The 2016 Trip – Page 2 – Ramblings of a Singapore Biker Boy

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 39 to 40

29 July 2016, Friday. After breakfast, I spent the morning in Siem Reap wandering around town. I’m not quite a shopping person, so last night’s walk along the night market didn’t quite excite me. I’ve been away for more than a month now, and it was about time I got myself a haircut, lest I start turning into Tarzan or Robinson Crusoe.

Got myself a haircut at a nearby barber. USD2.

Rather reluctantly, I left Siem Reap and headed to Poipet – the Cambodian-side town of the Cambodia-Thailand border. My GPS tells me that I should reach Poipet at approximately 2pm, and I was still deciding if I should put up the night at Poipet or if I should just head over to the Thailand border town of Aranyaprathet. If you google the Poipet-Aranyaprathet or the Poipet-Klongluk border (same thing – Aranyaprathet being the nearest Thai town to the border, and Klongluk’s the name of the Thai border itself), you’d realise that it’s infamous for border corruption and basically a overland traveller’s nightmare. Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 39 to 40”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 37 to 38

27 July 2016, Wednesday. After breakfast, I set off towards Siem Reap, also known by tourists as the city of Angkor Wat.

Day 37 route - Phnom Penh to Siem Reap — Day 37 route – Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

Except for the stretch between Laos-Cambodia border to Stung Treng, the roads in Cambodia are generally great to travel on. And Cambodia is really flat - you can almost see a 360 degree horizon. — Except for the stretch between Laos-Cambodia border to Stung Treng, the roads in Cambodia are generally great to travel on. And Cambodia is really flat – you can almost see a 360 degree horizon.

Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 37 to 38”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 36

26 July 2016, Tuesday. At the recommendation from an anonymous Pulsarian, I headed to the Bokor Mountain in Kampot this morning. I left early, really early, as the plan was to head back into the town of Kampot before travelling back to Phnom Penh today. Because the only route to Siem Reap – my next destination – was really through Phnom Penh.

Bokor Mountain in Kampot is somewhat out of the way. That's why some travellers may choose to bypass it and head straight to the more famous cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. — Bokor Mountain in Kampot is somewhat out of the way. That’s why some travellers may choose to bypass it and head straight to the more famous cities of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 36”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 35

25 July 2016, Monday. The nice folks at the Bajaj Phnom Penh dealership requested and arrange for a reporter from Sabay to interview me. They were curious about my multi-country travel with my Bajaj Pulsar 200NS. And so I had a nice chat with the senior news reporter from Sabay in the morning. Not actually sure if my travel story is sufficiently newsworthy though. LOL!

I'm heading to Kampot and the Bokor Mountains! — I’m heading to Kampot and the Bokor Mountains!

Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 35”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 33 to 34

23 July 2016, Saturday. With nothing much to do in Stung Treng, I woke up early today and set off for Phnom Penh. The journey from Stung Treng to the capital city is a mix of fantastic, okay, and really horrible roads. There were stretches of fantastic paved, smooth roads which rivals the Malaysian North-South Highway. But it sometimes turn into really bad, almost dirt-road quality stretches without warning. So that 6hr-odd, 400+km journey, see me doing triple-digit speeds and sometimes as slow at 30-40kmh at the potholes-filled, uneven, loose-gravelled dirt tracks (which I even hesitate to call it a “road”.)

Day 33's route - Stung Treng to Phnom Penh. — Day 33’s route – Stung Treng to Phnom Penh. Approximately 400km.

Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 33 to 34”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 32

22 July 2016, Friday. I made it into Cambodia! After hearing all the horror stories of travellers getting turned back into Laos, or worse, getting stuck between borders in no-man’s land, I was a little worried about crossing this one. But then again, it wasn’t an easy experience, and I was almost turned back into Laos.

As I only had 100,000kips (approx SGD17 or USD12) left on me, I decided to head to the little town of Nakasong to get some more Kips. The border officials at the Laos-Cambodia border are notoriously corrupt, and I needed to make sure I had enough cash for their “service fee” or “donation” to make things move along.

But before all that, I needed to get some stuff done on my bike. I asked the 2 motorcycle servicing shops in Nakasong if they sell motorcycle chains, as my current chain is showing some signs of uneven wear. No joy. It was also about 2,000km from my last oil change, and was about time to replace the oil (new engine EO change routine). The first shop refused to Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 32”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 31

Day 30 route - travelling south of Pakse. — Day 30 route – travelling south of Pakse.

21 July 2016, Thursday. I head to Si Phan Don (literally means “four thousand islands” in Laos) today. That’t about the southern-most tip of Laos, where the Mekong river meets with an archipelago, creating a system of rapids. There are many islands in Si Phan Don, the biggest of which is Don Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 31”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 30

20 July 2016, Wednesday. Decided to stay another day in Pakse, as the region around Champasak has loads to offer. Travellers on motorcycles typically do the loop in Bolaven Plateau. The area offers waterfalls, ethnic villages and coffee plantations. I left early in the day as the Bolaven Plateau loops (there’s a big loop and a smaller loop) are typically completed in 2-3days. I planned on completing it in 1 day.

I reached Tad Fane waterfall before 8am. The entrance wasn't manned and I just walked in. — I reached Tad Fane waterfall before 8am. The entrance wasn’t manned and I just walked in.

The twin falls of Tad Fane plummets more than 100 meters and looks spectacular from a distance.

Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 30”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 29

19 July 2016, Tuesday. I left Thakhek at around 8am this morning, and had planned on arriving Pakse by 2pm – which should give me some time to get a room and perhaps explore the area.

Today's route - Thakhek to Pakse. I'm heading south! — Today’s route – Thakhek to Pakse. I’m heading south!

But the roads in southern Loas are…. Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 29”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 28

18 July 2016, Monday. I left Vientiane with a (finally) (hopefully) healthy motorcycle. No more technical troubles. I set off at around 7am in the morning, as I had planned for a long day today.

Konglor Cave (Tham Kong Lo) is a Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 28”