the closed sun bathing sections of the road.
Our first destination was Kampong Chhnang with the idea of crossing the rivers and to ride the east side of Tonle Sap -lake. That turned out impossible just now – or rather – possible only around February when the marsh and wetlands dry on the other side. Now we would not be able to ride there. Continue reading Cambodia Like The Locals Do – On A Scooter!
This video was filmed in November 2022 in western Cambodia. Phnom Penh – Battambang – Kampot. Some new dual highway and some red, soapy mud! Incredients for a great ride!
