Once again I've left it too long between updates and so this will probably end up longer than it should... Sorry.
Here I am in Malaysia now, having crossed the southern provinces of Thailand in the last few days. But first back to Cambodia.
At my last update I'd reached Phnom Penh, but was still to head north to the Cambodian "must see" of Angkor Wat near the city of Siam Reap. I decided to head up the western side of the lake Tonle Sab. I would ride as far as Battambang then catch a boat across the lake to Siam Reap. The road to the west of Siam Reap is well known for being terrible and I'd need to ride it once to go from Siam Reap to Thailand, so, no point it doing that same terrible stretch twice when a boat can take you through floating villages and scenic canals before crossing the lake to get you where you want to go. With the water in the lake being low this time of year the first part of the "boat trip" was actually the back of a Ute, through all sorts of terrain (four wheel driving in a two wheel drive) to get to the banks of a canal that was navigable for the boat. I was expecting the majority of the trip to be lake, but no, most of the time - of the day long trip - was spent weaving through the canals between Battambang and the lake, picking up and dropping off people and goods at various floating villages along the way. (Consider this boat as being "the" method of transport for people and goods into these villages.) Fishing is of course the major industry here and the canals are lined with floating bamboo "barges" with bamboo cranes for lowering large horizontal nets into the water for fishing, and with rows of poles sunk into the mud holding nets forming a fish trap. The lake itself is also full of fish traps and people in the water maintaining them. At the Siam Reap side of the lake the boat drops you off maybe 10km from town (I didn't put the trip computer on so I don't know precisely) and despite having a bicycle you get off the boat and are inundated with offers of Taxi's in the form of cars trucks and motorbikes. You joke around with them, offering to take them and they get the idea. In Siam Reap, once again the expensive hotels come to the rescue providing a map of the place (most people have one in their guide book) and telling me where I can go to get a place that is in my price bracket.
Angkor Wat
I spend the next few days in Siam Reap, buying a three day ticket for the Angkor Temples but actually only using it for two. The scale of the Angkor ruins is just amazing. You look around Angkor Wat - the famous temple complex and think it is big, but compared to the whole area of sites it is tiny. A bike is a great way to get around to see all of the sites with the exception of the heat. If you can put up with the heat then it's ideal.
Angkor Thom 
Preah Khan
I was pretty happy with what I'd seen on day one of my ticket and would have gone away happy, but still managed to spend the entire next day going to places I'd never seen before, and could no doubt have done it again the next day - if so enclined. Getting toward the end of day one I'd not yet seen any of the ruins with the big trees growing in and over them, but sure enough, I had a couple more sites left on the "short tour" - as shown on the map, and yes there they were, as spectacular as all the pictures you've ever seen - looking like some extra terrestrial goop that is engulfing the building.
I stumbled across this
From Angkor and Siam Reap to the Thai border is a highway that really doesn't deserve that name. I've heard rumours that airlines are lining the pockets of people to ensure the roadworks are never completed, their maybe no substance to the story but it is certainly believable. The way in from Bangkok would be very easy comfortable if the road was good, but its not and as such most "tourists" fly in. Of the 150km highway there is a 15km stretch in the middle that is perfect, and the remainder is "being done", "in progress".
The truss holding the bridge is broken - so they drive a roller over it??
Or dust if it's dry 
The unfortunate thing is that to make the road you first make it worse - digging it up - before making it better. In their wisdom (?) they've successfully dug up the entire length of highway, made it worse and don't have the money, people and equipment to make it better. It is in progress but they only seem to take it to the point of flattening it out, then moving onto the next bit, so never actually get the road sealed (and by the time that next bit is done the first bit is pot-holed and ruined by the traffic and weather. (hence they never get any of it finished) The various parts of the highway had various hazards. In some places wet clay made it like riding on a skating rink - you couldn't steer or move your weight, brake or accelerate - you just had try and maintain a slow constant speed and "maintain a line" or go where the road lead you. In other places a dust bowl with very fine clay dust, and in others with rocks embedded in the hard baked clay ground was far far worse than the worst cobbled road you've ever imagined. My map indicated I had 100km of this to the junction of the highway coming up from Battambang. I did that 100km of terrible roads on the first day and started the next day with 4km of rough then 15km of blissful smooth wide bitumen with a lovely wide shoulder that was part of the same surface. The remainder of the way to the border (all the way to the immigration office door) was once again terrible - and drier and dustier than the day before.. (The airline story is so believable).
Once to the Cambodian-Thai border I then had my worst ever immigration office shuffle - travelling across the "no mans land" between border posts 5 times before finally getting on the road - In Thailand . It was easy leaving Cambodia, they just stamped the passport and I was through. but when I got to Thailand they couldn't read the date stamp for my entry into Cambodia. Why the entry date into another country is of any significance nobody seems to be able to tell me, but because they couldn't read it they wouldn't let me in to Thailand and insisted I go back to Cambodian Immigration. Of course back on the other side Cambodia looked at my exit stamp and rechecked my Visa dates and said "no problem". Mmm... stale-mate. With extra initialling in the passport and a guy escorting down to the Thai side Thailand eventually let me in. But still no explanation why Entry into Cambodia mattered.
I rode a bit too far on this day and found myself on a stretch with no hotels, so the tent was again swung into action. It was the next morning at a bit after 3am that I woke up and decided to get up then pack and start riding. I had two hours of riding in the dark (4 'til 6), with a bit of moonlight, good roads and a white line that would reflect the flashing of the white LED headlight - just enough to keep me on what was a consistently good and reliable surface (Blind faith in the Thai road quality - such a change from Cambodia yesterday). This early start was to be the first of many. My new mode of riding in this heat is to have my watch wake me at 4:15 pack and be on the road asap. With a start at this time I can do a daily distance of 90km in the morning, and avoid most of the full heat from about 11am. (or look around the new town when I get there).
I arrived into Bangkok from one of these early starts right on peak hour (wouldn't want to miss that) and had a full day in Bangkok organising a whole heap of things. In the first arrival day - after riding 96km I got to the Indonesian Embassy just after they opened consular, found a bike shop and dropped the bike in for replacement Bottom Bracket, Chain, Cassette and Middle Chain Ring and a service. With all the Shimano XT parts in stock it would be ready by 9pm, and looked immaculate when I picked it up. (I don't ever remember it being that shiny). Whilst that was serviced I found a place to replace one of the tiny switches on the back of my camera (because the -> direction wouldn't work, and stopped you from changing some important settings), and booked myself in to a dentist for an appointment the next morning and found another bike shop to buy a new pair of knicks (riding pants). What I'd thought would take a week I'd done in one day. Aah, the joys of a big city. The only thing I failed at was finding a Petzl dealer. I had wanted to invest in a decent LED torch instead of the cheap ones I've had in the past. Before I had these things to do I had originally hoped to bypass Bangkok on this leg, but at least I was out of Bangkok in less than two days. Whilst on the hunt for a Petzl dealer though I met up with - by pure chance - a friend from Melbourne/New Zealand. David and Sheridan I knew from my bush walking club in Melbourne, but he moved back to his native New Zealand in 2002 and took Sheridan with him. I've not seen them again since, but here they were in a shopping mall in Bangkok. (I defy anybody to find anybody in "a shopping mall", "in Bangkok")
From Bangkok it was south toward Malaysia, and this meant a few days of doing the beach areas that Thailand is famous for, then beyond that into the southern provinces that the Australian Foreign Affairs Dept warn against visiting. Quote: "We strongly advise you not to travel at this time to the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla". Unfortunately, these areas are on the way to Malaysia, and you have to go through all of them to get to the east coast of Malaysia. (My route)
Squid - sun baking 
Sunrise - East coast Thailand
I headed down as far as Champhon before taking a boat out to Koh Tao (island) off the east coast of Thailand. I spent a three days there, snorkeling and getting burnt on places that missed out on sunscreen.
The beach in front of my bungalow Koh Tao
I missed out on a couple of days riding by then taking a boat to Sarit Thani - but its a boat so not cheating :-) We had a bit of rain here every day, something I'd not seen since way back in Vietnam (but tropical big drops not wet mist like Vietnam) and we got magnificent lighting displays every night on the horizon with distant electrical storms.
From Sarit Thani I had to decide where I wanted to go. I had though I'd head across to the west coast to Phuket - just to say I'd been there, but after 3 days on Koh Tao, I "had been there". Phuket would be just like Koh Tao, but bigger, more people, noisier and more expensive (and Koh Tao was expensive by all other Thai or S/E Asian standards.) If I headed over to Phuket, I'd have to stay there a while to avoid going through the "southern provinces" mentioned above during the Thai New Year period (which sounds like a good time to set off bombs if wanting crowds and publicity). The alternative, miss Phuket and ride like the clappers to go through before New Year.
Leaving Koh Tao on the night boat put me in Sarit Thani early the next morning - ideal starting time for riding.
Sarit Thani after the night boat arrival.
On this first day I thought I'd done really well doing a new daily record of 146km. At this rate I'd get through to Malaysia and cross the border on the 12th (New Year being the 13th). Pretty good, but the 11th would be better, so I set a new target town for the next day which was 160km away. In 4 days I covered 630km a record for me. (In Iran I was pleased doing 600km from Shiraz to Bandar Abbas in 6 days). So after my initial record setting longest day of 146km I then did three days of more than 100 miles, 160km. (I'm a little chuffed, because I feel great, legs good, no knee probs - but the butt got a bit sore at times). I was so pleased with these days that I've actually put my name down for "Around The Bay" in October this year. So if anybody reading this feels so enclined book in for the 210km via Sorrento (Via Queenscliff was already booked out) and I'll see you there. (Oh &#%! I've just set a deadline for my return)
It's a shame to have had to rush through these southern areas. I had nothing but wonderful experiences in the region, the people were warm, welcoming and generous and for the first time since Iran and Turkey started giving me things like food and drink - for no real reason - just stopped by the side of the road or in a shop, just hospitality. Yes, these southern provinces are Islamic provinces. They are a warm and generous mob. But I guess like all religions there are a small numbers of extremists that soil the reputation of the rest.
police check point - one of MANY around the towns mentioned by DFAT
All with heavily armed police wearing flack jackets. There are large numbers between checkpoints too, seated by the roadside and patrolling around town.
To get to take this photo, every pannier bag and pocket was searched for bombs. Only then would the large number of automatic-gun armed police let me off the roadway toward the sports field.
Another thing I noticed in Southern Thailand was the road manners. There have been cars pulled up beside the road repeatedly (i think to make phone calls!!!) which before pulling out, actually check mirrors and wait for me to approach and pass before doing so. They also keep pulling in behind me when wanting to turn off instead of pulling in front and turning like "all" drivers in "every" other country here in S/E Asia. It really is a totally different driving culture here - even compared to northern Thailand.
I crossed in Malaysia in the mid afternoon on the 11th and am now in Kota Bharu. The map I was using showed two check points one that would mean an extra 70km and seemed to be more major. From the map it was impossible to see why anybody would go the extra 70km. I certainly didn't want to. On arrival at the Tak Bai checkpoint I found out why. There is a ferry, a small ferry that can only take a few cars or (smallish) trucks at a time and delays can be quite long (a bike can squueze in at the front). If only I'd looked at my Malysian map instead of the Thailand map I'd have known.
This side Thailand - the other Malaysia
Welcome to Malaysia
I'll spend a couple of days in Kota Bharu doing things like "emailing the group" and "Blogging" before heading off again down the East coast of Malaysia. More slowly than the last few days, because I want to see more, but really thinking it'd be nice to push through as I have been. Hmm..
Until next time.. Take care..
Jeff
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