Unlike most other places in Southeast Asia, you cannot freely rent a motorcycle or scooter here in Siem Reap. Considering you can rent bikes elsewhere in Cambodia, this may seem incongruous and indeed it is, but there is no real clarity on why it’s the case.

A guide to beating the Cambodian traffic blues.

A number of reasons have been suggested, however. These include the tendency of tourists to have accidents when confronted with the highly unpredictable and frankly loopy driving of the locals, which seriously makes you question everything you ever thought you knew about human nature, in particular whether the will to live is innate or acquired. And then there’s the tuk tuk mafia, which would be aggrieved at the loss of business. The rude comments that I still see cyclists get from tuk tuk and moto drivers would support that contention.

If you do happen to spot a foreigner on a motorbike in or around town, the odds are good that they’re an expat. Unfortunately, wandering up to them and wistfully enquiring where they got their bike won’t help.

You're not getting it, no matter how nicely you ask.

But driving, especially, on a motorbike or scooter, is still one of the best ways of seeing Cambodia and the spectacular countryside where, for good or ill, life hasn’t really changed a great deal (bar the addition of loudspeakers) since the days of the Khmer Empire.

It is still possible to get out there on two wheels however, provided you do it with a tour company and it’s not necessarily as expensive as you might think.

Experience, while always helpful, is not even strictly necessary. If you go with Khmer Ways, a newish outfit founded by a group of German guys who have been booting around the back roads of Cambodia for years, their small 125cc Honda Dream motor-scooters are perfect. They’ll give you a lesson before departure, and will make sure to drive as slowly as you need them to go.

Like most motorbike tour companies, they steer clear of the main roads as well. After all, you’re not paying them so you can spend the whole time looking at the back of a bus wondering when some lunatic is going to come shooting out of a side-road and straight into your path without even a sideways glance.

Getting away from it all.

Their prices too are excellent. Their signature one-day tour is $50, and includes a ride to Phnom Bok, a reservoir for a swim and inclusive barbecue picnic, and then the ruins of Chao Srei Vibol, a tough to get to temple where you’ll find divinely few fellow travellers.

For those wanting a little more adventure, then it’s time to saddle up on one of the 250cc dirtbikes that can be hired from either Siem Reap Dirtbikes, or Hidden Cambodia Adventure Tours.

Both of these operations are very experienced, maintain their own bikes, and pride themselves on their safety records. You can go on simple one-day trips of the countryside around Siem Reap, and it’s gorgeous, or on bigger cross-country tours, staying in local accommodation, eating local food, and really getting into the thick of it.

And if you’re looking to really burn up some road, and cash, well then a Harley Davidson is the only thing for you. Harley Tours Cambodia, though based in Phnom Penh, also offer one-day Siem Reap tours, to Beng Melea and Kampong Khleang, for $300. Now, where did I put my Steppenwolf?

Tags: Beng Melea, Chao Srei Vibol, Harley Tours Cambodia, Hidden Cambodia Adventure Tours, Kampong Khleang, Khmer Ways, motorbikes, Phnom Bok, Siem Reap Dirtbikes, tours

Eyes lit up in February this year when Myanmar Airways International (MAI) announced a new direct flight between Siem Reap and Rangoon, the former capital of Burma. Not only did this cut a great deal of time and hassle out of a trip from here to Burma, but the airline was also able to secure the availability of visas on arrival for passengers.  Overland travellers to Burma, and travellers from a number of origins still must obtain a visa in advance and, judging by the Travelfish.org forum and blogs, this question is still confusing and tedious.

Flying has advantages.

However, you’d better move quickly if you want to take advantage of the direct route from Siem Reap to Rangoon as that route will end on 30 October this year. Considering the amount of time, and transport and other costs saved, it still represents a great deal at roughly US$250 for a round trip (depending on dates and so on).

That’s not the end of the line though, as MAI will be introducing a new route between Phnom Penh and Rangoon starting in November. Siem Reap hasn’t been completely cut out of the loop as flights back to Cambodia will stop off here, en route to Phnom Penh. The route now looks more like a triangle than a circle. Passengers will still be able to get a visa on arrival when they land in Rangoon.

From November, the new services will fly at 13:50 from Phnom Penh to Rangoon on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a total flight time of just under an hour and a half. The return flights will run from Rangoon to Siem Reap at 08:50 and then from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh at midday, with a total flight time of four hours between the two major cities.

As of early October, the fares are not yet available online though bookings are still possible through agents or if you contact the airline through the website.

Myanmar Airways International
http://www.maiair.com

Tags: Burma, flights