WARNING SIHANOUKEVILLE.

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HIKO

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Nov 7, 2005
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Just back from Sihanoukeville and I have some bad experience to tell. The police have huge traffic razzias in town stopping everything and everybody. If you don*t have the proper documentation the bike stays there and is later transported to the police station. According to some local bar owners the police have seized a few hundred bikes. Nobody is any more allowded to rent motorbikes in Sihanoukville and that is enforced, you don*t see any sign motobike for rent any more. Still worse is that foreigners are not allowed to drive a rented motorbike in the Sihanoukville province. The model is copied from Siem Reap where it is strictly enforced, no motorbikes in the temple area.

I thought that all this was just rumours and a temporary phenomen but leaving Sihanoukeville we were stopped at the big petrol station crossing (you know the police station were they had a Moto Guzzi 350 police bike standing idle and rusting for 5 years). The police showed us a paper with a directive from the Police Chief of Sihanoukeville that from a certain date no foreigners are allowed to drive rental motorcycles in Sihanoukeville and no rental business is allowed. If you live in Cambodia you may drive your own motorbike but you must have Cambodian driving Licence or International Driving Licence. The police paper quoted safety for foreigners as the reason (not the well being of the mototaxi drivers)

This is a bad sign maybe soon we can not drive in Sihanoukeville anymore. I really hope that the local bar&hotel owners do something to have the decision changed otherwise it will be like Siem Reap, no bikes.

We did*t have to pay anything since all the bikes were in my name and the missing driving licences we talked us out of that problem. But all of you who rent a bike in PP or drive with a friends bike take care.

HIKO
 
daewoo

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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I think the important part of this to many GT Riders is that it is covers;

rental bikes,
bikes without proper Cambodian paperwork,
bikes not registered to the rider (borrowed + rental),
and riders without a Cambodian Licence. I am not sire if an International Permit counts, I got the feeling that you had to have a Cambodian Riders Licence.

The Original post on Khmer440 was by LaudJohn who I thought was a lurker here as well, so he may post something here.

http://www.khmer440.com/chat_forum/viewtopic.php?t=5693

Cheers,
Daewoo
 
daewoo

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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quote:
Originally posted by daewoo
I am not sire if an International Permit counts, I got the feeling that you had to have a Cambodian Riders Licence.
Click to expand...

The latest post on the thread is that International Driving Permit was not accepted...

Cheers,
Daewoo
 
L

LaudJohn

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Dec 30, 2003
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Yes I did make the post on K440

No I am not a lurker here; I actually contribute posts occasionally; a Lurker sucks information and gives nothing back in the way of posts or information at all!!!

Basically If you rent and/or ride a Cambo bike in Snooky without a Cambo licence and you are a foreigner; goodbye to the bike

If you have a foreign registered bike with a foreign licence you should be ok; but there is no guarantee

The best reaction is not to stop

The business owners have tried to do things but to no avail/ hell I own a business there and our turnover has fallen a lot

Last Friday I noted a roadblock in town near the Caltex at 8pm; no bike was confiscated as there were no tourists riding bikes!!

The elections are to be held soon and the motodopes votes count; unfortunately there income has dropped; not increased as expected (the probable reason for the crackdown) as most tourist have left Snooky as a result of this crazy crackdown

cheers
LaudJohn
 
B

bill

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Mar 29, 2004
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My khmer contacts tell me the local police have basically had a gut-full of dealing with foriegn tourists who kill or injure themselves in motorcycle accidents or fall victim to motorcycle thieves.
I hear there has also been some pressure from various Embassies to fix the problem of foreigners coming to grief on motorcycles.

Whereas Khmers generally accept that police require payment for services rendered, foreign tourists dont like that idea, add to that the language barrier and its all too hard for our boys in blue.
The recent crackdown is not fair, but understandable.

If you live here, its simple, pay the tax, get the bike registered, and get a Cambo licence, not a lot different to what our own countries require.

I do feel sorry for the local business owners(except the french) as there has been a pronounced drop in tourist numbers although this is the @rse end of the high season anyway.
 
SilverhawkUSA

SilverhawkUSA

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Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
quote:
My khmer contacts tell me the local police have basically had a gut-full of dealing with foriegn tourists who kill or injure themselves in motorcycle accidents or fall victim to motorcycle thieves.
I hear there has also been some pressure from various Embassies to fix the problem of foreigners coming to grief on motorcycles.
Click to expand...


I would hate to see this attitude spread to other regions, but I am afraid it is highly possible if not likely. The "writing has been on the wall" in Laos for some time now, as we see more restrictions on entry and rentals ...........
 
daewoo

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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quote:
Originally posted by LaudJohn

No I am not a lurker here;

Click to expand...


Sorry LaudJohn, no offense intended, for me a lurker is someone who sort of lurks in the background and then pops their head up when they have something to contribute... I thought that someone who just sucks up info was called a leech...

no way you are a leech...

good to get the information on here first hand...

Do you have a definite answer on whether they are accepting International Drivers Permits or not???

Cheers,
Daewoo,
 
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shoei_com

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Apr 2, 2007
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hi, i m Michael here from Singapore as my friend n i will be going to PP on the 24th n we r planning to ride bike to SR but from what i read from here i think i will be having some problem so could anyone give me the lastest update what can i do as not to spoil my ride trip.... thanks....
 
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LaudJohn

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Dec 30, 2003
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quote:
Originally posted by daewoo

Do you have a definite answer on whether they are accepting International Drivers Permits or not???

Cheers,
Daewoo,

Click to expand...


I left Snooky nearly 2 weeks ago

Then the situation was that that sometimes they were accepting the IDP (International Drivers Permit) and sometimes not; no consistency but they were apparently accepting it more often

As for the supposed reason; well more expats seem to hurt themselves on bikes than tourists; especially if you look at it statistically.

Unfortunately they do not keep statistics on accidents as few are reported so the reasoning for the crackdown that was mooted is IMHO basically farcical and baseless.

It will be intersting to see what happens next dry season. I do know that many Embassies are peeved at having to replace so many passports!!

cheers
LaudJohn
Click to expand...
 
M

mikethevigo

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Jan 19, 2007
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Originally posted by shoei_com

hi, i m Michael here from Singapore as my friend n i will be going to PP on the 24th n we r planning to ride bike to SR but from what i read from here i think i will be having some problem so could anyone give me the lastest update what can i do as not to spoil my ride trip.... thanks....
[]GO SOMEWHERE ELSE IF YOU ARE ON A BIKE AND TAKE NO CHANCES, LITTLE HITLERS WILL LOVE ALL THIS
Click to expand...
 
L

LaudJohn

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Dec 30, 2003
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mikethevigo

You should be fine on a foreign registered bike with a foreign licence; besides by the time you make it there this should all have blown over

cheers
LaudJohn
 
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