Preah Khan TEMPLES Dirt Biking

There are very little moments in your life when you actually get to feel like Indiana Jones for a day but Preah Khan temple is the exception!

There's an eerie kind of feeling that comes over you when you're crawling over these amazing deserted ruins and the only noise is the back ground sounds of the jungle. This place is huge and I mean huge, it coves 138 acres in size and it has that Toom Raider feel where much of the temple is overgrown with jungle.

Now you can access the temples on dirt bikes but in a few years time when UNESCO restore the temples, you can be guaranteed that there will be new roads and tour buses lining up to see these amazing ruins that still stand the test of time.

We rode with to the village of Ta Seng where we stayed the night and experienced some amazing Cambodian food. Early in the morning it's a short ride from the villages to the temples of Preah Khan and to be honest it still stands as one of my highlights.

Preah Khan Main Entrance

Read More

Pol Pot's Grave At Anlong Veng

In 2010 at the end of our tour , we ventured up into Anlong Veng which is Pol Pots resting place and former Khmer Rouge strong hold area.

This is where Pol Pot was finally tried and put under house arrest. Hardly punishment for an evil ruler who sent almost 2 million people to their deaths.

Pol Pot became leader of Cambodia in mid-1975. During his time in power he imposed a version of agrarian socialism, forcing urban dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labour projects, toward a goal of "restarting civilization" in "Year Zero." The combined effects of forced labour, malnutrition, poor medical care and executions resulted in the deaths of approximately 21 percent of the Cambodian population. In all, an estimated 1,700,000–2,500,000 people died under his leadership.

In 1979 after the invasion of Cambodia by neighbouring Vietnam in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, he fled into the jungles of southwest Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge government collapsed. From 1979 to 1997 he and a remnant of the old Khmer Rouge operated from the border region of Cambodia and Thailand, where they clung to power, with nominal United Nations recognition as the rightful government of Cambodia.

He died in 1998 while under house arrest by the Ta Mok faction of the Khmer Rouge. Since his death, rumours that he was poisoned have persisted.

Here are a few photos of Pol Pots grave in Anlong Veng. It's about two hours riding out of Siem Reap to the north where Cambodia borders with Thailand.

Pol Pots Grave - Anlong Veng Cambodia

Read More

2011 Tour Video

Here is a short video with some highlights from our September tour from Phnom Penh - Mondrulkiri - Siem Reap.

Sorry that some of the footage is slightly blurry, we had a lot of moisture that was getting into the lenses ... but you'll get the general idea!

Enjoy!

WWW.SIEMREAPDIRTBIKES.COM

Read More

Sophal Verses The Tarantula's

Check this shit out!

While we were waiting to do another river crossing Sophal our Cambodian guide got talking to the kids an they had been collecting spiders for dinner. Tarantula's are deep fried and eaten in Cambodia along with Scorpions and lots of other exotic creepy crawl delicacies!

We never tried any but we're told that Scorpions kinda of taste like prawns and many westerners grow a liking for Tarantula legs! The body is also eaten but their big bulbous rear end contains some funky brown juice that's not for the faint hearted!   

Read More

Preah Vihear Temple

In 2010 we made the trek up north to the Thai Cambodian border so we could visit the amazing Preah Vihear Temple that is being disputed by the Thai & Cambodian people. There have been numerous clashes over the years and when we arrived there the tensions were still high. The Cambodian military staunchly protect Preah Vihear with a great sense of national pride and respect and we were very lucky to be granted permission by he military to take a tour of this sacred site.

Preah Vihear Temple is a Hindu temple built during the reign of Khmer Empire, that is situated atop a 525-metre (1,722 ft) cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. In 1962, following a lengthy dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague awarded the temple to Cambodia.

Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire's spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east. The temple gives its name to Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, in which it is now located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihan National Park which borders it in Thailand's Sisaket province and through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Cambodian Military live around the temples in make shift bunkers and camp sites ready to protect the temples. They have a very small budget from the government so they grow and farm much of their own food around the camp sites next to the temples. We were shocked to see the military growing their own fish in fish ponds and growing their own vegetables, it's a tough existence up there in the mountains. Before leaving we donated much of our own supplies to the military as a token of thanks for their hospitality for the day ... they seemed to be over the moon with some city treats!

Cambodian Military Camp Site

Damo soaking up the view from the cliff face at the Preah Vihear Temple

Preah Vihear from Nicolas Axelrod on Vimeo.

Read More

Land Mines

The first thing everyone says when you tell them you're riding in Cambodia is Hello !! LAND MINES!!

Yes they're still a major problem in Cambodia and clearing of land mines is still happening to this very day, but there's a few simple rules that everyone follows.

STAY ON THE TRACKS! Don't be an idiot and venture off into the bush in unknown areas, most of the Cambodians follow well worn tracks through the jungle. All types of transport use these tracks on a daily basis, even in the remote parts Ox Carts and farmers follow well worn tracks through the remote areas.

OBEY THE SIGNS! Where there are known danger areas with lots of mines you will see the below sign on fences and trees  ... follow rule number one stay on the tracks! Generally they will be actively clearing mines in these areas and you may even see teams of workers clearing the mines on the side of the track.

Avoiding remote area travel in Cambodia is plain ridiculous, stick with your guides and keep on the path, this way you'll get to enjoy some of the most beautiful and under developed parts of Asia!

Read More

Another Deep Crossing Enroute To Mondrulkiri

Here's some more pics of a deep crossing that we did with out any boats. The cool river water was nothing short of therapeutic to cool the guys off while we walk the bikes through the deep sections.

This type of riding or experience is not typical in the dry season and you'll cover way more miles if you go for a ride in the dry season. The dry usually starts from October through till March - April but starting to get hot in April. The wet season we did in 2010 was not as challenging as 2011 and it all boils down to the rainfall they've had at the time. Still a great time to go riding the jungle is lush and the country side looks amazing!

"Chilling out with the locals while we walk the bikes through"

Read More

Village Hospitality

If you decide to head out into to the more remote areas, you'll soon be taken back by the hospitality and friendliness of the Cambodian villagers.

Over the past two visits we stopped and stayed with numerous villagers along the way and their welcoming nature was such a pleasure after a hard day of biking. Here you can see they brought us a whole bunch of two minute noodles and freshly brewed tea that hit the spot.

When we were riding  up the hills on our way to Mondrulkiri we pulled into this very small and remote village, we needed a break and just stopped to say hi. Sophal our Cambodia guide (GURU) got chatting to these villagers and they had some spare gas so we could fill up the bikes for the next leg of the journey. The little old lady came out with a watering can and then started to fill us up! This place was so remote they have barely anything so getting petrol was the last thing on our minds at the time!

Since we were on such a roll Sophal asked if we can buy any food off them. Their answer was "We have small snakes & Jelly" at the time we were thinking what?? But yes they had small snakes or jelly lollies which they had acquired from somewhere! In need of a good sugar fix we mowed down a bag of jellies while the bikes got filled up. Just another great experience in the middle of the jungle!

"No Snakes Just Jelly Please!"

Read More

River Crossings

The wet season of 2011 had some of the highest rainfall in the past 30 years and it seems that it was talk of the town with all the locals!

We did numerous river crossings during our 2011 tour, some on small boats, canoes, big barges and long boats in pitch black! It never ceases to amaze me the daily challenges (head aches) that the Cambodian people are faced with.

For a bunch of westerners on an awesome bike trip the river crossings are a great way to cool off and watch the world go by, the Mekong was so wide and flowing it was a mission for these heavily loaded boats to get across.

Check out some of our pics!

The Mekong busting the banks far and wide!

Book your tickets, hop on a plane and get to Siem Reap Dirt Bikes you'll love every minute of it!

Read More

How to Cross A River In The Jungle

Here is some of the ingenuity of the local people during the wet season!

If you're on a village scooter or a KTM 250 , the locals will help you cross those deep spots when the going gets tough!

We had fives bikes that needed to cross the river, it took a bit of time but hats off to the local people for all their help!

Read More

Taking The Off Road Route

In a world bound by rules and regulation there are very few places left where you can truly head off into the wilderness and ride your dirt bike where ever your heart desires .... except one place ...

CAMBODIA!!

For two years now we've been making an annual pilgrimage to Cambodia to explore the country totally off road and in the wild. Like most guys who have owned bikes throughout their life, the well know Long Way Round documentary series was a major motivator to go and do something different for our next ManCation, (Holiday with the lads). 

It's all to easy to book your holidays and sit on a beach in Bali or Thailand and drink beer for a week and come home feeling like shit. Seeing nothing more than the inside of a few bars. My brother was the main man trying to rally boys together to do something we all love and do something a bit more challenging and exciting.

So after speaking to a few guys here in Hong Kong the recommendation to get dirty in Cambodia, came from some fellow bike lovers and all round party animals!

We were recommended Siem Reap Dirt Bikes through some friends and boy are we glad we kicked off these adventures with Richard & Sophal, who own and run this dirt bike company based in Siem Reap Cambodia.

Richard is an ex Enduro Racer from the UK and Sophal is his right hand man and local Cambodian. Richard & Sophal make an awesome team to show you the adventure of a lifetime and they can cater for the highly experienced dirt biker or complete novice. 

If you're serious about dirt biking in Cambodia then Siem Reap Dirt Bikes offers both KTM 250's and Honda XR 250's. The KTM dirt bikes are great for the experienced rider and the Honda XR 250's are a great reliable entry level bike for the novice that's easy to handle.

The one thing I can vouch for is that dirt biking in Cambodia is hard going and Richards bikes are always maintained to be running flawlessly. In the odd occasion that you may have a minor problem Richard will get it sorted out on the spot or at the next check point making riding nothing but a pleasure in this amazing country.

Come back soon and I'll post lots of stories and photo's from our Cambodian Dirt Bike tours.

Read More