Steven Raucher's World Tour

2001-07-23 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Into Cambodia with a new bearing � will it last?

Finally! We mad it out of Vietnam, crossing the border there was more stressful than the roads we had encountered. There is nothing more disconcerting than a border guard with time on his hands.

After being made to wait for at least 20 minutes for the final stamp in our passports we were free and clear of a country neither of us has any intention of going back to. I am sorry to be so blunt, but there is really nothing of any interest in Vietnam if one isn�t a war historian (or a package tourist).

Cambodia on the other hand, offers the pure adventure of it all. Bad roads, threats of bandits (yeah right), and of course the intrepid backpackers. The road into Phnom Penh was somewhat uneventful, bar a lovely little tourist halfway house/restaurant where we ate and Ariella doused her food in chilli to prove that she had what it takes to be an overlander (see picture).

Phnom Penh, is not what I would call a major tourist destination. It seems to have an identity crisis. There is no way to describe this city, it is industrial, commercial, historic and seedy, not too mention a large expat community of do-gooders and sex tourists in equal measure. Not a place I would bring my kids, hypothetically speaking of course. The major tourist attraction here is the Killing Fields, which we decided not too visit out of good taste. We were to be reprimanded by some backpackers, �But you missed the amazing pyramid of skulls�� - I rest my case. Holding true to form we ducked all the tourist traps and headed for Angkor Wat in Siam Reap.

Before I continue, I must offer thanks to Gion Paulin (XT 550- Swiss etc) who had been briefing me all along his way to Angkor Wat on the road conditions and places to stay. Top man! Please bear in mind that we were told that attempting the road from Phnom Penh to Siam Reap was crazy and to do it two-up on a bike was sheer stupidity, so all Gion�s tips really paid off and helped put our worst fears to rest. Halfway between Phnom Penh and Siam Reap there is quite a large town (sorry I don�t have my map with me and I can�t remember the name) and the road is pretty good. However, and this is a very large HOWEVER, the road from this town with no name to Siam Reap is undeniably the worst I have ever seen! We were bouncing up and down this �road� like a fiddler�s elbow. Please understand that the comparison of this road to a SuperCross track does not do the road justice! It took us over 4 hours to cover 180 kms and we lost one of the rear foot pegs after a nasty bounce. Not nice at all. To those who were predicting failure let me at least come clean to dropping my bike a few (3) times in the process. Definitely a learning (read humbling) experience. As if to make up for what the Roads Commission of Cambodia had done to me, the last 15 kms into Siam Reap were beautifully paved. Thanks a lot.

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Ariella and the chilli, a lifelong relationship

they'll do anything to prevent people driving in the middle of the road!

good roads, eh? apparently we were lucky this time.

not quite overlanding, very nice and rustic though

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