4D's BIG RIDE

Well it was going to be lunch for one at a favourite little street stall, but ended up being lunch for four. These three kid were going through the rubbish looking for lunch so I invited them to join me for lunch. Paid in full with some big smiles when they figured out what was happening.

Have always made a point of giving out some cash every day, but I prefer to buy food for the street kids and see them enjoy a good feed and perhaps a smile or two. Wish I could do more.

The owner, chef and waiter hard at work



Looks very tasty



My guests were a bit unsure at first, but everyone was smiling in the end

Still find myself enjoying Phnom Penh.

Always seeing something different every time I head off for a walk around the streets. No particular area or location in mind, just put one foot in front of the other and see where it takes me.

Maybe a bit of BBQ duck for lunch??



Perhaps some Dragon fruit



Working at the market can be exhausting



Driving a Tut Tut must be hard as well



Wondered were the ice for my drink was coming from



Nothing goes to waste



If I need any work done on the bike this looks like the area to visit





Went it rains it really rains







The Yellow Monster safe and dry under its cover at the Hotel

Some of the old building are fantastic



The old then the new





Temple and the time



Nice park in the centre of PP



View down the avenue



Don't fancy being a linesman around here







TRAFIC





Stumbled on this, bit like volley ball......but not



More freshly crushed ice....they must know I am coming



Lots of poverty, but still can buy a Rolls Royce if you so desire

Well it's been nice just chilling out in Phnom Penh. I think I needed a break from travel as it can get a little too much at times.

Now my thoughts have now returned to the road and I will blow this town tomorrow.

The plan



So hopefully I will be updating this adventure from the road tomorrow.

Would like to say this was an amazing ride through interesting landscape on a cool day.......but that was not to be.

Hot ride though a river delta plain with almost no elevation and mainly flat and featureless rice growing country.

Only real excitement was provided by the traffic doing its best to kill me by taking all of my lane, changing lanes over the top of me, failing to give way and the heart stopper uturn in front if me. That required ABS and I suspect a little bit of staining on my underwear.

Highlight of the day.....lunch



My home for the next two nights. Very comfortable for $15



Markets





Love rambutans



The local biker bar

Great posts Pete. We will be in Phnom Penh in two weeks if you need anything unavailable over there..


Sent from my Lumia 710 using Tapatalk

Staying the day in Battambang, so it was time to explore the area.

Went out to the Bamboo Railway and managed to find what must be the only hill of any size in the area. Great place to get a view over the countryside.

Unfortunately the rains arrived and sort of curtailed riding, but all and all a nice little day.

My ride for the Bamboo Railway and a Policeman to look after the Yellow Monster. Well sort of...I could see him getting on her and posing for photos before we even left the station.

Nice ride through the countryside, but mainly just rice paddies and the compulsory tourist trap at the end. I don't think I am their target audience as if I can't eat it, drink it or have it replace something I am throwing out.....I am not buying.





And when two trains meet guess what happens



That right, get off and dismantle the train....easy



Then you get to rebuild it and then repeat it every time you meet another train. Think we did it about ten times.





After finding the hill, I rode to the top to capture the view. At least now I know why the ride was a bit boring yesterday....in one word FLAT









As always at the top of the BIG hill there is a temple and a parking space for the Yellow Monster



A few temple shots





Every temple need monkeys of course....this one does not disappoint



The way down





What every temple needs. A bloody big gun



The view from the plain looking up to the hill



Could not resist taking a photo of this truck. Owner offered to swop it for my bike, don't think so

Thanks for the offer, but I have been in Cambodia nearly 60 days now and my extended visa is about to expire. Will enter Thailand tomorrow and the adventure continues.

Cheers,

The plan was to leave Cambodia and move onto Thailand.

Started well with a lazy breakfast and then it was time to hit the road as it's only a bit over a 100 km to the boarder.



Then it was goodbye Cambodia. Customs done in about 5 minutes and did not even look at the bike at all. Passport stamped and processed in about 10 minutes.....perfect.

See you Cambodia. I will be back for sure.



All I had to do then was get about another 150 metres west and into Thailand



Should be easy, but 4 hours later and I was left with a very sour taste in my mouth. First up was getting my passport stamped. So it's upstairs for processing of foreign passports. Large room, bloody hot, 250 people already in the line and three immigration staff. Two hours later I finally get the stamp I need.

Now it's time to get the paperwork for the Yellow Monster completed. Should be easy. Like hell....you are in Thailand now. After requiring my Carnet De Passage at two previous boarders they refused to process it and would only give me the Thai paperwork. I have been caught with this before as the norm is only for 30 days. Pointed out that I have a 60 day visa, but they will not change the paperwork from 30 days. Back and forth, but the won't do anything. Honestly the Thai boarder is nuts, it just make no common sense at all.

Result is going to be a big fuck you to Thailand and I will again change my plans to spend less time in Thailand and more time in anywhere that is not Thailand. There loss for complete lack of common sense.

At least the sight of of a 7 Eleven, brought a smile to my face. Everything you could possibly need, icy cold drinks, free ice and toasted sandwiches.

Bit of a boring ride into Bangkok with the last 70 km taking nearly 2 hours.

Tried to jump onto the toll roads,but kicked off both times.

Grabbed a hotel for the next couple of nights in China Town and will start working up a new plan of attack for the next couple of months.

Bright sunny morning and all packed for the road ahead



70km from Bangkok and the traffic is at a standstill in both directions.





The Toll roads look inviting, but no bikes allowed (bastards) so as close as I can get is to ride in the shade under it



Found a reasonable hotel in Chinatown. Not exactly nightclub central, but when it come to food options this is the place to be



All you need to do is walk the streets here and enjoy the flavours, smells and noises of this vibrant area

I moved hotel today to the Marvin Suites. Much, much better, great rooms, new, clean, good staff and even undercover secure parking for the Yellow Monster.

Wanted to do a bit of shopping to replace a couple of things, a mount for my GoPro and my wristwatch which I lost on the road in Cambodia. No big loss as I am not into expensive watches and managed to replace it for about $80.

Decided to take the BTS (elevated train) to the main shopping area. It's bloody massive with everything you could want and a lot more you wouldn't. Even have a luxury mall filled with only top end luxury brands. Lots of handbags, shoes, perfume and pearls for the girls, but more importantly Ducati, Lotus, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin and alike for us boys.

My old hotel....bit of a dump



Local street food, bloody good chicken



Local temple, very lavish



Some pretty amazing buildings



[/IMG]

Frying in oil, it just makes everything taste good



Waiting for the BTS



Got to love this mall. Looking over the Lotus's to the Rolls Royce display

Ducati....but of course



Let's not forget Lamborghini



Amazing shopping precinct







Take the train and avoid this bloody mess

Eyup mate!!!
1st off gonna start with some posting advise, downsize your photos coz it makes the write up go off the laptop page & fall onto the couch!!!!
I see that you're prolly around the Sukhomvik Rd area (reputedly the longest road in the World!).....now, you may hear that Chiang mai is worth a visit, well, in a way it is, (stay at the Eco Hotel if you do go though, fekin little paradise of an oasis in a smog infested city)
My advise would be to head south for the beach areas, they're totally "get away from it all" places, cities are crap & full of fkin' tourists, (says Mr Tourist himself!)
Here's what you can expect if you head south, (taken last year on my visit)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C9eTismco0

Bangkok traffic is manic and the Bangkok Transit System is so good that taking the bike out in this town is just a little crazy.

So my expedition today was without the Yellow Monster.

The Yellow Monster parked up safe and sound for the moment



Took the BTS to the river and then a ferry to the other side





At least I know the pork is fresh



Do this even understand the requirements for working at heights.





New truck and platform, but still the Bamboo ladder



Kids out for and expedition



If you believe in a God can you please point out which one.....choose carefully as you would not want to get it wrong



After wandering down the river at the suggestion of a local I snuck into a five star hotel and hitched a free ride on their riverboat





Check out the size of tugboat towing there huge barge. Bit like powering a Mack truck with a 100cc engine





Spotted this and could not resist a photo....there is a lot going on in this shot



This view as well

So you like "artistic" views of elevators eh????
Here's another one from my trip to Bangkok.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK9w0x1R030

Also, IF you do venture up to Chiang Mai (which l don't recommend!)
here's a video of the Eco Resort there...............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GMKzZsARfA

Jumped onto a river ferry this morning to head up river. $5 to travel on the ferries all day



Onward to Chinatown as I had a hankering for some Yum Char



Bit of a wander through the street stalls





Was going to visit the Palace, but closed to all non Thais for some ceremony. At least I got to see the Honour Guard





Some great old Colonial building and of course lots of traffic



Never a shortage of temples



Luxury river accommodation.....shall I make you a booking



Could alway book in here, but it looks like it could slide into the river at any moment





Not sure if this building has never been completed or is under renovation

Sorry for not posting over the past few days, but my sinuses are so blocked it feels like I have a broken nose. Could be worse though, I could have contracted the Man Flu.

Although this is not a selfie I am sure I don't look as well as this



Going too lay low and probably depart Bangkok for Cambodia on Friday.

Have finally departed Bangkok and heading for Cambodia.

Firstly I would like to pause and reflect on the hundreds of people murdered over the skies of the Ukraine today.

I can only hope that the callous bastards who lunched a missile at a commercial airliner are brought to justice.

However this does not bring back even one of the victims and my thoughts are with their family and friends.

**********************************************

Almost don't feel like I should not be celebrating or enjoying this day in any way, shape or form. So I am going to just post a few photos and leave it at that.

Sometimes I think my GPS has a sense of humour considering some of the roads it sends me down



Had to take this photo for a couple of electrician mates. How do you make sense of this?



Bangkok traffic.....how I won't miss you





Even as the clouds darkened I managed to make it to my hotel without getting wet.



Only just though



Bucketing down now

Overnighted in Siem Reap and hit the road this morning with Phnom Penh at my target for the day. Only about 320km, but I knew from experience that it would be around five hours in the saddle as 60km an hour average is about all you can expect.

Couple of little videos from the day.

Leaving Siem Reap this morning. 8:30am on a Sunday morning and the traffic is pretty light and well behaved (by Cambodian standards).

http://youtu.be/3B_5ZyKnG2Y

If you like mud, Cambodia may be the place for you. This is the mail road from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.

http://youtu.be/l7CyM5ElWIs

Back in Phnom Penh and getting my expedition to Vietnam organised.

Was planning to do this from Thailand, but even though I get a 60 day visa they will only give my bike 30 days. So as a result I am back in Cambodia and will only return to Thailand to organise shipping one the bike to Nepal. Just means I will spend my money here and not in Thailand, but in a way I prefer Cambodia to Thailand anyway. Just that little slower, relaxing and not so touristy.

Away I have been running around booking a 12 day ride in Vietnam, booking flights and organising visas for both Vietnam and Thailand. Few thing yet to sort out including sorting out what I need to take to Vietnam, what to store at the hotel and getting my bike to a mates place for storage while in Vietnam.

Really looking forward to Vietnam and a guided tour out of Hanoi covering the North for 12 days. Looks spectacular, bit more than my budgeted spend per day, but I am still well under budget after 7 months on the road so I am not worried.

Just two photos for this post.

Never seems to amaze me just how the Phnom Penh traffic works, but it just does



Another little safety moment. Welding in the road with cars whipping by, but wearing the safety thongs and sunnies

Hi Pete. We arrived in Phnom Penh today but don't pick up our bikes till Friday. Would be good to catch up if you have some spare time.

Cheers

Dave


Sent from my Lumia 710 using Tapatalk