|
|
North of Bangkok, we turn east and head into Muak Lek District in Saraburi.
From the road, we see dairy farms for the first time. There are cows everywhere here! We must investigate. And by investigate, I mean eat. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0128-L.jpg We check into an awesome resort-style accommodation in the town of Mittraphap In Thailand, the most popular online booking service is a site called Agoda.com. Lots of affordable, yet luxurious places! Mittraphap isn't really on the farang radar list. The people working at our resort don't speak English and they had to phone someone to come in to help check us in. We used Neda's translation app on her phone: the Thai text-to-speech translations worked quite well. It's amazing to think all this technology wasn't as readily available when we first started our trip back in 2012... The resort is beautiful! Very bucolic. We're booked here for a couple of nights. The only other people here are another younger Thai couple. They arrive the day after we do. I think they're up here from Bangkok for a short weekend vacation. The big city is only a couple of hours away. We exchanged some polite Sawadee-Khhraps and that was it. I wish I knew more Thai. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0142-L.jpg Walking around the resort, spying on Neda. She is immersed in her cross-stitching I should really be working on the blog. Meh... I think when we get to Chiang Mai, I'll try to catch up then. :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0136-L.jpg Neda's cross-stitching is really coming along! She actually started this one last year in Thailand, but basically stopped when we were in Europe |
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3158-L.jpg
In the evening, we ride out to the main village near the highway to grab some food, just 5 minutes away Muak Lek district has a thriving agro-tourism thing going on with all the dairy farms in the area. The rolling meadows around here make for a perfect place to raise cattle and the farms have been here since the 50s. They supply most of the milk products for the rest of the country. The most popular thing for tourists to do here is to visit a steakhouse, and there are so many in town to choose from. This is actually quite unusual, because we've been in Thailand for so long and they're not really known for beef or steak, not like Alberta or Argentina. It's a shame that we're not here in the new year. There's a National Dairy Cows festival held every year. It's a country and western theme and there's a part where they get dressed up like cowboys and put on a show, complete with lassos and cattle rustling demonstrations. It looks quite fun! Eating steak is quite fun too. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3157-L.jpg I found this steak place online, it had some pretty good reviews It was okay. The meat was kind of tough. I ordered it rare and it was over-cooked... The most interesting thing that happened that evening was this policeman who came in after we did. He seemed to be a pretty important person, everyone in the restaurant greeted him and he seemed to know everyone and walked around like a real big wig. He walked over and sat down with the family sitting behind Neda. Maybe he was like the town sheriff? Come to check out the only two farangs in Mittraphap? All he needed was a white cowboy hat! I wish I knew some Thai so I could eavesdrop! :) Still it's fun speculating and making up stories in your head. |
The next day we were talking with the one staff person who spoke Engish at our place. When we told her of our so-so steak experience, she recommended another restaurant, Big Joey, just around the corner.
I like the name! I had a good feeling about this place. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3163-L.jpg So we pay a visit to Big Joey that evening. Looks nice so far! Hopefully they won't call the sheriff on us tonight! https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3165-L.jpg Jackpot! So juicy and tender! And done perfectly as well! Excellent presentation too. Would highly recommend to anyone. Funny thing is that it's not even listed on Tripadvisor or any of the farang sites... So glad we got a local to show us where to go. As you can see from the picture, Neda didn't feel like having steak two days in a row. But hey, when in Muak Lek, do as the Muak Lekkens do! Let them eat steak! I'm having my steak and eating it too. Steaking my claim? NO! Claiming my steak! Driving a steak through my arteries. One missed steak can ruin everything. Oh steak, can you see? By the dawn's early light... |
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3169-L.jpg
Okay, back on the road, though more urban landscape https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3170-L.jpg I always make fun of Neda when she carries the groceries hanging off the end of her handlebars like the locals do! This picture typifies Thailand for us. The 7-11 in the background. The blue-red-and-white PTT gas station logo. Neda doing her best smiling Sawadee-Kah-Lady impression... That's all going to change for a little bit while we make just a small-teensy-weensy detour... |
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/379.html
https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...L/map379-L.jpg So we're off to Cambodia today! It's a bit of a detour from our trek to Chiang Mai, but this was originally on our SE Asia bucket list, just that we ran out of steam last year. We're a bit conflicted, because although we really want to see Cambodia, we're not sure if we're up to touring and sightseeing quite so soon after our Europe burnout. But on the other hand we did buy motorcycles in Thailand expressly for the purposes of being able to ride to other countries, so there's a bit of pressure to make use of the bikes while we have them... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3172-L.jpg Our last stop in Thailand, check out our funky digs We've stationed ourselves in Prasat, about 45 minutes away from the Cambodian border, to prepare for our crossing. As is customary, we try to do all border crossings early in the morning when we're fresh and the weather is cool, but also to give ourselves plenty of time in case anything goes wrong, and in the case of Cambodia, plenty of things *could* go wrong: There's an air of nervous tension between us because of all the research we've done. Cambodia is one of the most difficult countries to ride into. On the forums and on social media, there are so many reports of corrupt border officials giving overland travelers a hard time, denying them entry despite having all the correct paperwork. And in the worse cases, horror stories of vehicles trapped in the No Man's Land between countries - unable to get into Cambodia or re-enter Thailand again, predatory officials offering the owners paltry sums to take their vehicles away. They specifically target the non-ASEAN riders with foreign-plated vehicles. Having Thai bikes should alleviate most of the pitfalls. At least that's what we're hoping... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3176-L.jpg How do you prepare for crossing into Cambodia? Well, first you have to modify your motorcycle... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3173-L.jpg Riding with Daytime Running Lights is illegal in Cambodia, so I have to pull the fuse to the headlights I've read that the Cambodian police pull over non-Cambodian motorcycles and fine them on the spot (ask for bribes) for having Daytime Running Lights. We're just trying to mitigate any problems beforehand and try not to give anyone any reason to stop us. I just have to remember to plug the fuse back in again if we're going to be riding at night... |
The main overland crossing is at Poipet, on the highway between Bangkok and Siem Reap. At that crossing, we've heard of officials insisting on a Carnet de Passage (Cambodia is not a Carnet country) and requiring a special permit from the government offices in Phnom Penh. Some travelers have had to leave their vehicles on the Thai side, take a bus to the capital to apply for and wait for this permit and then return to the border...
So we chose this smaller, rural crossing of O'Smach in the north because we've read that the Cambodian officials here were more lax about letting foreign vehicles through. It' a bit out of the way from the main highway, but again... forewarned is forearmed. It's a bit frustrating and unnerving to enter a country where the rules change from crossing to crossing, as well as day to day. Timely information has never been so important. The Internet has been a boon to overland travelers. Still, even with all the research we've done, I am plenty anxious as we approach the cluster of buildings that mark the border between Thailand and Cambodia. We park the bikes and go through the overly-familiar process of getting ourselves and our bikes out of one country and into the other: Step 1) Stamp ourselves out of Thailand Step 2) Export our motorcycles out of Thailand Step 3) Stamp ourselves into Cambodia Step 4) Import our motorcycles into Cambodia Step 1 was dead easy. The Thai border officer quickly checked to make sure we hadn't over-stayed our visa and with a swift KA-CHUNK, our passports were marked with an exit stamp. Sorry, no pictures. We were nervous enough as it was, didn't want to give anyone a reason to stop or deny us entry! Okay, Step 2: Getting our bikes exported out of Thailand. This shouldn't be a problem, we did it in Malaysia, the process is simple. So, here's an additional tip I read about getting into Cambodia: tell the border guys that you're only going to stay in the province that you enter in at. So if you enter in Siem Reap province, tell them you're only going to the city of Siem Reap, because otherwise you'll need a vehicle permit to drive to another province, like Sihanoukville. Which means leaving your vehicle here and traveling by bus to the capital to get that permit... So that's what we did. But unfortunately we told this to *THE WRONG SIDE*. The Thai customs official asked where we were riding to. "Siem Reap", I replied confidently, my well-rehearsed lie rolling off my tongue like honey. We were planning on going much farther than Siem Reap. The Thai official typed some stuff out on his computer, printed out a vehicle exportation form -- you're only allowed to take out a Thai vehicle out of Thailand for a month, it's a bit of weird rule... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3182-L.jpg Before we left the booth, I checked the form A couple of things immediately stood out. First, our tiny CRF250Ls have grown in size. They're listed as CRF1000As. We now have Honda Africa Twins! Sweet! :) Second, we were only given two weeks export permission. What? Normally we're allowed to be out of the country for a month! I questioned the Thai official, "Is this right? Only two weeks? Why not 30 days, like before?" He replied, "You are only going to Siem Reap. Not far. Only two weeks." NOOOOO!! I was so worried about getting into Cambodia, I was not expecting to be screwed by the Thai side exiting Thailand!!!! Why did I tell the Thai official we were only going to Siem Reap? He didn't care how far we went inside Cambodia?!?! DAMMMIT!!!!! I tried arguing for the usual 30 days, but the official wouldn't budge. Now we'd have to rush through the whole of Cambodia in two weeks. We don't rush. It's not what we do. Plus we are still travel fatigued. Suddenly, this whole Cambodia side-trip didn't seem like such a good idea. But it was too late. Us and our motorcycles were already stamped out of Thailand. We were in between countries, in No Man's Land. |
We trudged over, dejected, to get our visa-on-arrival at the Cambodian office. Step 3. The guy at the office overcharged us $37 for a $30 visa. I read about this. You can put up a fuss and after a lot of time and hassle, they will eventually charge you the right amount. A real proper scam they pull on *everybody* that passes through.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_5933-L.jpg I think it evens says $30USD right on the visa itself...SMH But at that point, we didn't care. We were too crushed by our two-week limitation imposed by Thai customs. Whatever. I glanced at the new visa glued inside our passport, stating that we are allowed to stay for 30 days. *sigh* Unfortunately our bikes are only allowed out of Thailand for 14 days. :( Anyway, the real hard part was now here. Step 4: Getting our motorcycles imported into Cambodia. We gathered all of our vehicle papers and the Thai exportation letter to bring to the customs office. Filled out the importation form and made sure everything was sorted and in order and handed the neat pile to the Cambodian official working behind the counter. He didn't even look up at us or come out to look at the bikes. Just glanced at the papers and waved us through. No fees. No questions about where we were going. No additional paperwork. What? Just like that? All that worry and we were just let in like that? |
Okay! Suddenly our moods lifted and we felt much better. Especially riding quickly away with O'Smach getting further and further away in our mirrors. We were in a brand new country! We're excited, once again! Such a roller-coaster of emotions...
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3188-L.jpg Putting some distance between us and the border, just in case they realized they were supposed to give us more of a hassle getting in Oh yeah, they drive on the right-hand-side in Cambodia. So much switching in the last year, our brains are getting a bit frazzled. But still, being in a new country is always exciting because we're interested in seeing what will be different than the place we just left. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3183-L.jpg One thing remained the same. We still can't read the squiggly Cambodian script (Khmer). It looked exactly like Thai script to us... So we continue to be illiterate in Cambodia. https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3190-L.jpg 12 kms into Cambodia and I still can't believe how easily we got in I guess sometimes it pays to do your research. Next time, we'll have to tell the Thai customs guys we are going ALL OVER CAMBODIA AND SE ASIA! Give us the 30 days! |
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3192-L.jpg
We pass by what looks to be the official vehicle of rural Cambodia. So many of these on the road https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3537-L.jpg It's just basically a trailer attached to an engine. 100% function, 0% form https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0164-L.jpg Neda stops to readjust the plastic bottles inside her seat cushion. It's not really working out well for her... Thankfully, Siem Reap is only two and a half hours away from the border. And we take lots of photo stops. |
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0158-L.jpg
The northern route cuts through the marshlands, lots of crops here and animals graze not too far from the road. Neda tries to get an ox's attention... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0150-L.jpg "Why are you throwing rocks at me, human?" Just kidding!!!! She was just throwing rocks into the marshes. She's actually quite an animal lover. Because most of them are quite tasty... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3196-L.jpg We pass through several small villages on the way south The standard of living is definitely lower than Thailand. A lot less industrial, at least up here in the north. Our "big bikes" are getting lots of stares and a few Cambodian kids (mainly the boys) give us the thumbs up as we ride by. |
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0175-L.jpg
We stop to watch these fishermen https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0173-L.jpg They were casting their nets into the marshes and then diving in to collect their catch. Neat stuff. One guy found it very amusing that I was taking pictures of him fishing. I smiled and waved. He gave me a look that I think in Cambodia might be the equivalent of "SMH" and then went back to what he was doing... https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0176-L.jpg And then we found a larger body of water and tons of fishermen there. I wonder what they were catching. Speaking of which, we were getting hungry. It was a long day and we wanted to reward ourselves with a nice sit-down meal in an air-conditioned restaurant. Treat ourselves! |
Villages turned into larger buildings, tractor-engines turned into cars, in no time we found ourselves swallowed up in the big city of Siem Reap.
A lot of people think Thai traffic is chaotic. Cambodia is worse. Motorcycles get much less respect on the road here. Cars whiz past with no room to spare, expecting you to get out of their way. But the biggest difference from Thailand: honking. I did not notice how restrained Thai drivers were with their horns. Not so in Cambodia. Everybody beeps here. It wasn't as bad as India, but definitely a big change from where we just came from! We pulled into the first touristy restaurant we saw in Siem Reap. We were in the mood for seafood after watching all the fishermen earlier on. When we sat down to look at the menus, we realized that despite all the research we had done on how to get into Cambodia, we actually didn't bother finding our what currency they use here. The stuff looked pretty cheap, 30-50 something for a meal. If the currency is like the Thai Baht, that's like $1-$2 for a plate. Not bad. We asked the waiter what the exchange rate was. He told us everything on the menu was priced in US dollars. Excuse me? $30USD for a plate of seafood in Cambodia?!? This was the first restaurant we went to in this country, so we weren't sure what to expect. Cambodia had already ripped us off for the Visa, we were *NOT* paying $30USD/plate for food. We've never paid $30 for food anywhere in SE Asia! We beat a hasty retreat back out into the streets of Siem Reap. At least we learned that they use USD here, so we don't have to exchange currency. Is Cambodia really that expensive though? https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0181-L.jpg We rode further into town. Close to our hotel, we stopped at a shopping mall with air conditioning. :) Ahhhh, air conditioning.... Inside the mall, we found one of those family restaurant chains, like a Kelseys or Applebys. Very western, but we didn't care. It was cool inside and it had nice comfy booths where we could spread out all of our gear. A quick check on their prices revealed that Cambodia is not that expensive. Food costs a bit more than Chiang Mai, around Phuket prices... It was like $10 each for a nice sit-down meal. I suspected we were paying more for the air-conditioning! Street food would probably be less than half that. I can't believe that first restaurant. Probably tried to sucker in the tourists who stop at the first restaurant they find in Siem Reap. Crazy! |
We did splash out on a nice and fancy hotel for our first couple of nights in Siem Reap though. You can tell how nice it is by the welcome tray they serve you when you check in.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3198-L.jpg Welcome tray = nice hotel https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSCN3208-L.jpg After checking into our hotel, we ride around Siem Reap in the evening to pick up some groceries And... I forgot to plug in the fuse for the headlights for night riding. Very unnerving riding around the dim back streets of Siem Reap, lit only by the lights of the stalls on the side of the road. Gotta be more diligent about that fuse. |
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0638-L.jpg
After relaxing in our hotel room for the day, we venture out into the haze of the late afternoon to explore Siem Reap when the weather is not so hot https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0631-L.jpg Pub street is *the* backpackers destination in Siem Reap. Lots of hostels, diners, pubs and nightclubs all in one place here https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0621-L.jpg Grabbing some drinks and doing some people-watching from a restaurant right on Pub Street We are really liking the Angkor Beer, named after the Angkor Watt temples just outside of town. We also tried the "Cambodia" brand beer, but didn't like that too much. So far, Cambodian beer is better than Thai beer! But not as good as BeerLaowDark... So refreshing on a hot day! |
https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0623-L.jpg
Haha. Batman Rickshaw https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0625-L.jpg Trying some Cambodian food https://photos.smugmug.com/Archive/2...DSC_0632-L.jpg Walking around the streets of Siem Reap Tomorrow we hit the temples! |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 17:50. |
|