Seven Weeks, 9900 km to Thailand, Cambo, Laos from Singapore

[Hand Me the Pliers]

Here are some of my photos from a seven-week 9900 km counterclockwise ride around Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos during February and April. During March the bike was laid up in Bangkok for clutch repair. The bike is a 6th-hand 1998 BMW R1100R with 140,000 km on it.

 

This trip I set goals, met on most days, (1) to finish each day's riding by early afternoon and (2) to rest one day after every two riding days. In this way I avoided riding in the heat of the day, especially in April; I could eat lunch in a good, clean restaurant most days; and if anything went wrong I would have at least six hours of daylight to resolve the problem. It was great not to be under time pressure. There was time for scuba diving and a visit in Siem Reap from my sweetheart who flew up from Singapore.

 

Here is the route (not including the Malaysia-Singapore North-South Expressway). The unanticipated Bangkok-Isaan run was the result of the clutch failure:

 

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Crossing the Chao Phraya in Bangkok. What a nuisance that big bikes can't use the freeway to cross Bangkok!

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The border at Khlong Yai, Thai side:

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And the border at the Cambodia side (Cham Yeam), with a much longer line up. I had to ride from the Cambodia side back to the Thai side and back again because the border crossing where I entered Thailand (Sadao, which I usually find to be fast and efficient) provides only one computer-generated form, the Customs Declaration form, while the Immigration at the Cambodia side at the Khlong Yai border expects two other documents, the TM2 Information of Conveyance and the TM3 Passenger List, with Thai stamps on them. It was easy to get these from the Thai officials at Khlong Yai when exiting the Thai side, but I didn't know so I had cross back to Thailand back to get them ... under the hot sun. Although Cambodia Immigration wanted these forms, Cambodia Customs didn't care! The Cambodia customs official asked me for the papers for the bike. I showed my original printout to him. He asked me for a copy. I said I didn't have one. He said not to worry about it in that case, and to have a pleasant trip! So I entered Cambodia without any motorcycle import papers of any kind, and had no problems leaving the country at O Smach either. Total border crossing time was about an hour:

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Highway from Khlong Yai to Koh Kong:

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Koh Kong:

The Dugout Hotel in Koh Kong. I asked the owner (an Aussie) why the hotel is called the Dugout. He said originally there were two partners who owned the hotel. One of them was named Doug. He was so difficult to deal with that when the second partner bought him out, he renamed the hotel the Dugout because at last Doug was out!

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Notional safety in the Dugout Hotel:

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Water-cooled tuk-tuk. Note white plastic water tank in front of trailer:

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The town must be spoiled for choice from satellite channels:

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The only impressive building in town is the Koh Kong Tax Branch building:

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Cambodia has wonderful people but a serious littering problem:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

Highway from Koh Kong to Sihanoukville:

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Slow down going around blind curves:

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Traders buy retail petrol at stations like these and sell it in small quantities at high markups (often out of booze bottles) along the way:

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Sihanoukville:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

Beggars with missing arms and legs (blown off by UXO) are common in Cambodia:

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Clinic wide open to the sidewalk - good ventilation, but imagine lying there on display:

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This character was very friendly to passers-by:

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Tire repair shop - where to go if you need air, since petrol stations rarely have a functioning air supply:

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Padded panties!

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Highway from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh:

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Phnom Penh:

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You can buy nearly anything on the sidewalks of Phnom Penh:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

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National Museum:

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Eye and lung protection - but pity the spine:

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Phnom Penh traffic:

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Wat Ounalom:

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Yum - snout!

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Russian Market:

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Public Market:

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Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum:

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The Killing Fields at Choeung Ek:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

Close-up of water-cooled Honda. Most of the tuktuks are pulled by these Honda Dreams, to which a water tank and an intravenous drip are added. About two drops per second drip onto the cylinder head to cool it. I have yet to see this ingenious engine-saving device in any other country:

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Happiness Pizza. The diner below looks like he had too much happy in his pizza:

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Highway from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap:

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Mostly good road, but continual random hazards:

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School's out:

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Siem Reap:

Ta Phrom:

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Angkor Wat:

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Banteay Srey:

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Ta Keo:

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Pre Rup:

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Preah Khan:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

Banteay Samre:

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Bayon:

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But just outside the tourist area:

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Highway from Siem Reap to O Smach:

The speed limit seems a little low for the driving conditions:

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O Smach:

Border crossing back to Thailand. Almost no traffic on this route. Efficient, quick, and friendly on both sides. Total border crossing time about 20 minutes:

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The bike was an attention-getter. One man asked me what the bike cost. When I told him about US$5,000, he exclaimed, "You can by a tuktuk for that!"

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The King's choice: Canon G9. These photos were taken with the same camera (G11):

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Surin:

The elephants' graveyard for expats:

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Highway from Surin to Khon Kaen:

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It would be tempting to roll on the throttle, but you can't see what lies beyond the dips:

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Hazards like this:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

Khon Kaen:

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The Pullman, formerly the Sofitel. My hotels cost from $10 to $150, this one being at the higher end.

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A bar in Khon Kaen, between the my hotel and the shopping mall. What a great concept!

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Khon Kaen is also a popular expat retirement destination:

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Nakhon Phanom:

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It seemed a clean and cheerful place:

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Highway from Nakhon Phanom to Bueng Kan

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Breakdown:

Then the clutch broke, fortunately on the Thai side of the Mekong, just 4 km before the ferry. At first I thought it was the clutch cable, and smiled because I carry a spare with me. Then I saw this piece lying on the ground:

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I was still relaxed for awhile because I thought it would be an easy part to replace; I'd just have to wait around in Bueng Kan while I had the part FedExed to me, then I'd install it myself. So I rode the clutchless bike (not easy!) to a hotel in Bueng Kan, checked in, did some internet research to determine the part number, and called the dealers in Singapore and Bangkok. I learned that the part was not available in Thailand or Singapore and would take 7-10 days to arrive at a dealer. The dealer in Bangkok said that this was only the second time that they had ordered this part.

It also turned out that replacement of the part requires the swingarm and shaft drive to be pulled back several inches, which requires a workshop, a large socket wrench, a heat gun, and a torque wrench; these did not seem to be available in Bueng Kan. The part is obscured by the drive train and ordinary tools cannot even reach it. Prior to 1994, replacement of this part (nearly identical on all boxers for over thirty years) could be done with the tools in the tool kit in five minutes; after 2000 the part was eliminated when BMW introduced a hydraulic clutch. Just my luck that this is a 1998 bike!

The nearest airport to Bueng Kan is in Udon Thani, 200km distant. So the safest and cheapest solution was to hire a truck (S$800) to take the bike and me to Bangkok, leave the bike there, and fly home (S$70) until it was ready. The staff at The One hotel in Bueng Kan found a truck for me for the following morning, and were very helpful. The drive to Bangkok took twelve hours, and by evening my driver was popping caffeine (or perhaps Benzedrine) pills. The GPS was essential to guide the driver once we reached the periphery of Bangkok. My driver, who is 60, drove skillfully, and spoke only Thai and Isaan/Lao:

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Lunch with my driver on the way - duck tongues! They are eaten like escargot - just pull the beak open, drag out the tongue with great force, and chew it like a block of rubber. I didn't try one! I ate rice:

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This is a three-wheeled motorcycle near Bangkok, ridden while looking out the hole in the front. Note the driver grooming himself in the rear-view mirror:

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Udon Thani:

I was back on the road about a month later. The bike repair took less than two weeks, but I needed to stay longer in Singapore due to a previous commitment before picking up the bike in Bangkok and resuming the ride.

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Bueng Kan/Pakxan:

The Thai side of the Mekong. I assumed that I'd have to pay a penalty for failing to export the bike within the required time frame, but the customs man didn't care and I was through the Thai side of the border quickly. Like O Smach, there was hardly any traffic at this crossing and the staff were efficient and friendly:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

The ferry to Pakxan.

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It took some clutch smoking to ride the bike from the muddy downward slope up and onto the ferry ramp, as you can see from the truck doing it. The R1100R has only a 17 inch front wheel; it would have been much easier on a BMW GS model with its 19 inch front wheel.

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Pakxan border crossing, Lao side.

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Even though I already had a visa (from Singapore) I had to wait one hour while the staff ate lunch before I could be processed. Then the woman worked hard to generate the import paper for the motorcycle. Total border crossing time, including waiting for the ferry: About four hours:

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Meanwhile her colleagues did nothing; in the room next door the man is playing a computer game and the other woman is watching TV:

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Highway from Pakxan to Vientiane:

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Vientiane:

My hotel (Sengtawan Riverside) on the left, with underground parking:

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The People's Security Museum, into which people are not permitted, perhaps for security reasons. It is closed to the public.

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One of countless wats in Vientiane:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

Nothing moves quickly in Laos:

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The lively night market:

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Everyone is a millionaire in Laos:

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I'm not a foodie (three clean "nourishment intervals" a day are all I need), but I enjoyed the food in this Frenchman's (the man on the left below) Alsace restaurant. This was the first course of a three-course meal costing just a few dollars:

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Highway from Vientiane to Vang Vieng:

Note the Tiger Beer advertisement sponsoring the highway sign:

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Watch out for the dips where the pavement ends, sometimes every few hundred meters. Just when you think the going is good, you have to hit the brakes:

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Lao are a generally cheerful and friendly folk:

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Vang Vieng:

Vang Vieng is so given to tourism it's as though a resort corporation bought the town, added hippie theme park decoration, vendor kiosks, bars, and restaurants all offering the same low-end products and services; evicted all the villagers; and hired them all back as shopkeepers, waitresses, and masseuses to serve all the backpackers. I'll be back!

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Beerlao seems to have a monopoly on signage:

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Appetizers on the menu:

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Highway from Vang Vieng to Phonsavan:

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Morning rush hour:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

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The road to the viewpoint:

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The viewpoint at 1500m. At last, cool temperature!

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These ladies thought I must be a dashing hero for riding alone from Singapore on a motorcycle. They took turns taking their photo next to me. I felt like Goofy at Disneyland, or Brian in "The Life of Brian."

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But these children were less than impressed:

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That's the road down there:

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With some of it stuck here:

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Phonsavan:

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The Nice Hotel, with motorcycle parked behind the gate:

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The rooms are adequate, for one night:

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Plain of Jars, outside:

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And inside:

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Highway from Phonsavan to Luang Prabang:

Highway 7 and parts of Highway 13 are at least as good a ride as the Mae Hong Son loop in north Thailand, and more scenic:

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Every home has its satellite dish:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

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I encountered hardly any rain during the weeks on the road. This was it:

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Flat tire, resolved with the "Stop & Go" tire plugger:

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[Hand Me the Pliers]

Luang Prabang:

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Public market:

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3309/185rni.jpg

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9238/189n.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7916/190fc.jpg

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/4744/192dj.jpg

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/1769/193rq.jpg

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9436/194jb.jpg

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/7794/196sv.jpg

Nearly a week to go to Songkran, and already the water madness is starting:

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/5296/197jc.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4780/198m.jpg

Highway from Luang Prabang to Luang Namtha:

The 70 km from Muang Xai to Ban Ai One was mostly a rocky dirt road because most of the pavement had washed away. It took several hours to cover that distance in first and second gear. After Ban Ai One, the pavement was absolutely perfect - even with a nicely painted dotted line, the first I'd seen in days.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1325/200rl.jpg

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3069/199uo.jpg

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/976/201vp.jpg

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6433/202td.jpg

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/6032/203yp.jpg

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9338/204mj.jpg

Pigs were common and dangerous (if hit) road hazards:

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4480/205sz.jpg

[Hand Me the Pliers]

Even the pigs wouldn't touch these red-hot chillies:

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/5130/206jv.jpg

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/9783/207jw.jpg

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2214/208qi.jpg

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/8618/209f.jpg

Where I turned around:

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/9437/210wi.jpg

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1381/211jy.jpg

Luang Namtha:

Boys practicing their aim for Songkran:

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1488/212em.jpg

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4146/213cq.jpg

The hotel was good value and otherwise clean, but the sheet was yellow on one side and white on the other ... and those wrinkles were there before I sat on the bed.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5859/258nex.jpg

Highway from Luang Namtha to Houei Xai:

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/619/214vj.jpg

All "road kill" I saw on the trip was in Laos. I found Lao drivers courteous and unaggressive, but they must have a drinking or fatigue problem to go "off road" so often.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/7902/215b.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/9950/216qt.jpg

I'm going to miss these highways:

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/9384/217ri.jpg

Houei Xai:

Thailand on the other side:

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/5457/218se.jpg

Climb the stairs to the Temple of Customs ... that really is customs up there.

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6134/219q.jpg

The rear wheels of the truck dropped into the gap between the road and the ferry gate, causing bags of cement to slide off the back of the truck. Another half hour sitting under the hot sun as this was resolved. The truck barely made it off the ferry. Total border crossing time, including waiting for the ferry: four and a half hours:

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/496/220ee.jpg

Phitsanulok:

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/1769/221zea.jpg

Phitsanulok to Kanchanaburi:

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6726/222mf.jpg

The Garmin Southeast Asia map thinks this is a secondary highway:

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9749/223le.jpg

[Hand Me the Pliers]

I thought I'd try a shortcut through Phutoei National Park:

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9498/224sq.jpg

But the road turned to a traffic-free track which got narrower and darker while the gumbo got deeper. 40 km more of this at 5 km/h with only a couple of liters of water on hand did not seem like a smart idea. So I turned around and went the (slightly) longer way.

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/2365/225cx.jpg

That's better!

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/5314/226og.jpg

Kanchanaburi:

The River Kwai:

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/4541/227kd.jpg

The (replacement) bridge over the river Kwai:

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/18/228ov.jpg

The war cemetery, where 7,000 POWs rest, mostly Australian, Dutch, and British.

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3752/229m.jpg

The resort - $50 off-season:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9573/230w.jpg

Kanchanburi to Hua Hin:

This is not a highway; it's a landfill site next to the highway that caught my eye. One man's garbage is another man's photo-op:

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3860/231zex.jpg

Surat Thani to Hat Yai:

Rubber plantation just south of Surat Thani:

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1166/259jw.jpg

Good souvenirs - pity most of them would be illegal to bring in to Singapore:

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/6640/260e.jpg

 

Other than the clutch failure requiring a diversion to Bangkok and the flat tire, requiring replacement in Chiang Mai, I encountered no problems. The petrol reserve light never came on, the bike didn't fall over, and neither did I. I was never stopped by the police nor was I hit up for bribes at border crossings. I used the Garmin SE Asia map for Thailand and the GT Rider Laos map for Laos. For Cambodia I plotted the routes on Google Maps and converted the routes to Garmin tracks (GPX files), which could then be followed using my Garmin Oregon. This worked very well.

 

The final itinerary (hotel nights per city) was:

1 Hat Yai

2 Koh Samui

2 Hua Hin

1 Pattaya

1 Koh Kong

3 Sihanoukville

4 Phnom Penh

6 Siem Reap

1 Surin

2 Khon Kaen

1 Nakhon Phanom

1 Bueng Kan

3 Bangkok

1 Udon Thani

2 Vientiane

1 Vang Vieng

1 Phonsavan

2 Luang Prabang

1 Luang Namtha

1 Chiang Rai

5 Chiang Mai (Songkran)

1 Phitsanulok

1 Kanchanaburi

1 Hua Hin

1 Surat Thani

1 Hat Yai

47 Total Hotel Nights

26 Total Riding Days

 

I'd be happy to answer queries or pass on any other information which may be useful.

[fx]

Hand me the pliers, strange name.. ; )

great trip report, despite the hiccups glad all went well!

hydraulic or otherwise, almost impossible riding clutchless..

 

[pipipapipu]

Wah swee lah!!!

[ticks]

Great adventure!

 

 

Ride safe people!!

[adesmond2]

Hi Bro,

Mind sharing with me a few stuff that you have went through?

 

http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php/364446-SG-gt-MY-gt-TH-gt-Cambodia-gt-Laos

 

Along Thailand -> Cambodia -> Laos

- Guesthouse/Hotel with safe Carpark/Wifi/Aircon

- Petrol kiosk

- Routes (planned by google maps doesn't feels safe/good to me)

- Tips (any tips also can)

- What are the "must do/go" stuff in the places I'll be passing by

- Where are the bike shops located if we really need them?

[geeteethree]

Brilliant report and amazingly motivational trip. Now if I can just get some more time off!

[ThunderKat]

Hats off to you dude. Don't think i'll ever have the balls to have a bike adventure that far alone.

[736cc]

hi mate, thanks for sharing and i enjoy looking at your pix.

[ki113r]

Nice adventure!

[kevng52]

how do you know how much cash to carry and how much of local currency to change or did you use USD all the time? Laundry by yourself? carry any concealed weapon of some sort or just let destiny decide?

[bob123]

No need weapon la