from Pai to Cambo n back..

Forest

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Vstrom650,CRF250 , Ducati 900ss ,Yamaha YZ250, Virago 400 etc..
good ride down to Cambo over Songkran ,for about 13-14 days-
All went well with the mighty CRF .Crossed the border at Ban Pakkard /Pailing with no particular problems ,i arrived there quiet late 8-9pm ,as i posted in another thread.Went to Siem Reap and from there took the route 66 to Ta Seng ,Which was quiet an adventure going solo.The first 30 40 km are a snap .on unpaved well levelled road,where any bike could drive,but from Baeng Malea is where some fun starts.You must be a mud lover to take it.the rain as started alteady and the ox carts dig deep into the road .there is ophten a way to drive around the muddy areas but in many cases you will have to cross it sometime for 30-50 meters !no choice .just go. At the end of the day actually the bike got stuck since i was a bit heavy, had camel bags and a small pack on the rack.with a forestry/military guy (complete of a machine gun!)that came by after a while we got it out quickly. solo rides are nice but with company is definetly more fun and in this cases might help ;) I slept in Ta Seng at a simple home stay, there was also a magic shop that for $2 dollars washed the bike and you could see it again when all the mud was gone ! I gave him the boots too..hehe. the 62 down to the 6 was unpaved with lots of holes/rocks etc but ok,not much traffic.while the 6 to Phnom Penh was one of the worst! meaning trucks/buses/cars overtakin very careless u exist ,unpaved n superdusty for sometimes a long way ,visibility 30-50meters!I started to think ,will they ever finish the 'road work'??anyway there was about anything on this road,and driving badly!here I see one of the most odd things ever seen carried on a honda dream..the coffins delivery man! he was driving one hand and with the other trying to keep the badly tied up coffin on the rear !!:hmm (i even tought to follow him to take a pic ,but too bad I didn't..).
then I went down to Sianoukville to rest and avoid the Songkran 'madness'. Chilled out at Otres beach which is one of the most relaxed and out of town.Nice.Then started my way back .Exit at Ko kong, parked right in front of customs regardless had not papers for Cambo,stamped out ,not a word about the bike ,I fired it up and easily entered Thailand..Honestly was a kind of a nice feeling to be 'back'. Well here follow some pics i took,hope some of this info is useful :RO
 
some pics

DSC_0009.jpgDSC_0005.jpgDSC_0026[1].jpgDSC_0156[1].jpg
 
some pics from the route 66 DSC_0181[1].jpgDSC_0030.jpgDSC_0183.jpgDSC_0183.jpgDSC_0186.jpgDSC_0193.jpgDSC_0193.jpg
 
more route 66 pics
DSC_0188.jpgDSC_0192.jpgDSC_0190.jpg DSC_0194.jpgDSC_0202.jpgthe magic guy that washed the bike..
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haha nice one..no I actually grabbed a brush n cleaned 'em myself while i was waiting

Did the guy clean the boots and if so did he want to be paid extra for that?
 
thanx ,it is not the most powerful i have but my favorite .with a few mods is nearly perfect *the first was a confy seat for longer rides!

Well done!
Nice looking CRF too; dirty and clean.
 
Thanks for your post, do you have gpx files or map data of the trip ??
 
not really ,I used the GPS in Thailand and the tablet/OSMAND in Cambo .The route 66 begins in Beoung Mealea (as osmand spells it) and ends after Ta Seng when hits the 62. Lat 13.30515 Lon 105.00217
is there anything specific you need to know?

Thanks for your post, do you have gpx files or map data of the trip ??
 
not really ,I used the GPS in Thailand and the tablet/OSMAND in Cambo .The route 66 begins in Beoung Mealea (as osmand spells it) and ends after Ta Seng when hits the 62. Lat 13.30515 Lon 105.00217
is there anything specific you need to know?

Not trying to be a smart ass but route 66 begins at Angkor Wat.
 
Not trying to be a smart ass but route 66 begins at Angkor Wat.

Are you sure?:-

Route 66 is also known as the Will Rogers Highway and colloquially known as the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System. Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926—with road signs erected the following year.[SUP][2][/SUP] The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in America, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending at Santa Monica, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).[SUP][3][/SUP]
 
correct NR, but i actually avoided it because the previous day i was on it and arrived at a crooked wooden bridge that at first I thought it was a 'fancy' design!a bit lookin like a rollercoaster, but in reality is falling apart! i even drove on it a couple of meters but realized could have been dangerous and quickly backed up.I think they still drive scooters on it and it will survive for a while, but i had bags etc ,didn't want to take chances.it is around Lat 13.42389 Lon 103.99013 .there is a photo earlier in this post,u can see the bridge through the wheel.
,Beoung Mealea is where i started to keep track of it on the tablet, there is a clear track using OSMAND named 'route 66' (make sure you enlarge enough the map to see the 'route 66' name on it all the way)

Not trying to be a smart ass but route 66 begins at Angkor Wat.
 
correct NR, but i actually avoided it because the previous day i was on it and arrived at a crooked wooden bridge that at first I thought it was a 'fancy' design!a bit lookin like a rollercoaster, but in reality is falling apart! i even drove on it a couple of meters but realized could have been dangerous and quickly backed up.I think they still drive scooters on it and it will survive for a while, but i had bags etc ,didn't want to take chances.it is around Lat 13.42389 Lon 103.99013 .there is a photo earlier in this post,u can see the bridge through the wheel.
,Beoung Mealea is where i started to keep track of it on the tablet, there is a clear track using OSMAND named 'route 66' (make sure you enlarge enough the map to see the 'route 66' name on it all the way)

This is what that bridge looked like in December 2012:
23.jpg
 
wow ..so was definetly nothing 'fancy' and excellent choice to back up .. to drive around it is a wise idea folks


This is what that bridge looked like in December 2012:
23.jpg
 

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It looked brand new when I crossed it a year and a half ago. Must not be very good quality. It was probably wise to avoid it. Compare with the old bridges along this route that is in better shape after 900 years of use.
 
ye true ,although we know water can be devastating to wooden structures ..quickly.
have to thank my instinct , i stopped right away! really the shape now looks nice ,and done on purpose,but it isn't! it failed.

It looked brand new when I crossed it a year and a half ago. Must not be very good quality. It was probably wise to avoid it. Compare with the old bridges along this route that is in better shape after 900 years of use.
 
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