Big thank you to everybody who came to our wedding on June 20th. What a day! Great fun and luckily for us the weather turned up trumps, raining hard the day before and the day after. Big thanks to Craig Mapleston for being my best man and all to the people who sent gifts. The money we were given will be put towards a motorcycle tour of North Africa in the autumn on the Africa Twin before returning to Cambodia for another busy season.

When I were but a young man, with aspirations of becoming a motorcycle road tester, and broke, I wrote a piece about the bike I had just purchased, a Kawasaki ZZR250, hoping the article might get noticed and I might make a bit of cash. Rockin’ little machine it was, and the only vehicle I’ve ever bought brand new. The piece appeared in the Used Motorcycle Guide, but unfortunately no cheque appeared in the post or job offers and I forgot all about it. But with the advent of the Internet every little thing you may have written and had printed (no matter how bad it is) can come back to haunt you. And nearly 20 years later, the jottings of a teenage wanna-be road tester are still there to be read…
http:// http://www.umgweb.com/member1/kGPZ500.htm#zzr22

Despite a slow start to the season, with easter being spread over four weeks, we’ve managed to get out in the jet boat plenty and have been rewarded with some fine sightings. None better than a couple of killer whale or Orca on June 6, almost a year to the day and within 3 miles of ocean of the sightings of the black and white beasties last year. Turns out it would appear to have been the same fish! Comparing photos of the unique markings on the dorsal fins of the male in both sightings reveal that it could be a whale nick-named Jon Coe, an old boy who is regularly seen off the Hebrides in Scotland. It’s been specualted that, with such a large Seal population around Pembrokeshire, why whales and other large predators aren’t seen here more often. Especially at pupping time, August thru October. Maybe we will start seeing more. Hope so.

At the tail end of the recent Extreme Rally Raid we ran through the Cardomoms, starting in Pailin, down to Prammouy, across to O Soam, with an overnight and then down to Koh Kong the next day. And there have been a couple of changes. While I was there last season with a group our favourite guesthouse in O Soam (not much of a competition as there is only two!) had been taken over by Chinese construction workers. The guesthouse owner told me that they were there to start construction on a hydroelectric power project. Being a nosey type I took a ride down to the site, along a track recently pushed through virgin rain forest. The site itself, inhabited by Cambodian workers from Kampot, and some shifty looking Chinese chain smokers looked more like a logging/hunting/mineral exploration camp, complete with traps and pans for sifting. Cynically I just assumed the hydro thing was a ruse to cover the other activities. But on our return this year we were told again that this was the case, lots more Chinese in residence in O Soam and shortly after news in the press concerning the project:

http:// http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/06/content_7578043.htm

As part of the project the road from O Soam to Prammouy is to be renovated, to run power lines and a new road is to run from Koh Kong, along the Thai border, to the Hydro-Station, again for power lines. And the bridge components that have lain undisturbed at river crossing number 4, (from KK) along with the big wooden house on wheels, have gone, after a dozer was pushed through to retrieve them. The bridge will go along the new road from KK to OS apparently. And the trail from OS to KK was the most over-grown I’ve ever seen it, obviously suffering from lack of use. Five hours of sharp bamboo and grasses to the face. Nice. Lets hope the new trails will enhance the tracks thought the Cardomoms and not destroy them for us dirt bikers….

Travelling Don also forwarded me this piece of sad news:
Attention! May 5, 2008
California 2 on the
Riverfront will close its doors. The property has been sold and we must move. It
is uncertain as to when and where we wil reopen. In the meantime we will be
taking a long overdue holiday. To all of the people who supported us and
contributed to our success, we thank you. It has been a wonderful 13 years and
we have enjoyed serving you. We look forward to serving you again in the future.
In the meantime this website will still remain on line to provide you with
valuable tourist information. Be sure to check out our links. Cambodia is turning the
corner. Is this a signal to the end of an
ERA?

California 2 has always been a dirt biker and overland bike traveller mecca, and meeting place on the riverfront. Jimmy, the proprietor, being an excellent host and true Cambo and Dirt Bike enthusiast. It was a few years ago that he really opened my eyes up to the number of Angkorian Temples there are in country. Even in my extensive travels around the country never realised there were so many. Almost every village has a small ancient monument of some sort. And Jimmy made it his mission to hunt them down, photograph them and then tell others to go check em out. It was rare you left the bar without a small hand drawn map directing you to his latest find. I hope they find new premises soon!

On the recently relaunched Phnom Penh Post website there is a story that claims London is more dangerous than Phnom Penh. No surprise to anyone whose been lucky enough to live in Phnom Penh. Those Dodgy Londoners. Must be all those wannabe cockney gansters and kids in hoodies. I’ve always felt safer on Asian city streets than the ones of my own country (Phnom Penh during the Coup in 97, or Kabul during the shelling in 92 not included…). Ignorance of the dangers or naivity perhaps but Asian cities have never seemed to have that edge. The edge of aggression bubbling just under the surface. Check out the story:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=535&Itemid=52

Went to a Classic Scramble at my local motocross track in Wales. Loads of pre-75 Brit Irons with open pipes having the wheels absolutely ridden off them by maniacs in open faced helmets and rugby shirts. Old school two-stroke mxers like Yamaha YZ490s and Maicos, the air thick with the smell of Castrol R30 two stroke oil. Bloody Brilliant. I went with Greg the Digger Mun who had cut parts of the course with his JCB and knew the guys who were putting the show on. Greg told me “you gotta meet this bloke, 72 years old and still racing. Right Character.” And so we bumped into the old gent at the top end of the circuit. “You not racing today then” says Greg. “No, sold my bike on Wednesday.” He replies “Had a bit of a stroke or a heart attack on Tuesday. Hurt like hell. So I sold the bike the next day.” Oh. “Did you call an ambulance” says Greg. “Aw, noo,” old man replies “house was in too much of a mess, I’d have been embarrassed.” He says, and wanders off to check another part of the course. Right Character Indeed!
The same day I got an e-mail from Travelling Don, who missed myself and Debs by a day on a remore part of the Ho Chi Minh trail in Southern Laos. Although he did bump into a couple of hardy cyclists we had met the day before, who must have thought all dirt bikers in remote parst of SE Asia know each other. Don sent me a picture of a 72 year old guy battling the sand of the Death Highway, Ratanakiri to Mondulkiri, on a BMWR80GS. Top effort!
Hope I’m still causing as much mechanical mayhem as these two guys at three score years and twelve.

It was Coombsie! The mystery Metro article writer (back in January) was our old buddy Julliet Coombs. You might remember (of course you don’t - nobody reads this blog, I’m talking to myself…no I’m not, yes I am, no..). Old mate Richard, XR 400 rider and photographer who’s pic was used for the article sent me an orginal which had the by-line, which was missing from the web article. Thanks Richard and thanks Jules, even if you did get my name wrong…

I’m proud to say I’ve had a small piece of my ramblings published in my favourite dirt bike magazine - TBM or Trail Bike Magazine- this month (April 2008) in the UK. It’s in a section called Holidays from Hell - Part 2…Mel, the mags Dep Ed, slung all her dirt bike tour advertisers an e-mail a couple of months ago asking us to dish the dirt on our beloved clients for this section. Names were changed to protect the innocent of course. Mine was about a little trip with did a few years back with the Gnarley Bikers of Bangkok. At a newsagents near you now!

Having successfully put the Bikes and Cruiser to Bed in Sihanoukville, we’ve come to the end of the 2007/2008 Dirt Bike and Adventure tour season in Cambodia. Myself and Debs would like to thank all those people who made this season another fantastic one, all the people who came on tour with us (come again!), and all the people who have mucked in and given us a hand. As Easter this year was earlier than is has been in eighty years, on March 23rd (and earlier than it will be for another 80 or so - next year it’s April 15th) myself and Debs are already back in Wales. But due to the bad weather we only got the jet boat in the water a couple of days ago. At Last! So if anyone would like to contact me about tours, dirt bikes, boats or a general chat they’ll find me in sunny Wales, captaining the Ocean Ranger around the seas of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. My UK mobile is back on (07815639808) and the e-mail remains the same zeman@cambodiaexpeditions.com.