This was a road trip to Cambodia in April 2019 with Jo (CBR500R), Pete (CB500F) and myself (H2SX). Leaving Bangkok and taking highway 3 all the way to Trat we stayed in a beautiful resort right on the beach near the Cambodian border (Centara Chaan Talay Resort & Villas). This spot has a beautiful empty clean beach and is really peaceful.

The next morning after breakfast we packed up and headed about 70km further along the 3 to Khlong Yai border checkpoint. We were mentally prepared in advance for confusion and hassle having read plenty of forums and having planned long in advance for this trip. It was a bit of a circus as predicted. We first needed to be stamped out of Thailand in our passports + hand over the greenbooks for our motorbikes. Then drive down the road about 100m to Cambodia side and apply for a 30 day visa. At this point we were approached by a bunch of guys all yelling instructions, one guy even asked for our passports. It turns out these guys are visa agents (nobodies). But they take advantage of the confusion and act like officials. After 10 to 15 minutes of being surrounded we got our bearings. The first step was to talk to customs and tell them our plans and get their approval. Prepared in advance for this we told them we are going to Koh Kong. If you tell them you are going to Phnom Penh or deep into the country they won't let you in. They don't want Thai registered bikes in the capital. The next step was applying for the 30 day visa and filling out the paperwork. Nobody had a pen except the visa agents of course :\ I decided to use an agent to fill in my application, and then Jo and Pete managed to use his pen to fill in their applications. Anyway, after a bit of screwing around we were on our way.

Our next stop was the city of Kampot in Cambodia. The roads immediately got bumpy and generally crap on the Cambodia side. Eventually the roads turned to gravel. A lot of main "highways" are dirt/gravel in Cambodia filled with speeding lorry trucks throwing up rocks into the air. All our bikes got scratched to some degree on this trip. Reaching Kampot we found it to be a nice little town. We checked into the hotel (Hotel Five.S) in the late afternoon. Dinner that night was at a restaurant in the town center beside the river. We were all surprised how delicious the local Cambodian food was. All being exhausted headed back to the hotel and straight to bed.

The next morning was time to head to Phnom Penh (taking highways 41 and 51). It's safe to say these are the worst roads I've ever ridden on in my life. It took 5 hours to go 150km. Reaching Phnom Penh we checked into a lovely 5 star hotel on the river (Palace Gate Hotel & Resort) and stayed here for a few days. Great swimming pool, nice rooms, comfy beds. We had fun in Phnom Penh except for a massive rain storm one night that nearly saw the H2 SX go underwater. And I thought the drainage in Bangkok was bad.

We took the most direct route from Phnom Penh back to Khlong Yai border checkpoint (Highway 4 and 48). Highway 4 is a two lane road (tarmac luckily) however carries enough cars and trucks that it should be a eight lane road. Extremely dangerous road trying to over take trucks in the small gaps between oncoming traffic. Once again it took forever. Getting back onto Thai roads was an absolute dream. We were crying tears of joy after re-crossing the border! Finished up the trip doing 1 more night in Trat at the same resort before heading back to Bangkok the next day. -- Mitch