23rd of August to 24th of October - 7000km Thailand, Laos, Cambodia

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First of all I am still alive. I got quite a few questions and comments over the past weeks or was it months...? SORRY about that! An update will follow soon on this page.

24th of August to 1st of September - Bangkok

My container arrived in Bangkok port on the 18th of August. Customs clearance went well on the 25th even though it took the whole day to get the bike out of the port. Friendly, helpful people everywhere. Welcome to Thailand!
And I found a KTM shop which I couldn’t find with my internet research I did before in Russia. No wonder, their homepage was only online for a week; the shop opened in April 2011. My spare parts from Germany were already in Bangkok and the mechanics of the shop did a great job on my bike.

...also KTM :-)

Chao Phraya river views

2nd of September - Bangkok to Pattaya, 140 km

Driving in Bangkok is no fun at all. 30+ degrees Celsius and traffic jams everywhere. And then this Garmin sends you on the motorway which is forbidden for motorbikes. Right behind the toll station they fished us out of the traffic. We got special grace from a friendly police officer and left the highway the next exit.

The street life of Pattaya in the evening is really a show…tourists (male & female) from all over the world in all colors & shapes, Go Go bars everywhere, prostitutes, lady boys, gays, street sellers…just sit in one of the street bars and enjoy :-)

4th of September - Pattaya to Ko Chang, 250 km

The island Ko Chang has still an alternative style and you can still find some remote places + a bit of off road adventure. But it looks like some of the white beaches will be gone soon…the sea eats them up.

My copilot Ying

...and the pilot :-)

The small monkey nearly fell of the guard rail

Fisher village on Ko Chang

Lots of water..

...enchanted roads

if that is the choice...Siem Reap!

7th of September - Ko Chang to Batdambang/ Cambodia, 260km

The border crossing to Cambodia is also "enchanting", at least this one :-) Like Russia to Mongolia: behind the fence gravel. It took more than 2 hours to cross but the main effort we had to spend on the Thailand side. We had to convince the officers that all papers were in order. According to the record in the computer we were the first motorbikers crossing this border. For Cambodia: no customs paper necessary, like in Kazakhstan.

well, there is a government project in place to build a road here...right now it is a mess

Friendly Cambodian freak :-) Welcome to Cambodia!

why not drezz shop...:-)

Car wash. You don't believe, then see next pic

...one can estimate labor cost in Cambodia. I mean, he won't pay them 20 US$...maybe something like 2 US$ in total?

8th of September – Batdambang to Siem Reap, 175km

Angkor Wat: Build in the early 12th century

stairway to...the most holy 3rd level

one of the smaller trees

perfect color match :-)

these trees are amazing

ceremonies

street life in Siem Reap

No KTM shop here, "just" waiters in orange shirts :-)

Apsara dance

And rain and rain and rain...and I started to worry a bit

The next day didn't look bad, the river beside the hotel had high water but still ok..

...some water found its way

Ok, maybe we shouldn't try to get to the Tonle Sap Lake by motorbike...it says so also in the travel guide...:-)

again rain...

maybe the thing gets worse...

scenes at the fuel stop (actually hiding from the rain:-)

what do these chickens here?

maybe wants to measure her weight??

another dead end...we tried already some of them

..and again

Ying takes pictures during our journey...

We entered Angkor Wat from the back door. A lucky choice because at the main entrance they told us later that we are not allowed to enter this place with a motorbike. Hence the following pictures might be quite unique :-)

on the way back to Siem Reap: also motorbikers:-) We could have also packed like this. Seems that we in Europe always think too difficult.

In front of the hotel in the evening: now I was really worried.

The next morning didn't look better

Don't look at my stupid face (while packing at around 33° Celsius), look at the street!
:-)

11th of September – Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, 325km

Here we go. Just make a left turn and drive...at this moment I really thought I could maybe make it without wet feet...just don't stop..:-)

when the first boy came swimming along the street my dream vanished...

you might think this is peanuts...try to drive in 50-60cm high water for 1 hour and you are messed up. That's what I did and was completely messed. I thought it would never end...especially if you don't find a way out of a city which looks more promising. And forget about the dry feet :-)

All motorbikers on this picture! :-)

other transportation systems

The Tonle Sap Lake over its boundaries

"landing" in Phnom Penh...the other challenge :-)

No, I didn't. Did you?

Phnom Penh – CHOEUNG EK GENOCIDAL CENTER and TUOL SLENG

Around 3 Million people were slaughtered in Cambodia by the Pol Pot/ Khmer Rouge regime during 1975 - 1979. In Tuol Sleng/ S21 around 10.000 people were tortured and after imprisonment of around 2-7months beaten to death in the Choeung Ek killing fields. These figures do not include children killed here by Khmer Rouge; the figure is estimated at 20.000. Trials are still ongoing and it seems that many of these killers will never be punished.
You can just cry. We did.

I have no words for the pain, the foreboding and disbelief...One of the more than 1000 pictures shown in Toul Sleng.

14th of September – Phnom Penh to Stung Treng, 400km

Lots of water. The Tonle Sap Lake didn’t triple its size during this rain season as it would be normal but it is now 4 times the size compared with the dry season, I guess. Kids swimming around their houses, men fishing between the rice fields in which the fish was washed in from the overflowing rivers. Not only fish but also mussels, crabs and prawns and many more things we don’t even want to know about they get out of there… Of one guy I only saw his head out of the water between 2 rice fields... They just go/dive with shorts into the muddy brown water, just feel with their hands and feet for anything they can hunt…and a thought came into my mind : no way that the Americans had any chance to win the Vietnam war (also no other Westerners).

These folks are ONE with their environment and the nature… the absolute trust into the elements including its nature with all the animals, insects, snakes and whatever is out there, being one with it without any protection and making use of the things nature offers, food, drink, building simple huts, traps, making something out of nothing (for us)…amazing.

All belongings (also cattle) on the road now...

They just chopped off the roof of this truck to make it suitable for the load

15th of September – Stung Treng to Pakxe/ Laos, 235km

Laos: landslides everywhere in the mountains. The flatlands were flooded and people fished everywhere along the roads. Women sat in the water up to their chest and handled their fisher nets.

16th of September – Pakxe to Salavan, 158km

If the dogs in Cambodia were relaxed the dogs in Laos are tranquilized. It seems they love to sleep on the road sometimes even in the middle. Some of them did not even open an eye when I passed by their head in a meters distance with my loud motorbike. Well, others (very) slowly got up, stretched first their legs, yawned and looked a bit irritated when the motorbike was “already” there…ok, head a little bit down, maximum one side step and back to routine.

Suddenly other motorbikers...."big" meeting" at the waterfall in Pakxe. Yvonne & Mario from Australia (Germans) and two girls from Singapore touring South East Asia.

200m

Another (big) shower arises in paradise :-)

In the end we had stop in Salavan. It was already after 5pm when we reached this remote village and a local told us that there would be a nice dirt track waiting for us the next 75km back to the B13.

17th of September – Salavan to Savannakhet, 253km

Good choice that we took a hotel. The next day we needed 3.5h to cover the 75km. Also the "big ferry" wouldn't have crossed this river at night...that would have been for sure a night in the jungle.

Headache? :-) ...how to get off this thing?

Nasty track with luggage and two persons

The bike painted from dirt after we made it.

...and we painted as well

girls gambling

Savannaket Mekong view - opposite side Nongkai/ Thailand

18th of September – Savannakhet to Vientiane, ~470km

We started a bit late in the morning and we got heavy showers on our way. In rain & traffic like hell we reached Vientiane in the late evening. Then we asked a girl on the street in Vientiane about the "city center". She didn't know and said she had been always in this place only...hmm. In the end we found a hotel and also got some food. The next day we found out that the "city center" was just a km away from that street on which we asked her.

...somewhere in between the world was bright and shiny :-)

also the trees have to stand lots of water

stopover in a garage while it rained cats and dogs outside. The employees of the gas station offered us food, a mix of fish, meat and frog...oh no thank you; i am not hungry :-)

Vientiane in bright sunshine

Buddhist pop art in the temple. Maybe I shouldn't say this...

In front of the pure Vietnamese hotel in Vientiane. All employees Vietnamese and also most of the guests. On the first floor a big sign said: " NO MAKE NOISY PLEASE !"
:-))

20th of September – Vientiane to Vang Vieng, 156km

Every day at around 4 - 5 pm it is shower time for the villagers; any water source will be used

...road impressions

arrival in the unbelievable Vang Vieng

"What shuld you bing" is not that bad...but "sun scream" is really great :-))

Party village for the backpacker tourists. No fear, no shame, no nothing...and these (partially) big guys are running around with plastik buckets with some straws in it (content: booze)...looks a bit gay...but the women don't look better. And on the TV screen you can see what they are doing the daytime: going down the river with tubes, surfing and party, party, party...in the evening most of them are already over the limit. But fun to see the scene(s) :-))

The next day we started our 40km roundtrip in the "backyard" of Vang Vieng. Beautyful nature, small villages with mountain folks (in Laos they get a passport in Thailand not), here mostly Hmong.
Well this was the first bridge, actually the cheapest one for 10.000 Kip...and the best one

on the way to one of the many caves

ups, some bad weather ahead

this woman jumped into her backyard creek for a bath

this one is smaller...and more expensive :-) Why? Because one is deeper in the valley...you want to do the round trip or not? :-)

at least it holds!

school is over...

Here IS the bad weather

...and the most expensive bridge :-)

just luck that the motorbike fit underneath the tree

Looks easy? Well you should try that. Tja and then we some nice river crossings though no fotos :-( Ying's camera broke down already coz of all the rain and I didn't want to test mine

this cute boy was soooo afraid of the big bike

The next day another tour to a waterfall and some more remote villages

cycling monks...not that common

some smaller fixing

..and here is the crazy party crowd..only one of the huts along the river. And the guides fish the people out of the water...get them a drink and release them again to the water. Basically they just fish them out of the water, the rest they do on their own :-))

uff, again rain

23rd of September – Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, 202km

Luang Prabang, World Heritage City, really beautiful

Chanterelles with monk :-)

child in the box

amazing trees

these 2 did even some posing for my foto

Somewhere I got these small ants into my helmet. They size approx. 1.5mm and you can hardly see them...only when they move and they are pretty fast. All shaking and whatever didn't help...while driving they crept out and tickled here and there...awful. So, I flooded my helmet with water. Even though I did the next day there were still some inside (alive!)..I shook the rest of them out and I got back my peace :-)

Babil, ok a typo....but star egg?? A direct translation from Thai.

26th of September – Luang Prabang to Louang Namtha, 320km

tough riding, the whole day in the mountains...landslides like this were more the relaxing part of this etape

passing a 100 villages in the mountains... each of them with different ethnic background (though all mountain folks), Hmong, Karen, Long Neck, Mong, Miao...

another late arrival: this time in Louang Namtha

27th of September – Louang Namtha to Chiang Rai/ Thailand, 295km

these dogs...so much in need for affection; though treated nicely from the locals

these trees..

about to leave Laos.... waiting for the ferry

How to unload a freighter in Laos/ Mekong: with "human power"

"Fried noodle on the face" is another direct translation from Thai which failed:-)

We made it on the ferry, crossing the Mekong to Thailand. I was a bit messed up because the loading guys made me drive up a 30cm step underneath the water on the loading ramp. Metall in water...not much grip and I was really afraid to fall with the bike and get under the ramp of the moving boat.

29th of September – Chiang Rai to Chiang Dao, 235km

The way to Mae Sun (and further) through the mountains West of Chiang Rai is very beautiful and a dream for motorbikers, hairpin bends, gradients of up to 35% or maybe even more (amazingly steep) on enchanting roads

30th of September – Chiang Dao to Chiang Mai, 90km

the trees...skyhigh

the "famous" Good Year chair :-)

2nd of October – Chiang Mai to Mae Chaem, 125km

We reached this remote place late when it got dark already. Rain, rain, rain and it was not easy to reach the restaurant next door because of all the water flowing downhill. We were the only guests here and they had to call the cook in. After a while some local Thais came and drunk their own brought whiskey. What we have in Bavaria with the beer gardens (can bring your own food) is for the Thais the hard stuff you can bring into a restaurant; just pay for ice, soda and/or coke. During dinner in this wooden shack we thought we would be dumped into the lake by the heavy and never ending rain. Power breakdown and everything went dark; I mean really dark after 5 long minutes the waiter found some candles. The lake which was anyway over its boundaries sized up to the road the next day.

..and the first thing the locals do when the water is up: fishing.

3rd of October – Mae Chaem to Khun Yuam, 175km

One of the reasons for erosion, landslides and too much water in the lower land: excessive agriculture, especially in the mountain regions. Many projects of the King are in place to prevent further destruction of indigenous forests.

Hot region: flooded. Everybody knows something, nobody knows anything...in the end you have to try your own way.

Not planned like this, but the region around Hot (locals told us the water behind the next corner was chest high) was flooded, so we had to go back all the way up again to Mae Chaem. After many talks with different locals there seemed to be only one way to go around the flooded area: over the mountains to Khun Yuam and then south along the Burmese border. Heavy rainfall hit us hard when we re-started from Mae Chaem, the water run down the mountain road and sometimes I couldn’t see the road at all because the muddy brown water from various landslides run 20 cm high from one side of the road to the other…a bit frightening if you don’t know what is coming next and whether you can make it or not to the next village. Only a few vehicles passed…pretty remote.

4th of October - Khun Yuam to Mae Sot, 345km

Mae La Refugee Camp (Burmese refugees, Karen), North of Mae Sot

Smuggling and "trading" at the barbed wire border to Burma; the fully armed Thai military police is just 30m away and shouts from time at them...but if you have nothing to lose...

The bridge and official border crossing to Burma is closed already for more than a year.

The other side of the river: Burma

Mae Sot
The town has a substantial population of Burmese refugees and economic migrants. The exact number of Burmese in Mae Sot is unclear but estimates say that over 100,000 exist in addition to the 106,000 already recorded in the official census. In recent years the ongoing refugee situation has attracted NGO's and International aid agencies to set programs in the town and surrounding areas.
The Mae Sot region has around 70 migrant schools that have started spontaneously to meet the needs of the 30,000 children who have crossed the border with their parents from Burma. The students are a mix of refugees and economic migrants. Of this number only 7000 currently are attending these schools. The schools range in size from 20 to over 650 students.These schools receive no support from the Thai government and rely solely on resourcefulness and international support.

Traditional Burmese makeup (Thanakha paste)

Market place on the border line (Thai side, though only Burmese people here)

..and living behind the market

Also the baby got already makeup :-)
Actually the baby has no parents but this woman takes care of it

6th of October - Mae Sot to Bangkok 570km

I didn’t want to make it in one shot. But what we saw in Nakhon Sawan didn’t look promising at all. Left and right of the highway through the middle of the town we could see the water up to the first floor of the houses. On the way later to Ayutthaya we were guided by the police on other roads; the Asia Highway to Bangkok was closed. We reached Bangkok in the late evening in heavy traffic…awful. The water was not yet here. Not yet.

Another service for the motorbike including tire change was necessary.

As soon as possible I wanted to flee from Bangkok before the water would be everywhere. For now it was “only” in the North East of Bangkok.

Preparations for the King's birthday in November. Hopefully he can partcipate...

The Chao Phraya over the limit

The people are still cool...the water rushes already through the market place at Chao Phraya and this guy still sits in his shop; amazing.

Wat Pho - beautiful

46m long

The unbelievable Khaosan Road

The hilltribe sellers are everywhere

..in the middle of Bangkok, Sukhumvit: this old railway line

In the KTM shop

12th of October - Bangkok to Hua Yin, 210km

We left Bangkok in heaviest rain. In Bang Khae the water was 15cm high on the road because of the rain. The flooding in this area was expected for the coming week.