Lucky way round.....

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Ever since we arrived in Cambodia I knew that i wanted to see some of it on a motorbike. This place is named as having the worst roads in Asia, which is would be great fun on a motorbike. I looking into doing an organised tour with a group of people. It would of been great because they supply you with all the equipment (bikes, helmets, body armour etc), have an excellent knowledge of where all the good trails are and they transport your bag for you to the next destination so its waiting for you at the end of the days riding, which also keeps the weight down on the bike. As great as all this sounds, the price tag was way more than i could afford, minimum of $120 per day and i really wanted to do about 4-5 days. No chance! I didnt have a choice, i had to just do it on my own. I got my self a map and went to the bike shop to chat to one of the guys there about a route. I had a route in mind but he advised me not to do it because its in the middle of nowhere, i didnt know the way and worst case senario that i fell off, no body would know about it. I was pretty disappointed about this as i really wanted to find some challenging terrain but i had to be realistic. So the guys at the shop sorted me out with a Honda XR250 which is a four stroke enduro bike, a decent helmet, some gloves and a route for 3 days. Riding about 200km per day steering clear of tarmac roads, sticking mostly along the Mekong river on the old sand and dirt roads and a few trails along the way.
I woke up at about 6 the next morning i was so excited! Packed my bag, said goodbye to a barely awake Alicia, strapped everything on the bike and set off. It felt so good to be back on the road again. This bike couldnt be further away to that of the Enfield we drove around India. The Enfield was big, heavy, loud and great for just cruising along. This honda is sharp, lightweight, still pretty loud and loves to scream along. As soon as i got out of town and got onto the dirt track, the bike really came into its own and i was ranting along with a huge grin on my face. You can just fly over massive bumps and ruts. One of the best bits about traveling on a motorbike is seeing things that you wouldnt necessarily see from the window of a coach. Loads of beautiful charming little villages and rustic looking wooden houses on stilts and the massive grins of villagers. At around mid day i arrived in Kompong Cham which is a small town north east of Phnom Pehn. At this point i was starving so took the chance to get out of the intense heat and have some grub. My next stop was Kratie, where i was going to stay the night. Sadly these roads were not quite as fun. The first 20km was on tarmac which then turned into a dust road but its was still really flat. Thankfully though, after about another 30km there was a diversion as they were still constructing or repairing the road. It was not possible for a car to carry on, they had to take the diversion. But for me and some other crazy Cambodians on their Scooters it made for a really fun ride. After about another 40km i finally arrived in Kratie absolutely covered in dust and pretty exhausted. I managed to find a decent guesthouse which was pretty cheap and it had a hot shower. Bonus! It was a shame i didnt have much time to stick around in Kratie as there was so much to do. Its one of the best places in Asia to spot the rare in-dangered Irawady Dolphin and some crazy mud-skipping Turtles. After filling myself to the brim with a gorgeous veg curry and some beer i took a little walk around the town and got some supplies for the next day then had an early night. I woke up at around 6 again and jumped on the bike, filled up with fuel then raced to catch the ferry to get across the river at 6:30. Once the ferry got to the otherside and i rode off, thats when things took a turn for the worse. I was riding through a gorgeous little village so i stopped to get my camera out of my bag to get some snaps. I kept everything that i thought i might need during the day in the top pocket on my bag for easy access. Rather than putting it back in the bag, i thought it would be a good idea to wear it than to keep opening my bag everytime. Bad mistake! Around 3 hours and 70km later is stopped in a really eerie little forest to have a drink. I looked at my bag and a huge sinking feeling swept over me. Shit! What an idiot, i hadnt zipped my bag back up from when i got the camera out. Now the top of bag was completely empty and i had been dropping little presents along the way ever since. I had to go back. The chances of finding it all again were pretty slim but i couldnt just give up. I worked out the cost of everything and it was quite a lot. Lonely Planet of Thailand, Lonely Planet of Cambodia, Sun glasses case (luckily i was wearing my sun glasses), some mega expensive face suncream Alica got back home, Normal sun cream which is still pretty expensive here, shower gel and my scarf to protect my neck from the sun. Luckily that first photo i took was a reference point, so all i had to do was find that house again and hopefully my stuff should be near by. So i went like the clappers and managed to get back in under two hours. Some of the way back i was stuck behind a big 4x4 which was kicking up loads of dust so i was well and truly coated! After i found the house in the first photo i was lucky enough find a guy who spoke amazing english. I told him about my situation and he appologised that he hadnt seen anything. I got him to write down in khmer what my situation was so i could show the locals and hopefully find my stuff. I must of asked about 20 people in this little village and no luck. Suddenly a guy pulled up on his scooter and he had found one of my books "follow me" he said and we drove back to his house. I was handed the Cambodia Lonely planet, he told me he had found it about 1km up the road by some speed bumps. I remembered the speed bumps and i came back that way but i didnt see anything. By now it was about lunch time and this lovely man gave me some noddle soup and plenty of water. I went to the toilet to wash my hands and saw my face was caked in dust so i gave it a quick scrub before lunch. There was about 15 children in this house and i asked they man if they were all his and he said yes but he didnt look that much older than me so maybe he didnt understand me right. I thanked everyone so much and i was so glad to find one of belongings that it made me what to find more and believe that it was possible. I drove 1km up the road to the speed bumps and found my bar of soap on the floor. I started asking around and this old lady produced all the sun creams etc another guy gave me my Thailand Lonely Planet and a young girl said my sun glasses case was up the road. Her friend had picked it up and taken it home. I gave them a few dollars and asked if they would get it back for me. Within the next 15 minutes everything was returned to me apart from my scarf! I could not believe it i was buzzing with happiness and amazement! I thanked everyone so much and put it all back into my back and made sure i zipped the bloody thing up this time!!! I went to the shop and bought some goodies for the first guy who invited me in for lunch and gave me the Cambodia book back. I never did get his name but im forver gratefull that he found me book. Because of this major screw-up on my part. I had lost a days riding and i would never make it to Kompong Thom today. I was running low on fuel so i headed back to Kratie. I decided to go back to Kompong Cham for the night and meet up with Alicia and Wiess and then leave for Kompong Thom the next day. I tried to call the girls but didnt get an answer, i didnt know where they were staying or even if they were actually there, they might of changed their plans. I made the decision to just go for it, i think luck was well and truly on my side that day! I was going to have to go pretty quick to get back before dark, its was 4 when i left and i arrived in Kompong Cham at 5:30 and it was still light. As i was coming across the main bridge into town, guess who i just happened to drive by????? Alicia and Wiess!!!

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Photos

Early morning view
The place where i realised what an idiot i was!!