My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Do you have a Cambodian trip report you want to share? Post it here, and feel free to link to your blog if it's a travel blog for Cambodia, South East Asia, or anywhere really. You can ask and answer questions about travel advice in Cambodia or just share your pictures and videos with us. Most people who live in or visit Cambodia have also checked out nearby countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and you can get to most of these countries by traveling overland, so put any travel plans, reviews or questions here. Discussions about dirt bike trails in here as well.
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FreeSocrates!
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by FreeSocrates! »

Were you trying to re-hydrate yourself with rice wine??
The cedar roasted asparagus has good chew. I don't know how to enjoy it, so I'll Instagram it instead.
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by Mrs Stroppy »

Great read!
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by StroppyChops »

And that, dear children, is why Ewan only rides with Charlie! Great read, thanks for spending the time at the keyboard.
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by Milord »

Great read and story. Nice to know the locals are so supportive.

When reading I had flashbacks of when a teen with a 250SS Kawi riding in a large city park, where I shouldn't be, slipped off a trail on a steep hill, I shouldn't be on, above a Mounted Police horse stable.

Too heavy to be a real trail bike, the anguish of trying to lift it back and feeling that I was going to be so busted.
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by Username Taken »

StroppyChops wrote:And that, dear children, is why Ewan only rides with Charlie! Great read, thanks for spending the time at the keyboard.
Agreed! Going off into the bush alone isn't really a great idea.


Great story though, and well written.
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by Jaap N. »

Great story, Lexus! Really enjoyed reading it, I could almost 'feel' your fear. :thumb:
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by khmerinade »

Very interesting story and glad you made it out safe. I have traveled to all 24 provinces in Cambodia (many times through the jungle) by dirt bike and would never advise taking a remote trip like that alone. I haven't been out in a few months and this story has me itching to do some jungle riding again very soon! Cheers!
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

FreeSocrates! wrote:Finally know you are now... I spent many sleepless nights on this, and then you just give it away! :assasin:
Give it away?! I told you last week that I'd post something that would give it away. If I didn't want you to know what my handle was, you never would have known... Trust me ;-). I've been poking fun at your for so long though that I figured it was only fair... Also, by posting this, I've simultaneously (and knowingly) "outed" myself to not only you, but also another guy (whose handle on either forum -if he has one- I don't know). I'm slipping... Pretty soon, so many people will know my real identity that I'll have to stop posting my weekly opium den and whorehouse reviews!
Kung-fu Hillbilly wrote:Did the ranger only have one arm?
Is this a reference to a movie or something?
Milord wrote:Great read and story. Nice to know the locals are so supportive.
One great thing about Cambodia (especially country folk) is that the locals are pretty much ALWAYS supportive. My Khmer is good so finding my way/asking for help is never an issue, but even if you can't speak a word, it's really easy to get your point across when you're in need of help. Locals will gladly help pulling out a bike stuck in 50cm of mud, or allow you to put a broken-down motorcycle onto their ox cart or lumberjack trailer. Of course, you should always carry some $$$ bills for such unforeseen events. I gave the rangers 5$ for the meal. Mainly, I saw it as paying for their fresh shrimp, a true luxury given that they're so far away from Koh Kong. The guy had driven on the "good road" (which isn't that great) almost 3 hours to get them. It was obviously a one-off "special" meal for them.

I also obviously paid the two guys who drove me back to the trail for their help. I've found villagers often just smile and refuse any payment, but they'll take it if you insist. Just don't "overpay". I try to give a fair price. A high amount considering their daily/monthly earnings, but not so high as for them to start trying to leech off or overcharge barangs all the time. (and I obviously don't give any cash for small help). I also find myself getting into "helpful mode" when I'm in the countryside. I've given lifts to old men in the mountains, helped push stuck tractors out of gullies and so on. Still, I'm probably in the negative karma-wise. Need to start doing more good deeds!

khmerinade wrote:Very interesting story and glad you made it out safe. I have traveled to all 24 provinces in Cambodia (many times through the jungle) by dirt bike and would never advise taking a remote trip like that alone. I haven't been out in a few months and this story has me itching to do some jungle riding again very soon! Cheers!
Username Taken wrote:
StroppyChops wrote:And that, dear children, is why Ewan only rides with Charlie! Great read, thanks for spending the time at the keyboard.
Agreed! Going off into the bush alone isn't really a great idea.
I fully agree with both of you! I've also traveled to every province in the country on two wheels, usually alone. I've done several other forest or jungle tracks, some of which were fine and some of which in hindsight were a bad idea to do alone. I usually just take it slower than I would with others and try to ride smart/stay safe. Still, definitely not something to do alone. This time around I was able to walk away, but what if I broken a leg on one of my many falls? Then I would have been really fucked. So I'm definitely not advising anyone to go out "into the wild" alone, if anything, it should be seen as a reminder to be cautious and stay safe as things can turn bad very quickly here.

Funny enough, I'm already itching for some more, but I'm slowly shopping for a light trail bike. I've also got a 1-3 day hiking trails lined up which I want to do. My schedule is pretty busy this year and even during holidays, I have stuff to do so I'm not sure when I'll get to them.
Last edited by Bitte_Kein_Lexus on Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by Milord »

That reminds me. Could you list your recommended Travel bag Kit?

Spares, food, water, meds, splint, ties, rope, plug, light, etc. ???
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Re: My near death experience in the Cardamoms

Post by Hotdigr »

Excellent read mate! Most entertaining thing I have read on a forum for a long, long time. I agree with the General, get a feature story front page going soon. We obviously have some good writers with lots to share on this forum!
:Bravo:
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