WELL AND WE REACHED THE CAMBODIAN BORDER

THEY CUSTOMS DIDN’T LIKE THAT I HAVEN’T HAD THE IMPORT PAPERS – WICH I WAS MEANT TO ORGANISE PRIOR IMPORT. DIDN’T GET THEM BECAUSE IT’S A HUSSLE AND THEY ARE ABOUT 150 US AS SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS TO ORGANISE THEM FROM COMBODIA’S CAPITOL – PHNOM PENH/ SO I PUSHED MY LUCK AND TOLD THEM I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS RULE. THE CUSTOMS OFFICER WAVED ME THROUGH AND I WAS PRETTY HAPPY GETTING AWAY WITHOUT PROVIDING THE PAPERWORK… I WAS SMILING TO EARLY…

WE PASSED IMMIGRATION, GOT OUR CAMBODIA VISA AND GOT STOPPED BY A GUY ON A SCOOTER. HE WANTED TO SEE SOME MONEY FOR THE VHICLE IMPORT – I HAD TO DEAL WITH HIM FOR ABOUT AN HOUR – IN THE DARKNESS OF THAT BORDERTOWN – HAPPY DAYS. ANYWAY TO SUMMARIZE THE STORY;

THE CUSTOMS WAVED ME THROUGH – I THOUGHT I GOT AWAY BUT THEY WANTED A BRIBE SO THEY CALLED THE GUY ON THE SCOOTER – WHO IS MEANT TO GET THE MOENY FOR THEM. THEY DO IT THAT WAY BECAUSE IS KEEPS THEIR HANDS CLEAN IF THEY DON’T TAKE IT DIRECTLY OF ME. THE SUGGESTED DEAL. I PAY 200 USD AND I AM ALLOWED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE ONLY UP TO SIAM REAP WHICH IS STILL IN THEIR DISTRICT OF POWER – THEY DON’T ALLOW ME TO GO FURTHER AS PHNOM PENH THEN MAY WOULD FIND OUT THAT THEY LET ME THROUGH ILLEGALY. I REFUSED THAT DEAL. OUR MAN ON THE SCOOTER GOT REALLY ANGRY AND NERVOUS AS THE CUSTOMS KEPT CALLING HIM WAY EVERYTHING TAKES SO LONG. HE GOT REALLY ANGRY AT ME – TELLING ME HE’D LOOSE HIS JOB OVER THIS IF HE DOESN’T ARRANGE THE DEAL. SO THEY THREATENED ME TO SEND ME BACK TO THAILAND. I SAID I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE CUSTOMS MYSELF – AGREEING TO A DIFFERENT DEAL. UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS DARK AND LATE AND THE MAIN CUSTOMS BUILING ALREADY SHUT. THE GUY WAS PISSED OFF AS HELL AND SHOWED ME AROUND THE BACKYARD OF THE CUSTOMS BUILDING – THERE WAS SOME FOREIGN MOTORCYCLES. HE SAID THEY REFUSED TO PAY AS WELL THAT’S WHY THEY NOW HAVE TO GO TO PHNOM PENH THEMSELVES TO GET THE RIGHT PAPERWORK TO FREE THEIR BIKES OUT OF THIS SITUATION. I TOLD HIM I WILL AGREE TO THE DEAL IF I GET FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT CAMBODIA. I GOT TAKEN TO THE ATM AROUND A DARK STREET CORNER – MEANWHILE JOSEF, EMMA, MARLA AND MARIE TOOK CARE OF THE CAR WHICH WAS STILL SITTING BY THE BORDER. I GOT SOME CASH OUT. STILL TOLD HIM I NEED TO SPEAK TO THE CUSTOMS MYSELF. 15 MINUTES LATER A LEXUS ARRIVES AT THE CUSTOMS OFFICE – SOME IMPORTANT LOOKING GUY GOT OUT OF IT. TRIED TO SHAKE HIS HAND BUT HE WOULDN’T EVEN LOOK AT ME. HE DISPLAYED SOME GESTURES TO OUR MIDDLEMAN – WHICH I INTERPRET AS SOMETHING LIKE – ‘I WAS JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF MY DINNER AND NOW I NEED TO DEAL WITH THIS SHIT BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB RIGHT’ OR MAYBE JUST ‘YOU ARE FUCKING USELESS’ ONE OR THE OTHER. ANYWAY HE TOOK MY CARNET (WHICH IS USUALLY NOT ACCEPTED IN CAMBODIA) I STAMPED IT FOR ME WHICH TOOK ABOUT 15 SECONDS. THE WAY HE SMASHED THOSE STAMPS ON TOLD ME HE WASN’T IN HIS BEST MOOD. BUT THAT MEANT MY VEHICLE IS NOW LEGALLY IN CAMBODIA. 200 USD FOR THOSE SERVICES BUT I THINK ARRANGING THE RIGHT PAPERWORK WOULD HAVE COST ABOUT THE SAME BUT DEFINITELY MORE TIME. WHO KNOWS.

I WAS KINDA HAPPY THAT I DIDN’T GET STABBED DURING THE WHOLE PROCEEDURE AND WE CONTINUED OUR JOURNEY TOWARDS SIAM REAP

WELCOME TO CAMBODIA

SIAM REAP – EARLY MORNING – AT LEAST IT FELT LIKE IT WAS EARLY – CAUGHT UP WITH THIS BEAUTY – CARLA – WE ALL GOT A BIKE AND CYCLED TO ‘ANGKOR WAT’ 

EMMA WAS A BIT UNCOMFY WITH HER BIG RIGHT BIKE SO I PREPARED A LITTLE ROADWORTHY TEST FOR HER…RESULTS – SHOCKING

SO BEFORE EVEN GETTING TO FIRST TEMPLE WE HAD TO LISTEN TO A LOT OF COMPLAINS ABOUT THE HEAT AND WHAT SO EVER – SHOCKING 😛

SO A LITTLE JUMP PICTURE WAS NEEDED TO CHEER UP THE MOOD

AND A LOT OF POSING FOR THE CAMERA;;;

SO WE TRIED – BUT WE COULDN’T FIND IT FOR A FE HOURS – TOO MANY TEMPLES AROUND

AND WE FINALLY DID FIND MIGHTY THA PROM TEMPLE

SO WE WERE ALL PRETTY HAPPY THAT WE FOUND THAT TEMPLE – JUST IN TIME FOR SUNSET

WAS TIME TO GET BACK TO THE CITY TO GET A BIG FEED

UNFORTUNATELY THAT WAS THE END OF OUR TIME TOGETHER AND MARIE, EMMA AND MARLA HAD TO GO BACK TO TO BANGKOK TO CATCH A FLIGHT HOME – SHORT – INTENSE – EMOTIONAL – MISS YOU ALL

JOSEF, CARLA AND I HAD TO GET UP EARLY IN THE MORNING – 3AM TO RIDE TO PHNOM PENH AS I NEEDED TO APPLY FOR AN INDIAN VISA THERE AND FRIDAY WAS MY LAST CHANCE BEFORE THE WEEKEND

I QUICKLY RAN INTO THE INDIAN EMBASSY TO DROP OFF PASSPORT AND VISA APPLICATION FORM – LUCKY THT WAS DONE QUICKLY

MORE TIME TO DRINK COFFEE AND EXPLORE MORE OF PHNOM PENH

UNFORTUNATELY CAMBODIA WENT THROUGH A ROUGH TIME IN THE 70’S WHEN THE KHMER REGIME EXECUTED A HUGE AMOUNT OF  THE POPULATION. WE WENT TO HAVE A LOOK AT ONE OF THE KILLING FIELDS IN PHNOM PENH

THE KHMER REGIME LED BY POL POT KILLED MORE THAN A MILLION CAMBODIANS IN-BETWEEN 1975 AND 1979

ABOUT 9000 BODIES GOT DISCOVERED AT THIS SITE

THE EXECUTIONERS WERE SHORT OF MUNITIONS AND USED ANY KIND OF METHODS TO KILL THE VICTIMS

SEVERAL SKULLS, ORDERED IN THEIR WAY OF EXECUTION – RANGING FROM STEEL ROD IMPACTS OVER FIREARMS TO STABBING WOUNDS

REST IN PEACE

LEAVING PHNOM PENH 

NEED A BIT MORE THAN THAT SO WE WENT TO A DIFFERENT ONE..

AMAZON CAFE – USUALLY ONLY TO BE FOUND IN THAILAND – THEY DO THE BEST CAPPUCCINO FRAPPÉ. ESPECIALLY GOOD ON HOT DAYS LIKE THOSE. I FUELED THE TRUCK AND SENT JOSEF IN TO GET SOME CAP FRAPPÉ – HE COMES BACK WITH TWO FROZEN MILK. NO MORE TALK ABOUT THAT – I AM STILL UPSET

NEXT BREAK – FRUITBREAK

JOSEF WAS ABOUT TO HEAD BACK HOME – CHASING SOME JOBS IN AUSTRIA – THANKS FOR TRAVELLING WITH ME – IT’S BEEN EMOTIONAL. WE HAD A LAST RUM TOGETHER – HE TOOK A BUS BACK TO BANGKOK AND I TOOK THE FERRY TO KOH RONG – I WAS ALONE AGAIN

I TRIED TO FIND LONG BEACH ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND

I WAS RUNNING DOWN THE DUSTY ROAD AND FOUND AN EXCAVATOR SITTING THERE – GOT SOME DIGGING EXPERIENCE FROM MY WORK HISTORY AND THAT WAS A PRETTY 30T MACHINE – THE OPERATOR ASLEEP – I JUMPED UP THE TRACKS WOKE HIM UP AND SIGNALISED I WANT TO PLAY AROUND FOR A BIT. HE WAS COOL WITH IT AND JUMPED IN THE BACK STRAIGHT AWAY. SO WHOEVER HATES THE NEW ISLAND ROAD – UNFORTUNATELY I WAS PART OF IT.

AFTER MY LITTLE PLAY I FINALLY FOUND STUNNING AND LONG LONG BEACH

UNFORTUNATELY I HAD TO LEAVE KOH RONG TO PICK UP MY INDIAN VISA IN PHNOM PENH – YES A PAIN IN THE ASS. HAD TO DRIVE BACK 200KM JUST TO PICK UP MY PASSPORT FROM THE EMBASSY

ANYWAY I MADE IT TO THE EMBASSY IN TIME TO PICK UP MY VISA – DIDNT WANT TO STAY IN PHNOM PENH THOUGH SO I DROVE ANOTHER 200KM SOUTH AGAIN – THIS TIME KAMPOT

A FEW KILOMETRES AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN KAMPOT IS THIS BEAUTIFUL FRESH RIVER WITH A FEW CAFE’S AND GUESTHOUSES ALONG THE RIVERSIDE

AND MET THOSE FUNNY GIRLS ON THE WAY IN – THEY WANTED TO GO TO KOH RONG AND I NEEDED TO PICK UP MY FREIDN JO FROM THE FERRY TERMINAL WHO WANTED TO JOIN ME ON MY WAY BACK TO BANGKOK. SO THE GIRLS JUMPED IN THE CAR AND OFF WE WENT – SHIANOUKVILLE AGAIN

DROPPED THE GIRLS OFF AND PICKED UP JO

OFF TO BANGKOK AGAIN

ABOUT 10 HOURS DRIVE FROM SHIANOUKVILLE TO BANGKOK

CROSSED AT THE SOUTHERNEST BORDER INBETWEEN KOH KONG AND HAT LEK