Level boss...
Start - Koh Chang
Finish - Siem Reap Distance travelled - 317 km Words by - Swells |
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Abruptly awoken to a symphony of chaotic sounds my heart pounded as my mind struggled to comprehend - a loud close by explosion followed by a women's painfully shrill scream. The sound echoed throughout my brain and as the blood pump in, so did comprehension - a close by thunder clap which must have startled a very loud bird. Time check 6:00 AM. Heart still pounding the haze of sleep quickly dissipated leaving me with nothing to do except ponder the possibility of heavy rain on my ride through a Jurassic jungle back to the ferry. Wandering outside to check the forecast I found the nearby mountain top was covered in dense storm clouds. Wind whipped at the trees around me and I decided that a quick retreat to the ferry would be a dry retreat.
An hour later I arrived at the ferry stoked to have avoided the morning island thunder storm. Boarding the ferry I parked my bike and headed upstairs to the deck to grab a breakfast of Tom Yum noodles in a Styrofoam cup. With a view from the ferry's bow I watched as the deep grey clouds shrouding the Jurassic party island released their payload of tiny Sherpa stalling water bombs - I laughed maniacally with a mouth full of noodles wetting myself with delicious broth in the process.
Unsure of today’s destination I was flicking through the pages of my travel guide when Luke messaged me with news that he would be at Siem Reap for a few days. A quick GPS check later revealed Siem Reap was located within Cambodia only a short 317 Km adventure away. With my Thailand visa to expire in the next few days and the prospect of catching up with adventure companions I now had my destination set and excitement levels only just contained.
Hitting the shore I had 187 km of Thai roads left which I smashed into at a meandering explorative pace. Quickly raising in elevation jungle surrounded the small winding roads which the slow moving rural traffic dawdled along. With the occasional rubber plantation and small dwelling skirting the road it made for pleasant picturesque riding experience.
I found the emersion into a lush green world where the people lived a simple lifestyle cleared my mind of the disjointed thoughts which normally swim along its passages. Riding along a street boarded by colorful flowering trees I gazed off into the distance to admire the natural beauty in a tremendous mountain range whose mighty heights lead the way. Feeling tiny in the mountains ancient presence my brain mush was clear of all errant thoughts of the world left behind. Only one thought remained - I missed my special lady friend.
While mental clarity remained previously hard to articulate conflicting thoughts and actions connected in satisfying enlightenment. The motorbike adventure I was now undertaking was the catalyst of an unhappy lifestyle of chasing the coin in a never ending FIFO cycle which only self-propagated the need for more money. Realisation years ago I had all I needed in life - the company of my special lady friend, lead into an internal struggle to shed the shackles of away work which had kept us apart. The motorbike adventure was the key to the allusive lock. Katie was set to land in Europe to meet me in Early June where we would travel through adventures together. The possibility of a better lifestyle together is the one goal which has set my course - I was not riding away from what I loved but racing towards it. My throttle Hand twisted as I accelerated along guided by the mighty mountain range's provocative presence.
Blasting from an inspiring Thai jungle I arrived at the surprisingly dusty border crossing towns of Aranya Prathet on the Thai side and Poipet across the stream of traffic on the Cambodian side. Immediately I was sucked into an elaborate scam which involved an official looking office building and fast talking con men, luckily I had my trusty lonely planet guide with me and while I was sat at a desk with Cambodian visa paper work being filled out for me I flipped through the pages and discovered their shenanigans. Pointing at the page they looked red faced. My unopened wallet and I quickly left. After the false start I found the correct starting position and lunched into the old border crossing assault challenge course. An hour later I rolled onto the Cambodian streets with a whole new stamp collection ready for adventure.
The landscape drastically transformed into flat dry plains as far as the eye could see. New vehicles rolled down the side of the straight bumpy highway. Small homemade tractor looking contraptions and trucks with no cabs went about their daily business. The sudden transformation was rad, it left me feeling as though I had advanced to a new level in a computer game. Stoked on victory I rolled into Siem Reap to face a level boss which took the shape of a night drinking with Luke, Dan and new friends in a local bike shop...
An hour later I arrived at the ferry stoked to have avoided the morning island thunder storm. Boarding the ferry I parked my bike and headed upstairs to the deck to grab a breakfast of Tom Yum noodles in a Styrofoam cup. With a view from the ferry's bow I watched as the deep grey clouds shrouding the Jurassic party island released their payload of tiny Sherpa stalling water bombs - I laughed maniacally with a mouth full of noodles wetting myself with delicious broth in the process.
Unsure of today’s destination I was flicking through the pages of my travel guide when Luke messaged me with news that he would be at Siem Reap for a few days. A quick GPS check later revealed Siem Reap was located within Cambodia only a short 317 Km adventure away. With my Thailand visa to expire in the next few days and the prospect of catching up with adventure companions I now had my destination set and excitement levels only just contained.
Hitting the shore I had 187 km of Thai roads left which I smashed into at a meandering explorative pace. Quickly raising in elevation jungle surrounded the small winding roads which the slow moving rural traffic dawdled along. With the occasional rubber plantation and small dwelling skirting the road it made for pleasant picturesque riding experience.
I found the emersion into a lush green world where the people lived a simple lifestyle cleared my mind of the disjointed thoughts which normally swim along its passages. Riding along a street boarded by colorful flowering trees I gazed off into the distance to admire the natural beauty in a tremendous mountain range whose mighty heights lead the way. Feeling tiny in the mountains ancient presence my brain mush was clear of all errant thoughts of the world left behind. Only one thought remained - I missed my special lady friend.
While mental clarity remained previously hard to articulate conflicting thoughts and actions connected in satisfying enlightenment. The motorbike adventure I was now undertaking was the catalyst of an unhappy lifestyle of chasing the coin in a never ending FIFO cycle which only self-propagated the need for more money. Realisation years ago I had all I needed in life - the company of my special lady friend, lead into an internal struggle to shed the shackles of away work which had kept us apart. The motorbike adventure was the key to the allusive lock. Katie was set to land in Europe to meet me in Early June where we would travel through adventures together. The possibility of a better lifestyle together is the one goal which has set my course - I was not riding away from what I loved but racing towards it. My throttle Hand twisted as I accelerated along guided by the mighty mountain range's provocative presence.
Blasting from an inspiring Thai jungle I arrived at the surprisingly dusty border crossing towns of Aranya Prathet on the Thai side and Poipet across the stream of traffic on the Cambodian side. Immediately I was sucked into an elaborate scam which involved an official looking office building and fast talking con men, luckily I had my trusty lonely planet guide with me and while I was sat at a desk with Cambodian visa paper work being filled out for me I flipped through the pages and discovered their shenanigans. Pointing at the page they looked red faced. My unopened wallet and I quickly left. After the false start I found the correct starting position and lunched into the old border crossing assault challenge course. An hour later I rolled onto the Cambodian streets with a whole new stamp collection ready for adventure.
The landscape drastically transformed into flat dry plains as far as the eye could see. New vehicles rolled down the side of the straight bumpy highway. Small homemade tractor looking contraptions and trucks with no cabs went about their daily business. The sudden transformation was rad, it left me feeling as though I had advanced to a new level in a computer game. Stoked on victory I rolled into Siem Reap to face a level boss which took the shape of a night drinking with Luke, Dan and new friends in a local bike shop...
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