Ride: Phnom Penh - Pattaya, Thailand

Phnom Penh - Pattaya, Thailand (16/2/2010)

Heyya...

I woke up as early as 6.00 in the morning in Phnom Penh... woke up with joyfulness as i knew i have successfully been in Phnom Penh, Cambodia... it was time to go home... All my things have been packed in the Givi topbox a night before... I came down to the hotel lobby to meet the others...

As usual before i ride to any destination, I would put the topbox on its rack.. Lube the bike chain and warmed the engine for at least 10 minutes.. Then i would ride for 1-2 km to make sure everything is good and the bike is ready to be ridden..

*photo courtesy of Shamsrad

*photo courtesy of Ariff Hashim



As planned, we departed to Pattaya, Thailand at 7.00 am... we refilled our gas tanks at Total gas station... We had our light breakie at the gas station, everyone seemed to have a cup of coffee before the ride...

We left the gas station 30 minutes later.. we headed to the South West of Phnom Penh, entering National Highway 4...

*photos courtesy of Shamsrad

By the time we left the gas station, traffic started to build up as the locals were starting to go to work...

As we were riding miles away from the city, the traffic got better.. less cars along the Route 4...

Before we reached at a junction which separates the route to Sihanoukville and Koh Kong, we had a tremendous ride... we enjoyed the ride as the road was winding through the hills of Damrei Mountains, also known as Elephant Mountains...

* Picture courtesy of Zaini Zaid

*Picture courtesy of Ariff Hashim

At the junction of Sihanoukville and Koh Kong, we stopped for coconut drinks and had the local Cambodian Durians.. they were marvelous and taste similar with our local durians...

We continued our hilly ride until we reached Koh Kong Bridge.. the bridge connects the 2 neighbouring countries of Thailand and Cambodia on Kah Bpow river and it is located 10km from Khlong Yai town (Thai Border) and 133km from Phnom Penh.. The Koh Kong bridge is estimated 1900 meters long and it is the longest bridge in Cambodia..

Upon reaching the Khlong Yai, we passed several casinos along the coastline...

At the immigration office, i've met a new "friend"... hehehe... some said, i have unfinished business at Khlong Yai, Trat... true, indeed... i need to visit here again although it's 2,000km away from Kuala Lumpur... :wink:

Entering Thailand, we continued our ride to Pattaya... it would be another 280 km ride... the initial ride along the coastline was exhilarating as we knew we were already in Thailand and it is much safer to ride... I could see the beaches along the Route 3 were beautiful.. i must come back to Khlong Yai someday...

We then stopped for a quick snack and refueled at Khlung... Then headed straight to Pattaya..

Upon reaching Pattaya city at 4.00pm, we started to feel the heat of the traffic... we were new in Pattaya so we did our little tour around the city and along the beach, which is the hot-spot of tourists... the day was hot and full of tuk-tuks...



We managed to find our hotel, The Green View Service Apartments, along Soi 15...






Soi 15 (Street 15) is located 50 meters away from the infamous Walking Street... there were AGo Go bars, pubs and clubs beneath and beside our hotel...

*picture courtesy of Zaini Zaid

We stayed in Pattaya for 3 days (2 nights)... we had plenty of time to explore the city and swim in the Pattaya beach...

To summarize the ride, we did almost 410 km of riding from Phnom Penh to Pattaya... the road was winding, hilly and breathtaking... we finally made our journey through Cambodia..


HooRahh!!

Next: Pattaya, Thailand (Day-2)