[Ride Report] S4^dreamer & Pplater Laos-Cambodian Tour

Pplater · June 4, 2009

Day 7 - Siem Reap to Kampong Cham

It was one of days when we didn't know where we would spend the night. We knew we were heading along Route 6 to get to the other side of Cambodia, but that was about the whole plan.

A good breakfast at the hotel before we hit the road.

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/SiemReap-ClaremontBfast2.jpg

After Kampong Thum, we were at a split road. We could either continue along Route 6 for 150km, or choose a 50km off road stretch. We elected the shorter route.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1076.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1075.jpg

On these sandy roads we could still ride at 60km/h. On the rocky gravel roads, we were doing 20 or 30km/h. We were lucky those were few and far between, just enough to get a glimpse of off-road riding, but not enough to pose any real challenges. Still, I struggled, and Debbie left me in the dust. She would later say, "High gear, Low revs". I would find riding on rocky roads a lot easier from here on.

There are constant road works along Route 6 and Route 71, and there was a sense of rapid development in Siem Reap town. Cambodia should be popular with tourers in time to come.

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/OffRoad-ZH2.jpg

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/OffRoad-ZH1.jpg

Some toys for the kids

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/Gifts-CambodianKids2.jpg

"Cows are the first class road users"-quote Spectrum.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1074.jpg

We finally encountered bad weather near Kampong Cham. Heavy rains flooded the roads in a crimson tide of mud and rocks. Even the locals ceased riding. The next major town was about 200km away, and we had 2 hours of daylight left. It was time to call it a day early in Kampong Cham, while we still spotted a decent looking hotel and a few places to eat. Dinner was fairly palatable.

A pic I left out. Back in Siem Reap, we were trying to buy the next day's breakfast when we came across this Poppy Seed bread sold at the Caltex station. We wondered if we could get high eating this.

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/SiemReap-PoppySeedB.jpg

Our travel tips

The shorter stretch of Route 71 is passable by all types of bikes in dry weather. Check with the locals at the petrol station just before the split road for updated road info. We encountered more Cambodians who spoke English than Laotions.

Cows were a constant threat in Cambodia, and I mean constant. It was nothing like the scale I encountered in Thailand or Malaysia. The knowledge that the nearest emergency medical trauma centres were very far away was a sombre reminder to keep a steady speed of 100km/h on good roads.

Edited June 4, 2009 by Pplater

NC30 · June 4, 2009

Great report, keep on posting!! :thumb:

s4dreamer · June 4, 2009

My comments on Day 7

These rocky gravel roads was nothing compared to what we were going to face in the days ahead. As for the "high gear, low rev" tip, I got it from watching "Long Way Down" when Ewan kept on dropping his bike on off-road terrain and Charley told Ewan the exact same thing. Let me tell ya... it really works! You will realize that you will have more control over such terrain by doing this.

Yes, I was really happy that I was able to see smiles on these children's faces! At that moment, I realized how fortunate we are as Singaporeans. We have everything.

I must tell you that the floods over there that occurs on a heavy downpour is not to be trifled with. The floods are really high and yes, because of that we had to stay in Kampong Cham. The rain was just too big. And yes, even the locals were ceased riding.

THE COWS!!! Oh my gosh!

Like I said before, I only went to Thailand once prior to this trip. So, I saw NO cows or any sort of animals before.

Now they are at the side of the road chewing grass and suddenly they make the decision of crossing the road! NOOOOOOOOoooooo....

And they are bigger than the bikes... So, that's why I didn't dare to go too fast. Then again, at this stretch... i was going like 100-110km/h... as I wasn't threatened to do hard-braking to avoid hitting them YET...

sino74 · June 4, 2009

for ur riding tour...

Pplater · June 4, 2009

for ur riding tour...

Thanks bro. Its been a long time since our class 2 days at SSDC Long time no see already.

sino74 · June 4, 2009

Thanks bro. Its been a long time since our class 2 days at SSDC Long time no see already.

:cheers:

s4dreamer · June 6, 2009

Day 8 - Kampong Cham to Pakse, Laos

We started the day early and woke up at 6am Thai time and had breakfast in our room in order to save time.

We bought bread along the streets of Kampong Cham when we were strolling around the town on the night before. And also a can of tuna from the petrol kiosk along the way.

This is their local bread...

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/Day8-Breadfast.jpg

After that, we set off from Kampong Cham towards Pakse, the border town of Laos.

We didn't really stop for a break until we saw a eatery cum petrol kiosk. We took the opportunity to stop for petrol as well as to eat. In these sort of places, food is not as accessible as you think it is.

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/Day8-PetrolStation.jpg

It was nothing fancy, but just a simple bowl of noodles...

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/Day8-LocalEatery.jpg

After we had the bikes and our stomachs had a fill, we moved on towards crossing border into Laos.

We passed by the "Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge"! It was sure a nice sight with the Mekong River as a scenery. It was sight to behold!

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1079.jpg

Me crossing the bridge...

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Zhehong crossing the bridge...

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/FriendshipBridge-ZH2.jpg

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/FriendshipBridge-ZH1.jpg

Some snapshots of the Mekong River...

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/MekongRiver1.jpg

As we drew closer and closer to the Checkpoint of Cambodia to exit Cambodia, I was having trouble looking for the checkpoint.

When I saw a group of Caucasian backpackers walking towards the checkpoint, I knew that this is the one! And it's just a barrier... that's all...

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/CambodianCustoms1.jpg

At the Cambodian checkpoint... you guessed it right! We had to pay as we exited Cambodia, since we didn't pay when we entered the country. It sounds like a conspiracy to me though...

Anyway, we paid USD$1 per person to get our passports stamped.

And USD$5 per person to get our bikes out of the country legally.

And the Laos Checkpoint looks like a local residences and it certainly don't look official at all... Gosh! I didn't even think that it is a checkpoint...

It looks so "kampong"!

We paid USD$10 for both of our bikes to enter into Laos. And USD$1 per person to get our passports stamped.

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/LaotianCheckpoint1.jpg

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/LaotianCheckpoint2.jpg

Ah! The moment we enter into Laos, we started looking for gasoline. Lucky for us, it was very near the checkpoint. Just a couple of km after the checkpoint.

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/Laotian-PetrolStop1.jpg

After that, we found a place to rest and retired for the day.

Stay tuned for more updates on the trip!

Edited June 6, 2009 by s4^dreamer

Pplater · June 7, 2009

Day 9 - Pakse to Vientiane

We woke early and left Pakse since it was a rather lifeless town. Its funny how many people, ourselves included, grumble when we go to touristy places; but when we end up in a "not so touristy place", we can't wait to get out of it. In the 24 hours run-up to Pakse, we had been eating poorly. In Pakse, we had an energy bar each for breakfast since we couldn't find any bread or eateries early in the morning. The meals on the road would be equally rough for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, starting the day early did not pay off. Instead of heading North-West towards Vientiane, I made a topo error and led us East towards Vietnam. Well, you know, at least they both start with 'Vie', so it wasn't so bad, right? It wasn't until 80km in the wrong direction, near the Vietnamese border did we turn back. We wasted 3 hours. Bummer.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1104.jpg

So off we went from Pakse again at 10am, eager to recover lost time. We reached one of Lao's RnR and started looking for the 7-11.

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When we couldn't find an RnR later, we pulled over to rest.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1097.jpg

Because of my topo mistake in the morning, we were 150km short of Vientiane at dusk. The last traces of daylight shimmered over the horizon when I pulled us over for some energy bars.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1105.jpg

At least we came across some family selling Vitamilk to go along with it. I also realized energy bars are good backups for rides into Laos and Cambodia. Its harder to come across an eatery in the more desolate stretches. At times it was just Debbie, me and the roads. We didn't see vehicles for long stretches.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1106.jpg

The next 150km would take us 3 hours, going at about 50-60km/h. After recovering from the occasional blinding high beams from oncoming morons, I wondered if the patch of darkness on my right stretching into the forward abyss was water. Yet vertical poles seem to protrude into the ground from the patches. No, it was a gaping hole. A long gap several hundred metres long just beside me, with metal poles stretching down. Between more blinding lights and finding the centre line, I tried not to get my front wheel into the gap. I would flip for sure. Was it the fatigue? Or was it my imagination? What were we doing riding in complete darkness beside a long gaping hole?

No time to think. The tarmac ended. I avoided the largest two pot holes on both sides of me and landed on sand. And later gravel. The single headlight behind me shone forward. We kept going, and that was the last of it. We had made it into Vientiane after 16 hours on the road.

At last, we finally had room service. While tucking in, I had that feeling like I was tucking in after an army outfield exercise. We were tired and hungry. We had not ate well nor slept well. But we were finally eating good stuff on nice white sheets. No more energy bars I'm not sure I'll complain when I next get to a touristy town. I'll take the "touristy" stuff anytime

Edited June 7, 2009 by Pplater

xXxRatedxXx · June 7, 2009

Ahhaha still following... but up to now i still dono... have u all completed the trip or updating as you all go along??? :confused:

Pplater · June 7, 2009

Ahhaha still following... but up to now i still dono... have u all completed the trip or updating as you all go along??? :confused:

came back last week then started writing.

Edited June 7, 2009 by Pplater

antartica · June 8, 2009

wow! excellent stuff guys... wish i could get on the road and just ride... haiz... not so easy when you're settled down and your other half don't really fancy the "rough" life style

well... have to first get my 2A then apply for my "off" pass... hahaha

nice write up guys thanks

xXxRatedxXx · June 8, 2009

wow! excellent stuff guys... wish i could get on the road and just ride... haiz... not so easy when you're settled down and your other half don't really fancy the "rough" life style

well... have to first get my 2A then apply for my "off" pass... hahaha

nice write up guys thanks

no need ah.... go one day trips lor!! hhaha.. last time i also tag team with a family man.. we went in sunday morning... came out sunday night. both also 2B bike... slowly slowly go to mersing.... hahha.

s4dreamer · June 8, 2009

wow! excellent stuff guys... wish i could get on the road and just ride... haiz... not so easy when you're settled down and your other half don't really fancy the "rough" life style

well... have to first get my 2A then apply for my "off" pass... hahaha

nice write up guys thanks

Aiyoh... what "rough" lifestyle! This is nothing compared to those riders who have ridden to Africa. But, nevertheless, it was still "rough" for me...

As for your "off" pass, good luck bro! :cheers: :P

Pplater · June 8, 2009

As for your "off" pass, good luck bro! :cheers: :P

+1 on that

kingfisher · June 8, 2009

Thank you for the ride report, was planning to do a cambodian - laos trip some time in oct this year but looks like I have to postponed it to next year due to other commitments.

geeteethree · June 9, 2009

Just want to add my thanks for the trip report. Love the Laos immigration "booth".

Great job

antartica · June 9, 2009

Aiyoh... what "rough" lifestyle! This is nothing compared to those riders who have ridden to Africa. But, nevertheless, it was still "rough" for me...

As for your "off" pass, good luck bro! :cheers: :P

+1 on that

well for her she dun reali fancy the "uncaged" feeling for too long

short rides still ok... then will say it's hot and dusty and you know the rest... lol

so prolly once i get my 2A would be self exploring or find others to tag along for short trips... after i get my "off pass"... hahaha

xXxRatedxXx · June 9, 2009

well for her she dun reali fancy the "uncaged" feeling for too long
short rides still ok... then will say it's hot and dusty and you know the rest... lol

so prolly once i get my 2A would be self exploring or find others to tag along for short trips... after i get my "off pass"... hahaha

No need ah ant... just go 1 day trips lor... hahha. After i went for mine with one other friend. bitten by touring bug already.

So i guess next for ZH and Deb shall be ENDURO series of races!!! HAHAHA!!! But that one need tens of thousands of dollars in bike and equipment to enter ENDURO.

s4dreamer · June 9, 2009

well for her she dun reali fancy the "uncaged" feeling for too long
short rides still ok... then will say it's hot and dusty and you know the rest... lol

so prolly once i get my 2A would be self exploring or find others to tag along for short trips... after i get my "off pass"... hahaha

hehe... short trips are always a good start!

Hot, dusty, dirty, hungry, etc... are sometimes "sadly"... part and parcel of touring...

You are really hilarious! "Off pass"!!! Got stamp or not?

Pplater · June 9, 2009

So i guess next for ZH and Deb shall be ENDURO series of races!!! HAHAHA!!! But that one need tens of thousands of dollars in bike and equipment to enter ENDURO.

o_Oo_O me no lacer lah. you never see the p-plate on my avartar pic meh?

Geethethree & Kingfisher - You're welcome. Cheers

Edited June 9, 2009 by Pplater

antartica · June 10, 2009

No need ah ant... just go 1 day trips lor... hahha. After i went for mine with one other friend. bitten by touring bug already.

So i guess next for ZH and Deb shall be ENDURO series of races!!! HAHAHA!!! But that one need tens of thousands of dollars in bike and equipment to enter ENDURO.

can try that bro

hehe... short trips are always a good start!

Hot, dusty, dirty, hungry, etc... are sometimes "sadly"... part and parcel of touring...

You are really hilarious! "Off pass"!!! Got stamp or not?

well... that's something most of us who have "chiong sua" are used to, but unfortunately for the majority of the regular Singaporean female that's something that is unecessary... told her that i'd like to just take the weekend with her on a ride to KL and she can tell me that i can ride on my own and she'll meet me there taking a bus... HAHAHA

off pass.... er... lemme go look for my old ones and see if she'd sign them? LOLz

waiting for the next exciting installment of the trip report

strada · June 10, 2009

No offence, your 2nd day nite ride of 3 hrs is not something I would encourage to aspiring young riding enthusiast heading towards Cambodia, an option is to stay for another day or to bung into a guest house a;long the way to avoid the nite ride.

Rgds

s4dreamer · June 10, 2009

No offence, your 2nd day nite ride of 3 hrs is not something I would encourage to aspiring young riding enthusiast heading towards Cambodia, an option is to stay for another day or to bung into a guest house a;long the way to avoid the nite ride.

Rgds

Yes, it's definitely not encouraged. But, the thing was that there was NO guesthouse or any of that sort for you to stay over. Don't expect Cambodia to be like Thailand where there's always place for you to stay... Sometimes even finding food can be a problem, let alone a place to stay...

Edited June 10, 2009 by s4^dreamer

Pplater · June 10, 2009

No offence, your 2nd day nite ride of 3 hrs is not something I would encourage to aspiring young riding enthusiast heading towards Cambodia, an option is to stay for another day or to bung into a guest house a;long the way to avoid the nite ride.

Rgds

Agreed too. We try to avoid night rides as well.

If you're refering to that 3 hours or 150km towards Vientiane from Pakse, we were hell-bent on getting to Laos even if we did see any guesthouses. We did not want to stay another night in a sub-standard guesthouse with cold shower, hot air cons, flooding toilets, mosquitos, flies, and eat energy bars

If you're refering to the 3 hours night ride towards Hua Hin, I believe all aspiring tourers have to start their night touring somewhere. Its an idealistic rule for all of us to try to stick to. I'm sure you also know its often ignored out of choice in small groups, and sometimes due to the lack of choice when following big groups.

Edited June 10, 2009 by Pplater

s4dreamer · June 10, 2009

Day 10 - Vientiane, Laos

Finally there is another rest day in the schedule!

We decided to stay in Vientiane to explore the city! As we walked around the city, we discovered a lot of bike rental shops that rent out bikes!

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/Vientiane-bikesforrent.jpg

However, it's quite pricey. It's for about USD$30 for 1 day.

We also walked around the Vientiane Morning Market.

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/VientianeMorningMarket.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1109.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1112.jpg

After that, we had a hearty lunch at a hotel that we chanced upon along the way as we were having our leisurely walk. It's only about USD$10 per pax! Can you believe it??

Wow! What a spread!

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1118.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x215/czh2002sg/IMG_1119.jpg

What's different is the presence of the Patuxai, The Victory Gate! It looks so magnificent!

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/s4dreamer/Laos%20n%20Cambodia%20Trip%2011%20to%2028%20May%202009/Vientiane-Patuxai.jpg

Stay tuned for more updates of the trip!

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[Ride Report] S4^dreamer & Pplater Laos-Cambodian Tour

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