The unplanned exit

Change of plans. I must head into Thailand and then into Lao, as new regulation has stopped me to get into Lao from Cambodia with my bike...

I dont know why,  but im not going to risk it and drive 600 km just to get rejected.
The plan for the day was riding through a bit of Cambodia and visit a national park located on my route, then head to O'Smach for a overnight stop and then after cross the border into Thailand.

Getting out of Siem Reap was actually harder than getting out of Bangkok for some reason.
The signposts telling were to go, were very unclear and I ended up on the wrong place all the time...
 And the locals didnt help either! Havent people got out of this town before??!

 Ma main man and I in Angkor Wat

 I got lost a few times and one of roads I ended up in, I met death once again...
I saw some people gathering and entering the woods just outside Siem Reap.

First I though it was some religious excursion, but it was the tragic suicide of a local sales man whose business has gone bust according to the people standing there.

I have thought of the fact that Siem Reap was flooded with sales people, and I have never seen people so anxious to sell you something.
The sad truth is, as it seems, is that it is a matter of life and death...
However trying to forget about this I eventually found my way out to the countryside.

The spirited driving along the countryside made me loose track where I was as my only navigation has been Google Maps map in my memory.
I could not find any decent road map anywhere here..
So  After a bit of hill climbing with the bike I ended up on a construction site with the sign


" Pol Pots cremation site"  Huh.. Here? Just beside the sign there were some guards waving through cars, and I thought that was the road towards O'Smach would be through there.

Earlier military check points I have been through they just waved  me through without being stopped, so naturally I thought that this was the case this time as well.  But I was wrong.


They whistled, pointed their guns and shouted in Cambodian at me..

What did I do?! 

Do you want bribes?!

Well I dont have any!! 

Oh....This is the border? 

In my defense there were no signs saying border or anything else...just that Pol Pots remains where still around here somewhere.

 The suicide scene

Now I was stuck in the borders and I could not be bothered to go down the hill again, and the clock was ticking late, so I might as well just go through and into Thailand.
After dodging a couple of bribing sessions I was into Thailand once again, looking for the nearest town to get some sleep.