Motorcycle Diary

That's me on the back of a bloody moto! Me! And our friend Pisith, the best moto driver in Cambodia!

Another big thank you to Kate for letting me use her pictures on this post. We haven't worked out the wifi situation in Phnom Penh yet and I'm at an internet cafe and don't want to risk sticking my hard drive into a foreign body - there are viruses out here, you know what I'm saying?

After three days of templage, you could be forgiven for thinking that we would be templed out. You are soooooo wrong. You know why? Because we are hardcore Templars. Oh yes.

After the temples of Angkor, which we thought were hard to beat, we wanted to go further afield, a little off the beaten track to some of the lesser spotted temples outside Siem Reap. We spoke to our friend and driver Richard about our options for travelling to Beng Mealea and Koh Ker.

"Yes. I can do this," he said, "I take you there. I've been many times, I take you on motos. Two bikes."

Motos are the local name for motorcycles here.

I am very dubious about this. I have never been on a motorcycle and I have a recurring memory of Shonagh's mum calling motorbike drivers 'organ donors' from when I was a kid.

Look, no landmines here - what a relief!

"I'll drive a bike," says Kate, who has never driven one before in her life.

"Yeah, ok," says Richard.

I feel obliged to step in here, "I think that is a very bad idea. Richard, Kate has never driven a motorbike before."

Richard is nothing if not quick to adapt, "Ok, no problem, I get other driver. We take two bikes, two passengers one bike, one passenger on other."

I'm not sure why this doesn't make me feel better, but it doesn't. I've seen motorbike drivers in South East Asia, in fact, I've seen the traffic in South East Asia and it's cosmically insane. There are no rules. It's like Fight Club. The first rule of South East Asia traffic is that there is no South East Asia traffic. Fact.

Our guide Tay at Beng Mealea

Ang is saying nothing, and Kate's travelling nickname has become Kate'll do it Dykes, so it's down to me.

"Er, maybe we could have a trial run," suggests Kate.

"Yeah, trial run," says Richard, "Sound like a plan. We go now."

I want to cry. Instead, I leap up and say, "Yes. We go now."

Two seconds later, I am wrapped around Richard as if we are Siamese twins and we're heading into the side streets of Siem Reap.

Look at that straight spine! Look at me on a moto! I will never get bored of this. Never!!

"If you kill me," I whisper hoarsely in his ear, "I will come back as a ghost and I will haunt you until your last day on earth."

"Yeah, ok." says Richard, with his customary cool.

After five minutes, Richard starts to have a coughing fit and I realise I am constricting his breathing and release my grip on his ribcage. He seems somewhat relieved. I realise that I have not yet died and start to breathe again and look around me. This isn't too bad.

When we get back to Happy Guest House, K and A cheer at me as we sail back into the yard on Richard's bike and I walk over to them.

"How was it?"

I stretch out my hands which are shaking so violently I could mix a Harvey Wallbanger without even attempting to move (seriously, I know this, I had one the other night).

Richard - what can I tell you, the chicks love him....

"It was like this," I tell them, nodding at my hands, "But it's actually ok. We should do it."

And so it is settled. The next day, Richard and I set off on one bike and his friend Pisith,
Kate and Ang set off on another. Twenty minutes later we are out on the straight, flat roads of Cambodia sailing along at a ridiculous speed and I am loving it.

Being on a moto takes some getting used to, but once I do, it is one of the best feelings ever. Better even than the speedboat, and I thought that was pretty exhilarating. But being a passenger on a moto feels like flying. It's fast and scary and the wind is in your face. I love it!

The gang at Koh Ker, Kate is the one behind the camera.

We swap bikes halfway along and I ride with Pisith, who we have not met before. Pisith is a student at University, he is only 21 years old and this is his first trip with tourists out to Koh Ker. Actually, we learn later, this is also Richard's first trip with tourists out to Koh Ker, in fact, it is both of their first trips to Koh Ker, full stop, as we learn approximately halfway through the trip when Richard gets a little lost.

But first we are off to Beng Mealea. This temple is less preserved than the temples around Siem Reap and is, in many places, a ruin. There is no equivalent to English Heritage here, so you are expected to be responsible for yourself and if you want to climb through, up and over the ruins, then it's at your own risk.

Still pumped with adrenaline from the motorcycle ride, suffice to say I do want to climb the ruins like tomb raider. However, you should not tackle Beng Mealea without a guide, not only because it isn't that safe if you don't know what you're doing, but also because they know stuff that you don't, such as what it is you're looking at, for example. We do not realise this at first and so turn down the offers from the first two guides we meet. However, this is ok, because a wiry middle-aged man, Tay, soon comes to my rescue and helps me clamber through a section of the ruins I was clearly trapped in, and then starts to guide us round in the most charmingly accented English I have ever heard.

Oh, it's me on a moto - what a surprise! Doing something really weird with my face, I think we'd just hit a bump!

Tay makes our trip to Beng Mealea thoroughly enjoyable and is genuinely delighted when we give him some money at the end. After the temple, we head across the country road to Harmony Farm, an orphanage, school, and sustainable farm NGO that we had heard about in Siem Reap. We meet Marli again, the assistant director at Harmony Farm and whose enthusiasm for the place, the children and the staff is unmistakable and highly contagious. She is not romantic about the challenges of volunteering, or about the difficulties of raising money and support for a project like Harmony Farm, but the Farm is currently providing education, care and support to over 100 children from the local community, many of whom cannot attend school on a daily basis and without which their opportunities for education and indeed, childhood, would be severely limited.

Harmony Farm really needs ongoing support and they are currently raising money for solar panels to replace the overly expensive and inefficient generator that currently runs for a few hours a day. You can - and please do - find out more about and join me in donating money to Harmony Farm here: Give them cash please!!

Even better, if you fancy a trip to Cambodia that's a bit more than sightseeing, why not volunteer there? Email Marli on marli@harmonyfarmcambodia.org for more info.

Band shot number two! Rock and roll!! Richard is the one behind the camera...

After Harmony Farm, we head out to Koh Ker. Getting there is a bit of an adventure, not only because Richard has slightly fabricated his knowledge of the area (it's not a worry as everyone is very friendly), but because, unlike the tarmacked roads of the journey so far, the last couple of hours journey to Koh Ker is only accessible via a dirt road. This is a different experience and as I do not know Pisith so well, I spend the first ten minutes clutching on to the back of the bike and hoping that it will be ok.

But at the point where the bumps in the road are so frequent, I am actually bouncing off the back, I decide the time has come to swallow my pride.

"Er, Pisith?"

"Yes Sarah?"

"Erm, I'm actually pretty scared on this bit, can I hold onto you now please?"

Pisith laughs a little, "Yes Sarah, it's ok."

One of my fave shots of the trip so far - nice work and band shot number 3!

The ice between us firmly broken, Pisith and I start to chat a bit more. The thing about dirt roads is that you have to go a bit slower and because you go a bit slower, you don't have to wear your helmet - honest Mum, he's a really good driver and it was perfectly safe!!

The next day we head out to spend the morning at the temples and this is great as, because they are less tourist populated, Pisith and Richard can come in with us (usually your drivers have to wait for you outside). The two of them are natural-born posers and want their photos taken every ten minutes, but we get some great band shots. By one o'clock it is time to head back to Siem Reap, and so we're all back on the bikes and away.

This time, as I have gotten more confident, and because I bully him a bit, Pisith goes faster than on our outward journey, so fast in fact that we leave the others behind and then have to wait by the roadside for them to catch up again! But there is no doubt in my mind that our moto journey to Koh Ker will be one of my most enduring memories of this trip, and that the friendships we have made at Happy will never leave me.

In case there was any doubt of this though, Richard invites us out on our last night to one of the 'locals' bars where only Khmers drink. This is a strange place, with Khmer karaoke (enduring memory number 25, Richard singing karaoke blasted out of his face) and the serving of 'slow' beer, which is lager served with huge wedges of ice. We were soon joined by Pisith and another Happy driver, Adam, and then we were soon smashed out of our faces. Really smashed. I don't even remember going to bed, let alone getting home.

And here is something we actually saw over the last couple of days - the main temple at Koh Ker, Prasat Thom

The next day we are up at 6am - yes, 6am - to head off to the country's capital Phnom Penh by bus. As we creep out, we almost trip over Richard, who is unconscious in the hallway.

Ang is vomiting at the first truck stop, but I manage to last until we arrive at the capital before bringing the contents of my stomach forth. I swear never to drink again. Again. Our new guest house, The Royal is lovely, and Phnom Penh is vastly different from Siem Reap. There is a far more city-like feel here, but now, on our third day, I am starting to get a like and a feel for the place. But I'll tell you more of that in my next post.

Missing you, my homies. Peace out.

Here's Ang and I. over-excited at Richard's singing onstage at the local's bar in Siem Reap - yes, I have had far too much slow beer at this point....