Mob Mentality

If there is one thing that really shits me about Cambodia, it is the way they all stop to gawk and get involved in a road accident.

In Australia, if a minor accident occurs, the two parties pull their vehicles off the road, swap license and insurance details and get on with it. Minimal fuss and bother to everyone else. If a major acident occurs, the ambulance arrives within minutes and until then usually a motorist or two will direct traffic and make sure things don't get worse.

In Cambodia, a minor accident results in a major crowd, a major traffic jam and sometimes a lynching or a shooting. Not many Khmer drivers have insurance so the phones and walkie talkies come out and it comes down to who has the best connections or the biggest bodyguards. Cash is king and payments are made to cops and anyone else who can help you out of the mess. In major accident, everyone within 10km swarms on the scene and victims who aren't already dead ( and who may have severe spinal injuries etc ) are shaken about and rolled over and slapped by anyone who thinks they might know what they are doing.

This just happened outside work about 10mins ago. A very simple accident between two motos. So why the need for the legion of cops and sticky beakers ?

Gives me the shits I tell you.

FARCK's youngest recruit

The Flying and Radio Control Klub has just signed up it's youngest remember. Compound Baby #1 , Aliyah, was given a crash course in driving the RC jeep on the weekend and she did just fine. Hit a few walls ( must have got that from her father ? ) and ran over a few toes but hey......what a kid !

MAY Police reports

Guess which one my favourite is ?
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May 17: A gunman and three accomplices fired a hail of bullets into a group of prostitutes who were waiting for clients on Monireth Boulevard near Disco One (formerly known as U2) in Phnom Penh. Srey Lin, 19, was shot through the head and died at the scene. Srey Nu, 27, who was six months pregnant, was shot several times in the abdomen causing her stomach to split open. She died at Preah Ketomealea hospital. The victims had attempted to hide behind flowerpots in front of house 61BCo but were followed by the gunman who shot them at pointblank range. The incident occurred at 2.15am.

May 19: Two unidentified boys, aged 14 and 16, and Mao Sokheng, 18, have been arrested by Chamkarmon district police, after the father of a four-year-old girl accused them of raping his daughter. Police said that Sokheng went to visit relatives who lived next to the victim’s house. The victim’s parents were not at home so he coaxed the two other boys into entering the house with him and told them to embrace the girl. The two boys refused and left the house. Sokheng then carried the girl into another room and raped her. The two boys then returned and, seeing the naked child, fondled her but did not rape her.

May 20: Daun Penh district police arrested 16 youths on drug charges at Mlop Mien guesthouse on Street 242. Police closed the guesthouse on May 21, saying it had become a drug smoking den.

May 20: An armed robber was arrested by Daun Penh military police after he snatched a foreigner’s necklace then escaped with an accomplice. The incident happened in broad daylight on Street 178 south of Wat Koh. Police sources identified the man as Seyha Pich, 20, of Tanguon village, Dangkor disctrict.

May 20: A Kandal province man killed his two children by feeding them poison after his wife left him. Police said Sron Samnang, 30, confessed to killing his sons, one aged two years and the other seven months, in Por Tunle village, Koh Thom district. Samnang told police he continued to feed his sons poison despite them vomiting profusely, until he realized they weren’t dying and decided to strangle them.

May 21: A disabled man was repeatedly chopped with a cleaver by his wife at 8pm in Otaporng village, Bakan district, Pursat province. Police said 46-year-old Phoeung Phal’s head, hands, neck and back were chopped more than 50 times until he looked like he had fish gills. The attacker, Som Sinan, 34, said she was angry with her husband because he accused her of being treacherous and having a new lover. Phal said he bears no malice toward his wife because she came to the hospital in tears to see him.

May 22: A mechanic inserted a high-pressure air hose designed to fill car tires into his four-year-old son’s anus and blew him up. Try Sieng Him said he was “playing” with his son when the incident took place. The child’s stomach became distended and his mother rushed him to hospital. He is now in a stable condition. Police said no action will be taken against the father as the incident was caused by “stupidity.”

May 26: One member of a ten-strong group of men who gang raped a woman in Kandal province has been arrested. The men raped the 29-year-old woman shortly after midnight as she was returning home from a dance party in Prek They village, Saang district. Police said the arrested man, Ra Phearom, 25, told them his nine accomplices “really raped” the victim but he had only raped her once.

May 26: Phnom Penh municipal police publicly paraded three recently arrested robbers who achieved notoriety as members of “the AK-47 robbery gang.” Police identified the ringleader as Chhim Sophal, 33, and his two accomplices as Nop Bunthoeun, 45, and Seng Kleung, 35. Police are still hunting five more members of the gang that has terrorized many provinces and towns, carrying out over 30 robberies in Phnom Penh alone.

My sister Sarah is a legend.

My sister Sarah and some colleagues have just officially launched a not-for profit organisation called the Benjamin Andrew Footpath library. Sarah has been working on this project diligently and has gone to into the CBD every Tuesday night for over 4 years to distribute books to the homeless.I am so proud of her and she has a heart the size of Texas. Not a bad sort either !.
Here is her speech from the launch last night.

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Good evening everyone. Welcome to the official launch of The Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library.

Four and a half years ago I gave a book to a homeless man.

Today I am proud to be a Director of an organization that gives out around 450 books a week to homeless and needy people living on the streets and in hostels in Sydney and Melbourne.But none of this would have happened if it were not for my friendship with an extraordinary young man called Ben Andrew.His spirit urged me to volunteer for a charity that feeds the homeless and that is how this all began. The library is named to honour his memory and I’m proud to welcome Ben’s family here this evening.

I would like to introduce you to the other members of the Park Bench as our Board is known. Jaqui Lane, Shelley McConaghey and Shane McLachlan. And Beth Farriss who manages the Manly footpath library.

You are all here tonight because you have played a part in the evolution of the Footpath Library.

A few of you have been standing beside me every Tuesday evening for years urging me to make the library a formal entity, others have joined us as volunteers because you have seen or heard of the work we do, some of you have sponsored bookshelves in hostels or donated your professional services.And my friends and family have not only risen to the challenge when our supplies ran low, but have given so much emotional support. As for you journalists - you really gave this library legs when you gave me such positive media.You are all important to the success of the Footpath Library.

The ongoing generosity of our corporate supporters is vital.

Nine months ago, Sam Kennard, without hesitation gave our library a home in Brookvale, which currently holds about 5000 books. This meant that our house, office, studio, garage and cars could revert back to the use they were intended for! Actually Sam, that unit is now overflowing!

At the same time, Star Track Express gave us a freight account and deliver 300 books a week to hostels in the Sydney CBD, making it possible for us to stock these libraries regularly. Their offer meant our service could expand overnight.

Clayton Utz generously offered to sponsor this evening and we look forward to an ongoing relationship with them.

The girls at hyper hyper designed a fantastic website that comes with an electronic database enabling us to keep track of enquiries and volunteers.

Dashing Print and Bunnings have both offered their services.

And our most recent sponsor is Pacnet who have made a very generous donation of funds and human resources and a commitment to support us as we grow.

Then of course there are our book supporters and as you can see every major publishing company in Australia is committed to delivering new and proof copies on a weekly or monthly basis. Every single publisher we have approached as jumped at the opportunity to support us. And there are a number of independent book stores who send books as well.The Sydney Morning Herald has been giving me books for four years. Ever since my sister read an article by Susan Wyndham where she was pondering the problem of how to dispose of boxes of review books under her desk. I contacted her and from that day the Herald has been sending us boxes and boxes of wonderful books.

The simple act of giving a new book to a homeless person makes an enormous difference to their self esteem. It makes them smile, makes them feel special and makes them feel worthy. And it is an incentive to read.We give away as many new books as secondhand books. And the used books must be books we would be happy to have on our own bookshelves or they are recycled.
Apart from the footpath library which operates on Tuesday evenings near the domain carpark and on Saturday evenings in Manly, we have installed and stock libraries in a number of hostels in the Sydney CBD.

These are the Wesley Mission’s Edward Eagar Lodge, The Salvation Army’s Foster House and Oasis Centre and St Vincent de Paul’s Matthew Talbot Hostel and Vincentian Village. We have also supplied books to Streetworx who support homeless youth. I welcome the members of these organizations who are here this evening.

The Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library is a non-religious organization. We are committed to supporting any charity that helps relieve the suffering of homeless people. We all share the same clientele and by working together we do make a difference to Australia’s needy.

This is our website address http://www.footpathlibrary.org/ for those of you who have not paid it a visit. On the site it is possible to volunteer and donate. It also has links to all our sponsors as well as press articles. And we publish stories written by some of our readers. Two days ago we were sent this story which I have permission to share with you.

“I found the footpath library while queuing up for dinner at JEF's food van across the road on a wintry Tuesday night in 2007.

I'd been a regular since 2004 when I was living in a shitty boarding house in Redfern with my son who'd just been released from Rozelle hospital. A little while before I was living & working as a professional artist in a cosy mud brick studio on the outskirts of Melbourne. Things were looking up , I was starting to sell paintings, was in with a leading gallery & my health was good. I'd given up the part time teaching job that I’d done for over ten years & was determined to make my living as an artist. But that was then.

In 2007 I was sneaking into my studio at night to sleep when I could. I was eventually evicted from the studio for dossing there. In between I slept out or stayed in a shelter. Throughout this time when I couldn't paint I'd read & I'm grateful to the footpath library for sustaining me.

Reading took my mind off my troubles & gave me a respite from the constant motion that that kind of life demands. The footpath library has been a saving grace.

Apart from being down & out in Sydney, I've been down and out in Paris and London with George Orwell, read about the homeless in Victorian London in Peter Ackroyd's "London: A Biography"', discovered Proust in the Edward Eager Lodge, hung around seedy ports in the South Pacific with Conrad's Lord Jim & reread one of my favorite books; Joyce Cary's "The Horse’s Mouth" with its patron saint of destitute artists, Gully Jimson.

I read a book on the Lives of the Saints & felt both inspired & humbled.

" The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats" gave me the background on those writers , some of whom I'd read & vowed to read again one day.

I wandered through Europe in the 50's through the eyes of Lloyd Rees & his wonderful drawings and was glad I was sober after reading a biography of Charles Bukowski.

Patrick White’s "Tree Of Man" made my troubles look pretty small & I learnt a little humility from reading the life of the Australian poet John Shaw Neilson.

Things have picked up since then.I've got a cosy little room in Glebe & am painting the grounds of the old asylum my son was a patient in . I've got in with another gallery & even sold some work. There's a survey show coming up in Melbourne later in the year & I'll take a trip down for that. I've got a belly full of cabbage and ham soup & you can guess where I found the recipe for that old chestnut”

That is what the Footpath Library is all about.

Our vision is to expand the Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library to all major cities in Australia. We have already started a small service in Melbourne and we are pleased to have here tonight the Deputy Head of Lauriston Girls School, Anne Bright.Anne approached me months ago asking for Lauriston to become involved with the Library when we were ready to set up in Melbourne. Lauriston have committed to supplying books for our service there and have already enthusiastically embraced their new role, delivering books through St Vincent de Paul and the St Kilda Crisis Centre. Thank you Anne for coming up from Melbourne.

One of our youngest readers is a girl who was 12 when I first met her and living in a car with her father. I noticed over time that she had a voracious literary appetite and advanced reading age and all of us who met her felt we had to do something to secure her educational future. First, Allen and Unwin stepped in and appointed her one of their online childrens book reviewers, a task that makes her the envy of her schoolfriends.Then, with help from some of our supporters, at the beginning of this year, The Footpath Library indirectly placed her into a boarding school here in Sydney. She is thriving in Year 8 and we hope to see her finish her high school education and even go on to tertiary education. We are looking for sponsors to cover the $15,000 shortfall in her fees and whilst this is not a charter of our organization, a tax deductible donation is possible through the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Shelley has details of how donations may be made if anyone would like further information.

I would now like to introduce you to a man who wrote a small paragraph about the Footpath Library in his column in the Sun Herald a month ago. This caused a major meltdown for Kennards staff at Brookvale when over 1000 books were delivered in the following 4 days and the torrent has not abated. He is of course our very influential patron…..please welcome Peter FitzSimons.

A bloody big snail.

Saw this little bugger sliding across campus. The biggest and prettiest slug I ever saw !

I have a serious addiction.

My friends and family will be stunned to read this so apologies in advance.

I want to confess.

I have a serious habit that has taken over my life recently.

It's called The Sopranos !

I missed the show when it was on in Australia so never knew what all the hype was about. About a month ago, I bought the entire boxed DVD set and for the last few weeks I have been averaging a few episodes a day ( though last night it was....ahem.....6 ).

Poor old Leakhana is very patient with hours on end of the show and occasionally she will sit down with me to watch it. Her questions about what is going on are met with a terse
" SHHHHHH - NOT NOW !! " as I hang on every word.

My favourite characters are, in order ( apart from alpha male Tony Soprano who reminds me of Bandit so much it's ridiculous ) ;

Silvio Dante ; This guy is the duck's nuts in gangster characters. His function in the Soprano crew is as consigliere to Tony, a task to which he's well suited. Like the other members of Tony's inner circle, he's been around the business his entire life. Unlike Tony's other confidantes, however, Silvio is not a slave to his impulses. He's an even-tempered, reasonable man; capable of seeing a situation from all angles and giving Tony a solid read of it. Case in point: when Tony got himself into political hot water by striking another made man - thereby breaking one of the mob's cardinal rules - it was Silvio who eventually talked him into resolving the situation non violently. The way his mouth curls over and his lurching frame....i just love every scene with him in it !

Paulie Walnuts; Peter Paul Gualtieri, arguably the most meticulously coiffed and manicured capo in the Soprano crew, was something of a child prodigy. He first displayed the skills he'd utilize in his chosen profession at the tender age of nine: while other kids were dreaming of wielding a bat like the Mick, Paulie was deploying one on a school mate's skull.Is Paulie mentally unstable? He's highly superstitious and has a violent - at times literally murderous - temper, as well as a distrust of others that borders on the paranoid. When Paulie goes to work on a foe...it is pure genius. In season 5,watch him take out some landscapers who have muscled in his "turf". When they tell him to " take a fucking hike you old jerk", he shrugs his shoulders and calmly walks away.He returns a few minutes later with a shovel and breaks the knees of the guy holding the rope for his friend who is up a tree with a chainsaw. the other guys falls from a great hight and both are left in agony on the street whilst Paulie walks away....with their lawnmower !


Bobby Bacala ; A stalwart soldier in the Soprano organization. "Bacala" is salted cod, and at first glance, Bobby can appear to be a fish out of water. He's quiet and sweet tempered, and even among a bunch of guys sporting pasta bellies, his stands out. Bobby's obesity often brings him scorn from the other wise guys; Tony himself has warned Bobby "get off my car before you flip it over," and that he should "seriously consider salads." But Bobby is loyal to his deeply buried core, and doesn't shirk the physical requirements of his job. When Tony needed muscle to crack down on a demonstration at a construction site, Bobby was in the thick of the fray, wielding a crowbar with the best of 'em. When Tony needed someone to help him find Christopher and Paulie, who were lost in the pine barrens, Bobby's experience as a deer hunter was just what he needed. Bobby is a big softie and he is the guy I am always feeling sorry for......especially for the fact when his much loved wife dies, he got remarried to that fat sow Janice Soprano !!

I am approaching the end with a season and half to go and it has been a hell of a ride. I am to sure what I will do when it is all over. Probably be depressed for a little bit.

I can highly recommend this show to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Secondary Campus Project Update

Here are some more photos of one of the villas I am " renovating" ( read; completely gutting and rebuilding ) on the Secondary Campus. Daun Penh Constructions are doing a fine job thus far and are bang on their time line a per their submitted Schedule Of Works. Project cost is US$160,000. Completion date 1st August. I currently have 25 workers of both sexes and all ages ( no-one under 15 though ! ) working and living on the the site and it is a hive of daily activity. I would not say safety is of the highest order of the day with most wearing flip flops ( even the guys doing the steel work up on the columns ! ) and if I were getting them to adhere to Safety Standards as per Australian laws, nothing would get done ! Rains are now coming more frequently however I am confident DP will bring it in on time.

See the blue tarpaulin 2nd floor ? That's accommodation for 20 odd people.

Here you can see the new villa will butt up against the basketball roof ( LHS of photo ) that I built at Xmas. Space is tight everywhere !

Where are your boots mate ?

Stay tuned for photos of the Elementary Campus Villa renovation which kicks off tomorrow.........

Red Thumbs, Mexican jeeps, Mango Tee Pees and Lots of rain.

With a few things to do in Kampot, I took a ½ day on Friday and headed down the coast. Leakhana had gone ahead with her mother to organise for the finalization of our marriage at the commune office (thumbprints needed) and so I was alone at the wheel as I rolled out of Phnom Penh bang on 12 midday. At a steady speed of 80kmph and with absolutely no traffic on the road, I set a PB of 2 hours to the heart of Kampot. Not bad. The Jeep handled itself admirably and is a very comfortable ride (if not a little squeaky!) and fuel consumption wasn’t too bad. Due to a dodgy fuel gauge I am not exactly sure how much fuel I am using but I think it cost about $30 to get down there.

First stop was The Rusty keyhole for a mid afternoon Beef Loc Lac as I am starving. It is now 2.30p.m and as I wait for the meal anticipation, I receive a phone call from Leakhana who is at the commune office. “You must come now, they shut at 3p.m”. HMMM that’s news to me. So I put my lunch on hold and tear over to the office. I sit and wait and I get hungrier and hungrier and we are still there at 4p.m! Hot happy Jan. Finally we thumb print the marriage book and at last we are 100% legally married in the eyes of Cambodian Law. I am happy about this as at the moment there is a ban on foreigners marrying Cambodian women!

Turns out Jeff and Vatey have come down as well so we go and say hi quickly, organise to meet for a drink later on and then head over to Kampot Guest House to get a room. A quick shower and then it is off down to the RK for a bottle of red wine and a few beers and then Jeff suggest we head over to a bar called, simply, BAR ! I have never ever imbibed anywhere other than TRK so I am a little resistant to this radical idea but in the end I give in and we all ramble around the corner. Turns out BAR is actually opened by a guy called Steve I have met many times in Kampot and we settle in for several beers. I then get very hungry and am given an Indian menu which I order a FANTASTIC Chicken korma from. Hot naan bread. Delicious.

Fields of rice near Jeff's place.

The next day I take some family for breakfast and then we head out of town to have a look at Jeff and Vatey’s block. I need to shift the Jeep into 4wd to get along their 300m access track which is VERY boggy and the Jeep loves it. So nice not to get bogged for a change. All around Jeff’s nice block, the rice has come up and the green is, as usual, stunning. We walk around the block in the pouring rain and after a brief stop under the neighbours’ house, Leakhana and I say our farewells and head off for Kep. On the way to Kep we stop off at our block to check on the planting of all our Mango trees (25 of them) and Junta has done a great job. With little palm teepees protecting them from the eager teeth of feral Khmer cattle, the trees should be thriving in no time and planting them around the border of our land has made for a very cheap fencing option. We have a hot coffee in Junta’s little café / general store on the corner and then off to Kep we go.

Leakhana inspects our Mango trees.

After sliding our way up to Kep Lodge on Dan’s new road (which is a bit of a shocker) we arrive sodden and in need of a hot shower. First thing is first though and I have to deal with some feral little French kids who have decided that our shared verandah is actually their entire play space. I have a few subtle words with the insipid and ignorant NGO father and educate him as to the existence of boundaries and we are soon relaxing in quiet. John Mcginley then calls and says he is at Verandah so we head over there for an expensive and forgettable lunch. John is in good form though and it is good to catch up with him as I have not seen him since he announced he was getting married to Aejke.

That evening we have an early dinner and after a few chapters of my new book (The Tender Bar – excellent reading!), we collapse into a deep and much needed sleep. Bright and early next morning we are back on the road to Kampot and after a quick breakfast, Leakhana, Mum, Auntie and I are headed back to the big smoke. Mum is horrified at the way I drive which is akin to a Nazi not liking a snuff movie. I am no faster then 80kmh and I am sticking to my side of the road but I think she is worried that with al the bumps Leakhana might have the baby early! At any rate we all make it back safely.

The only way to end a weekend !

That afternoon Jeff and I wash our car and Jeff and I realise the speedo is in KM / PH not MILE /PH. That’s odd for a North American car I think. A little further inspection and we see that all the original jeep windows are actually stamped with JEEP MEXICO. Oh my god, I have a Mexican Jeep!! Cool! A decision is then made to finish the weekend off with a bbq and after procuring charcoal and ribs and beers, the fire is lit and the troops are fed. I go to bead absolutely bloated and sleep comes quickly.

Crusty Demons of Kampong Cham

Team Adventure Moto Cambodia

Another weekend, another ride with Jeff and Brady but this time it was an overnighter. My lovely wife is so supportive of my tendencies to disappear on rides with the boys – even when it is….ahem..her birthday weekend . So 8am Saturday we headed out of Phnom Penh and again turned left off the Japanese bridge to head North along the Tone Sap. This time we were a little better prepared and knew which roads to take and we had a really nice ride up to Kampong Cham, most of it along the Mekong River.

Jeff getting air

On arrival in Kampong Cham we secured some hotel rooms, had some lunch at the Mekong Crossing pub and then headed over to the island. A rather nasty wait on the little “ferry” saw us all sweating like lumberjacks but we were soon hitting the island and its glorious single tracks through pastures and small Cham (Islamic) villages. Everywhere we went the kids were smiling and waving and although it threatened to rain, it never did but it cooled down to make it a really pleasant afternoon. The island is very pretty with big sandy beaches and houses that have hedges and driveways and it has stunning views of the Mekong from its banks. After honing around for a couple of hours we were all knackered so it was back to the hotel , a shower, some dinner and a few beers and then I fell into bed like a dead man.

Looking back to Kampong Cham from the island

Lovely single track through the bamboo forests. ( Apologies for the quality )

Up brightish and early the next day and after breakfast we headed over Kampong Cham’s huge bridge and headed south along the Eastern side of the Mekong. This was perhaps some of my favourite riding to date here in Cambodia. The single track along the edge of the Mekong (with a 30ft drop into the river for the careless rider awaiting) wound through pen pasture and glades of trees and small farms. It really was a dirt biker’s heaven. The track was soft and winding with plenty of opportunities for jumping and peeling out the back tire and I had an absolute ball on the DRZ400.I am really starting to feel at one with this bike. SO much power in the bottom end, responsive, forgiving and an absolute beast on the highway.

The Mekong is this wide !

Don't pay the ferryman until he gets you to the other side...

We ended up doing the last 10kms or so on a newish road that was coated in talcum like dust and it was bloody murder on the throat, eyes and nose. At times it was like riding in sand storm and it was bloody scary as cows loomed up out of the haze, pigs trotted across the road and the occasional Lexus flew by in the opposite direction. As we arrived at the ferry to take us over the Mekong and back into Phnom Penh, we came across a mate of ours, Anu, and his crew of jolly mountain bikers. I couldn’t believe these guys were out on these roads in this heat. Crazy stuff.

Mountain biking in Cambodia's heat ? Sheer stupidity.

Another great ride with the guys and everyone home safely which is always a very rewarding feeling. Possibly the funniest moment of the ride was seeing Brady fall of his bike as we broke for some water. Simply……fell off it. Nice one Brady.

Boys and their toys

Just ordered this off eBay. Should arrive in the next couple of weeks with a mate coming over from Oregon. I have now formed FARCK ( Flying and Radio Controlled Car Klub ) and we have a few members already. Should be fun..........

Team Losi Mini T Electric RC Truck

Summer projects commence

Today my biggest project to date kicks off. We have leased and need to renovate a villa that backs onto our Secondary Campus. After a long and protracted bidding process and lengthy meetings with the Architect, I have gone with Daunh Penh constructions. At US$160,000 they came in cheaper then United Technical Services (whom I have used to date for most of my work) but they were also the ones who confidently committed to a 70 day time line. I have got them on penalty rates so if they don’t come through it will hurt their bottom line but at the rate they are going today, I thing we will be paying them bonus rates! They got the keys yesterday and demolition is swiftly taking place. Hoards of workers are scurrying around like ants and I wouldn’t want to be the ones up on the roof removing the tiles!

More photos of other projects and stories as they come to hand…..

Awesome Day riding and self mutilation

On Saturday night we went to the opening of Phnom Penh’s 1,000,000^th bar, Billy Bob’s. Not really my scene but I did like the horse he had hired that was tethered on the street. Anyways, my good buddies Jeff and Brady from Adventure Moto were there and I had not sat down for 5 minutes before they told me they were possibly relocating the business to South Africa within a month or two. I can’t quite describe the feeling I instantly got. I felt like a balloon that had been stuck with a pin. I kind of got the feeling that the guys might move on one day as they have always had mixed feelings about Cambodia but to actually hear it, well…..dead set….I almost freaking well cried. I was a bit too stunned to say anything for a minute or so. You have to remember that I have spent a lot of time riding dirt bikes with these guys. We have covered many provinces on highways and dirt roads and jungle single track. In the early days we always took our women and we had some great weekends away but lately with babies coming it has just been the boys. Nothing has given me greater pleasure here than going out on a day ride and coming back absolutely filthy dirty and hot and then just having some beers ion the AM shop whilst talking about the ride. Hell…some afternoons after work I just stop by to have a beer anyway !The guys are great. Very different in their own ways but if and when they ever do move on I will miss them sorely as I count them as solid buddies. They have taken my dirt bike riding to all new levels on 400s and 650s and I can only hope we stay in touch and meet again for a long ride one day.

So, apart from the fact the news ruined my night and we had to leave pretty much straight away because I was so bummed out, the guys and I decided there was nothing for it but to go ride the next day. I turned up at 7a.m the next day and by 8.30am we were on our way. Over the Japanese Bridge, left turn and then off along the Tonle Sap’s Eastern bank through sweet little villages and up and down river wash outs and across wooden bridges as children ran out to wave and older Khmer gawked in amazement. Soon the villages stopped altogether and we found ourselves ploughing up (very wet) rice fields as we struggled to find the connecting road to National Road 6. The GPS was telling us it was a few Kms in front of us but we got wedged in between some river berms and we just could not get across them. As we blasted through single track scrub, my arms were torn to shreds by the thorny fronds of some nasty trees and today they look like I have run razor blades across them.

Eventually we had to admit defeat and we were soon on our way back to The Penh via a very dusty road. The beers were cold and the Pizza from Freebird was wolfed down but again, I got that sinking feeling in my stomach knowing it was one of the last rides I will take with Adventure Moto.

But…………there is always next weekend !