Well it is obvious from Kampong Cham county line to Siem Reap we are in the rainy season. Every thing is quite lush and the rice fields are full of water and people harvesting rice all the way to siem reap. The road is pretty much complete and I was able to do the return in 5 hours, so you guys with the big bikes should be able to do it in 4.5 or less. All of the old bridges are replaced with new tarmac around them so no turn outs. Still a lot of dogs and cows to becareful of.
I wanted to hit samrong and give our guide in ta penh some pics of my trip with philippe but the rain wasnt on my side. Pissed down rain every night in siem reap and the morning I wanted to go to samrong as well. Plan B fully in effect I called some company and did 2 afternoons of cruising the south end neighborhoods of siem reap and a little joy riding in the temples.
Day one I hit the crocodile farm then headed south to the fast boat docs and floating village. tarmac most of the way then some dirt. on the rebound there was a dirt road off shoot to siem reap and I opted for that. good move as there is a cool little temple that doesnt get frequented. Wat Atweah (sp) which is one of two temples that faces west. angkor being the other. there is a newer wat that houses a 400 year old buddha and the place was a sanctuary for people during Khmer rouge. The Ancient temple was a practice site for angkor wat and isnt adorned with sculptures. there are a few apsaras inside and some sanskrit that talks about the place. This was pretty much the highlight of my trip.
Hit the local bars with my companion that night and was going off to samrong the next day but downpours till 12:30 PM the next day preempted that. Called her back and we hit Wat Chedei south of town as well. It is an old prasat that looks like it was covered (preserved?) in concrete. not too impressive but a nice gettaway in the siem reap country side. drove out to the west baray where the busloads of tourist were taking boats to Mebon. got out of there quickly and headed down a parallel country road looking for a prasat that was on the gecko map. well there is one rock on the side of the road where the place was. came around on the backside of the airport and headed to the ankor complex on good tarmac. side entrance to angkor wat and not a problem getting in. Did some joy riding with my companion around the sites and snapped off a few pics from a distance. 5 years since I went there and I was amazed at the shit loads of busses and tourist that were at ankor wat and Bakeng for the sunset. getting to the outer temples offered some tranquility.
Next day headed home from noon to 5 pm. if you have any desire to see angkor wat I highly recommend early september as that is usually the slowest month here.
I wanted to hit samrong and give our guide in ta penh some pics of my trip with philippe but the rain wasnt on my side. Pissed down rain every night in siem reap and the morning I wanted to go to samrong as well. Plan B fully in effect I called some company and did 2 afternoons of cruising the south end neighborhoods of siem reap and a little joy riding in the temples.
Day one I hit the crocodile farm then headed south to the fast boat docs and floating village. tarmac most of the way then some dirt. on the rebound there was a dirt road off shoot to siem reap and I opted for that. good move as there is a cool little temple that doesnt get frequented. Wat Atweah (sp) which is one of two temples that faces west. angkor being the other. there is a newer wat that houses a 400 year old buddha and the place was a sanctuary for people during Khmer rouge. The Ancient temple was a practice site for angkor wat and isnt adorned with sculptures. there are a few apsaras inside and some sanskrit that talks about the place. This was pretty much the highlight of my trip.
Hit the local bars with my companion that night and was going off to samrong the next day but downpours till 12:30 PM the next day preempted that. Called her back and we hit Wat Chedei south of town as well. It is an old prasat that looks like it was covered (preserved?) in concrete. not too impressive but a nice gettaway in the siem reap country side. drove out to the west baray where the busloads of tourist were taking boats to Mebon. got out of there quickly and headed down a parallel country road looking for a prasat that was on the gecko map. well there is one rock on the side of the road where the place was. came around on the backside of the airport and headed to the ankor complex on good tarmac. side entrance to angkor wat and not a problem getting in. Did some joy riding with my companion around the sites and snapped off a few pics from a distance. 5 years since I went there and I was amazed at the shit loads of busses and tourist that were at ankor wat and Bakeng for the sunset. getting to the outer temples offered some tranquility.
Next day headed home from noon to 5 pm. if you have any desire to see angkor wat I highly recommend early september as that is usually the slowest month here.