The Long Way Drowned 4 – Cambodia 2012

[gavo]

I liked battambang but then i was there with the Mrs

[DesertSweeper]

Originally Posted by WHYNOWTHEN

Hooray!
The baboons didn't eat you.

They tried but my scrawny chassis provided no meat so they abandoned me to the drizzle and mud...

Originally Posted by davesupreme

don't speak the 'ozzie' that well, but you all "look like my kinda blokes"..... and to hell w/the poncy hairdressers that run this place, i wanna see the good pics..

The full unedited blog will be posted elsewhere, link will be supplied when wrapped up...not for the faint hearted mind you

Originally Posted by gavo

I liked battambang but then i was there with the Mrs

Unless your preference is for strange semi-naked men I strongly suggest taking the wife to Battambang...see post below...

[DesertSweeper]

The Sandy Helmets MC attracts the oddest array of wierdo’s much like flies to crap. Our departure is christened with this fine specimen of local talent who is stark bollock naked from the waist down. He takes a particular shine to Joe and John inviting them to sit with him and share his happiness...





Come sit here little biker boys

Not 5 minutes after hitting the dirt Noel's bike pops something and oil pisses out all over his leg. Paul and John have already disappeared off into the Cambodian countryside ahead so we all park under the shade and do what we do best...drink beer...which Brian locates from a nearby roadside "pub". One of the many beauties of South East Asia is that there is a source of beer within 100 yards of anywhere. This makes for a relaxed muscle-fatigue-free experience.



Brian and Owen in a rare moment drinking beer

It turns out the camchain has had a wobble and shat itself.



What’s left of Noel’s camchain...nothing...


So we sit around in a gas filling station waiting for nothing to happen while imbibing a morning refreshment. The fuel here comes in different colours to signify octane rating.

[DesertSweeper]

Paul gives our backup mechanic’s bike to Noel eventually so we are off again. We blast off through the glorious Cambodian countryside stopping every now and then for a quick break and a laugh.


So far so good, easy going


My shirt IS different to all of yours so there


This man owns the place where we stop to drink beer


His children


His pork curing in the sun

Before long we get a taste of things to come - a familiar sight for those who attended last year's ride:



Today we are hitting the dirt hard, no more pussyfooting around. There are many wonderful things to say about Cambodia but from a riding perspective is its ability to humble the best riders out there. The lads I am riding with are world class riders. Most have won championships somewhere in the world for motorcross, trials, enduro or other unnameable activities. One of them is taking a factory sponsored crack at the Dakar next month. These boys can ride motorcycles...which is pretty much why I tag along for the ride. Oh how the mighty can fall and fall again. Where else can a novice follow 7 top riders for 10 days to see just how much trouble they can get into? Take Joe for instance, now this boy is pretty hard to beat in the desert but throw a little mud or a dash of rocks at him and things go horribly pear shaped:




He starts off ok, attack mode


But things start to go wrong as the rut deepens


And then its all over in the muddy grave - John reaching for his camera to take this pic:




Tada - thats how you do it

Or take our Dakar rider James coming into a blind corner hot and discovering a Cambodian impromptu open-cast mine on the other side of it:



Umm yes well umm how did that get down there


Good old fashioned mud bath

[DesertSweeper]

Cambodia is the most land-mined country in the world. Three decades of civil war has created the terrible situation where there are approximately 5 million unexploded landmines buried in rural Cambodia. There are over 40,000 amputees as a result. The most extraordinary thing is how well the country has recovered and turned around. The people are friendly and welcoming despite their recent bloody history. Testament to their desire to move forward and overcome the past are the large numbers of Cambodian volunteers who literally risk life and limb to systematically demine their country.


A very real reminder of the danger. Stick to the well trodden path when off-roading in Cambodia

[DesertSweeper]

We are heading west for Pramoey town in the Veal Veng district, the last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge and therefore the most heavily land-mined area in Cambodia. This area is also home to the last 300 “Pear” ethic group families in the world. Before long Noel gets a puncture so we stop for lunch in a little village. He is not having it easy with a lost mobile, passport, cam-chain and now this puncture. Weaker men would develop a complex but not our man who turns the other cheek ready for more. A lunch of noodles and duck eggs is hastily prepared while the cook’s young son does his best to chop off his limbs with a meat cleaver.



Yup it's Mr Naughty again


Noodles for a change


After killing a chicken mother handed her little boy the meat cleaver to play with, as you do


With limbs remarkably intact the little lad passed out for an afternoon nap

Lunch wrapped and a new tube in Noel’s bike sees us off again to tackle the endless muddy quagmire waiting up the road.




We eventually arrive in Pramoey and get our bikes cleaned before hitting our accommodation spot for the night.




They claim it's to keep the mosquito's at bay...whatever

[DesertSweeper]

We set off in the morning for the town of Koh Kong in the province of the same name. Wikipedia has this to say about Koh Kong: “The most south-western province of Cambodia, Koh Kong has a long undeveloped coastline and a mountainous, forested and largely inaccessible interior which embraces part of the Cardamom Mountains and a section of Kirirom National Park”.


Not long into the morning’s ride we encounter a wide river that looks worse than it is.



For the rest of the day it’s fast open gravel to contrast the slow plodding mud of yesterday. It’s mountainous too so the boys are laying down some rubber in an all out race. Miraculously all survive without plunging off the side of a cliff in the middle of nowhere.


Lonely bikes on a gravel road


Lonely boys on a cement bridge


Westy needs a special helmet...special needs Westy

We encounter this failed Chinese-built dam wall at the Stung Atay reservoir. Part of it collapsed just three days ago killing four workers and draining the dam. This is a controversial project in Cambodia and this incident will no doubt tilt the odds in favour of the naysayers.


The Chinese built Stung Atay dam wall - pic by cameron




The Sandy Helmets posse


Koh Kong is a pretty little coastal town that is booming due to its proximity to Thailand. There is a great restaurant right on the sea owned by someone with a sense of humour and our hotel is an extraordinary site considering where we are. The boys waste no time and throw their grotty bodies in the pool while I arrange rooms. When in Koh Kong stay at the Apex hotel – awesome.


The boys turn the Apex hotel swimming pool into a mud-spa (Pic by Brian)


Restuarant at the end of the ride (pic by Brian)


Probably the only night club in Koh Kong is located right next door so choose your room wisely or just throw yourself into the bizarre Cambodian night-club ritual. This is a young nation opening itself to western vices but they need a little practice. A few of us slurp down some beers watching this while the other lads pass out in their rooms. Peace is restored to Koh Kong again.


Brians room just before he trashes it by simply being there


John looking demure


Signs in the restuarant by the sea

[Aussie66]

you are so right Desertsweeper, your ride reports get the low-lifes of this earth back in the light. Be sure to send me the link to the un-editted version.

Way to go mate.

[gavo]

This wasn't the night club you hit in Koh Kong by any chance

[DesertSweeper]

Originally Posted by Aussie66

you are so right Desertsweeper, your ride reports get the low-lifes of this earth back in the light. Be sure to send me the link to the un-editted version.

Way to go mate.

Originally Posted by gavo

This wasn't the night club you hit in Koh Kong by any chance

Hey gavo, I recon that would be it, the good old Pisey Club! And the name of the awesome spot on the River is the Bay Cafe.

[WHYNOWTHEN]

[gwedo]

oh, my liver hearts to read this.cant imagine riding that ,as hungover as you would be,i would be looking for a land mine.great report.

[McKay]

Still waitin' for that NSFW link!

[mat_retro]

This is some good sh*t..,
Where is the continuation?

[WHYNOWTHEN]

and then.......?