Newletter 8

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Hello everybody,
We left you in Nepal and we promised to tell how and if the bikes get to Thailand.
The cargo agent was ok. he shipped a few big bikes before and we have a good feeling by this guy. We arranged everything and have to wait another 18 days to fly to Thailand. After the robbery we moved to a very good guesthouse ACME (also in Thamel) here we met Angelika a German women driving a Honda Dominator she did the trip (Germany- Nepal) al by her self, we started to talk with her and she also want to go to Thailand, we suggested her that maybe it was possible to go with the same agent, on the same airway bill so she can save some money (over the 500 kilo you pay for each kilo 1,07 us$ and under the 500 kilo you pay 1,37us$) her bike was about 250 kilo so she can save about 75 u$. From that moment we did everything with the tree of us.
on April 18 we have to crate the bikes on the airport we drove the bikes over there and here we started to get the bikes so small as possible what means; the front wheel out , the mud guard off, the mirrors in the boxes, the wind shield (as hand luggage) the handlebar loose, the boxes off the bikes, disconnect the battery and get the gas tanks as empty as possible. Everything fits well in the crate and we tied and locked all the loose stuff on the bike and the crate as much as possible. They closed the crates with big nails. Ten people where charged to carry the crates to a balance and our bikes include the crate and the boxes weight 268 kilo.

On 21 of April we were sitting in the plane, we have a nice few on the runaway and when the plane get started we saw the loading platform with the crates (and in there the motorbikes) they didn't where on the same plane and we where very, very angry. It was not the fault  of the cargo agent but  Thai Airway screwed up. The loading platform stayed on the runaway and was accessible for the "security guards".
Many crates shipped to Thailand were damaged and loose luggage was stolen out the crates. Luckily we heard this story's before so we locked everything inside the crates.

Arriving in Thailand we get a free visa for one month. But we have to get the motorbikes out of Nepal so soon as possible. We went to lost and found and started to complain about the whole situation they promised after one hour of talking, we get a phone number what we have to call the next morning  to make sure that they send the bikes with the next plain, the next day.
For this moment it was all we could do. We get a taxi to New World Lodge Hotel (and  guesthouse) and there we met the other bikers Carol and Ken from Australia (4 years on the road and now going back to Australia) Connor the Englishman we met in Nepal. And Gregory a American writer of many motorbike books. They where sitting outside by the restaurant enjoying a few beers. We checked in, took a quick cold shower (the ones we hated in the other country's) and went outside to get sweaty again in 20 minutes , to hear al the stories from those guys.

The next day we made some more phone calls to the airport and again this was a very slow process, the people speak with a awful accent and very soft, so it was hard for us to understand what they were saying. But to make a long story a little shorter at eight we have to cal them again and at eight we get the message the bikes are in Thailand and we can get them out of customs the next day. 

We took the early morning airport bus to cargo, Connor had told us it was a long process to get them out of customs and it will take you the whole day. In the days before we received a e mail from Mark and Claire and they told us don't take a agent to do the paperwork they are asking 7000 bath (for three bike)  (approx 168u$). So totally prepared we are ready for it, because we are with the tree of us made it much more easier, one person can watch the luggage and the other two can run from office to office get papers, get stamps, get other papers wait for signatures and so on. Just before lunchtime we were finished with the paperwork and ready for the real thing. But we also have to eat and around one pm we walked with all the papers, signatures, stamps and copies to cargo terminal one. Of course we missed a few stamps but this was just a matter of time Angelica started to get very angry and want just as us finally our bikes, it was a stressful thing to do. We walked in the terminal and they brought our crates, the crate off Jolanda's bike was damaged big holes on top of the crate and some smaller holes on the sides. This was the time for Jolanda to get very angry, the manager of Thai airways told us they have a insurants if there was damage on the bike, the problem is if there is damage, you have to wait for the money, the spare parts and it takes you time again to repair the bike. And all of this is not necessary if Thai Airway is doing what they promised (put the bike on the same plain) and nobody can damaged the crates. 
Luckily nothing inside was damaged  and nothing was stolen so in this way everything was ok. 
We started to open the crates and the carpenter had done a very good job in Katmandu we have to destroy the crates completely.
But we did it and round 3.30 pm. we could drive the bikes out of customs and try to find the way to the New World Lodge Hotel. Angelica did a good job as front driver and with in one hour we could park the bikes in the parking lot of the hotel.

Because we have been here many times in Bangkok so it  had a feeling as coming home. The heat was terrible as always more than 40 degrees Celsius and very high humidity. This means al the things you want to do, you have to do very slow. Even in the morning or in the late evening the temperature never comes under the 32 degrees Celsius. 
It was very necessary to change the oil from the bikes but without oil filters (and we couldn't found them in BKK) the job was not easy. Luckily for us Nick the Englishman was coming in a few days and he has extra oil filters we could use. 
We've been lucky to met Angela because friends of her were visiting Bangkok and they wanted to bring for us spare parts like oil filters and air filters. Thanks Angela, friends and Nick for helping us out!! 

Leon went with Nick to the airport and  helped out on customs for his bike, and after another sweaty hard working day Nick also came to the  hotel with his bike. We stayed a few days in Bangkok to arranged the visa for Vietnam and Laos (Cambodia you can buy on the border) we asked if it was possible to enter from Cambodia Vietnam with our own motorbikes and they gives us the wrong info, it was a yes and it must be a no.  But any way we have seen Vietnam a few years ago and Leon didn't liked it so much after all. Vietnam should be able to reached from Laos but because you have to be specific with border you want to take and to use if you want to leave the country. So we filled out the wrong information and the visa is useless now. Thanks ticket and visa office in Bangkok. 

In Bangkok we bought a zoom camera and we want to buy something pretty good so we looked around and found a Nikon zoom camera 120mm  what is not to bad. Now a few weeks later we found out the zoom is not working well, so we have to go back to Bangkok to get the problem solved. But it is a shame you buy a well known brand, you pay a very good price for it and after all we have this bad luck.
From Bangkok we drove in two days to the border of Cambodia, we paid 30us$ each person and entered the bad roads of Cambodia. The guy at the carnet the passage office was so friendly to stamp the entry and the exit part of the form at the same time so this form was useless and we have to use another page, thank you. 

Cambodia has a few highlights one of the most known is Angkor Watt a very big temple complex with lots of temples in different shapes. There are two main roads in Cambodia one from the border  (poi pet) to Sissofon and from there to Siem Reap and the other one (in a slightly better shape) from Sissofon to Battambang we took the lather one and decide to go with boat to Angkor Watt. 
Battambang is a nice country place very friendly people and a very good cheap hotel Royal (around the 5 us dollar with bathroom TV and clean). We meet Mr.. Lee and Mr. Tee and they showed us around to the killing fields they were around the forty's and could tell us interesting story's about  the war, the killings, the transportation from the people in Phnom Penn to the country side The people were enforced to be  farmers.. 
Mr. Tee was more the talkative guy and he brought us to a temple and told us this temple was used as a prison in the time of Pol Pot, if you were wearing glasses then "off course" you are a intellectual and you were send to prison. They interrogation you and try to find out about your friends. The interrogation was so bloody that they made hole's in the wall to get rid of the blood. We visit after this horrible story the cave were the people has to climb on top of it, and they where throwing into the cave to get them killed. They did it this way to save the "expensive" bullets. You will understand this was a very nerve-racking day . 
On the way down we visited a non she invited us for lunch and Mr. Tee was the interpreter (both ways) to have a nice talk with this non. She lived on this mountain area for more than twenty years now (this means also in the hard times) and the last five years she found it a little bit hard to be on her one. She had a terrible experience wit a group of soldiers the last five years the y robbed some non's and try to raped them as well, so now she build a small hut in the neighborhood off other monks and non's.
It was time for us to face the facts, the boat trip to Siem Reap cost 15 us$ each, entree Angkor Watt 20 us$ each, you have to hire a "guide" motor taxi guy 6 us$ each, come back with the boat is 13 us$ each, so this means Cambodia will be very expensive trip for us. But there is nothing you can do only to skip the whole thing but we don't want. So we have to face the facts.

We took on 15 April 2001 a boat trip to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Watt. A very small bath tube with a Yamaha out board engine (40) should bring us (6 people and the pilot and the luggage) to Siem Reap in the boat it was not allowed to move your but or the boat will tip over. So we had a very good trip for the next six hours, sitting on the low benches.
We arrived in Siem Reap in the afternoon and a taxi picked us up to see some guesthouses, we took the guesthouse from the taxi guy and because we stayed more days he gives us the room for 4 us$. He arranged the motor taxi guys to bring us around for the 6 dollars (afterwards we found out you don't need those guys at all) they where a pain in the ash anyway, we discovered, no interest at all and the only thing they want is to bring you to a place to get more money from you.
But in spite of all the complaining, the place is absolutely interesting. We been there before sunrise to take some nice pictures without busloads of tourists, the first temple we saw was Angkor Watt the temple is restored as good as possible and the size is huge. The next temple we saw was The Bayon this is temple with all the big faces looking to all the directions. This temple was really amazing  so big and in such a good shape really perfect.
Before we took the lunch break at the guesthouse we have seen the elephant wall with was so great to see. It was around 11 am when we drove back to the hotel the temperature was over 43 degrees Celsius in the shade, so it was no fun at all to walk around and get dehydrated. We have send "the guides" home because they where running away, didn't show up where they have to be etc. etc. We told the manager this and he arranged some other guys to pick us up round three o clock.
And that they didn't was not the fault of the manager but the new guys. So we arranged some guys by our own and they were the best till now, they brought us to Angkor Tom this was a remote temple, and the area still looks if it was found yesterday, big trees are overgrowing the walls of the temple and pushing some wall aside. Till now this was the nicest temple so far no people around, so we hope the pictures turned out very nice.

Back to Batambang we stayed a extra night and we drove back to the border of Thailand and it seemed that the road was better than the week ago we arrived, maybe they worked on the road we don't no, but we did do the 140 km in one day and arrived in Thailand in the early afternoon we found a hotel for 9us$ with air co  we don't like it, but we had no choice there was no other hotel around.

our next stop was Hotel Honey inn , a strange place the day we arrived the wife of the Thai owner went for a small holiday to Malaysia and left him alone to run the place and that was not a very good idea. He was so alone and he looked for some company, a friend of him also a teacher (music) was around but to bad for him he was a drunk and was so friendly to bring some beer for the lonely teacher to forget his problems, they started to drink some beers in the day time and whisky in the afternoon.. We heard from another traveler that some Thai men miss a special gene to kill the alcohol after a while. So maybe this man was also missing this specials gene and get drunk very easy, because he was  missing his wife, there was nobody around to tell him don't drink so much. Lucky for us we get more guest to enjoy ourselves and we had a good time afterwards.  

We left the place on  29 April and went up to Northeast direction Laos we hope we  can get the motorbikes in the country and drive a bit around. 

So that was it till now, hope you have a nice reading evening, good luck, till next time!!
greetings Leon and Jolanda.