Kompong Yuol, Cambodia

It was Eid Mubarak of 2017 when 7 bikes from Negri Sembilan and a 4WD vehicle went to Kompong Yuol to perform the Qurban.  11 cattle were slaughtered for Qurban and 1 cattle for Aqiqah.  We traveled fro Senawang, Negeri Sembilan by road passing through Thailand. Six days and 2,500km later we arrived Kompong Yuol at 1.00am in the morning of Hari Raya Qurban. 

What appears to be a lake is actually a flood plain of one of the tributaries of the Bassac River flowing into Vietnam. Six months in a year the water recedes and rice will be planted and the main activity is rice planting. The next six months they fish the waters.. Due to the abundance of water, there are also large number of geese and ducks. The geese are everywhere going about in the village in small flock but not the ducks.. they are always in one huge flock.

Sunrise over the flooded plains 

 Boats used for fishing and catching the abundant river prawns

 A girl tending her little sister

 Flocks of geese in front of the one and only mosque

 Geese are thriving and they are everywhere due to the abundance of water

More flocks of geese going about their business in the village

Local resident having breakfast at a stall

A mother and her twins

Himalayan Odyssey Day 5 - Kalpa to Kaza

Its gonna be a long dusty road ahead..

.. with short breaks of asphalt..

and after a while the road just gets worse..

but with some nice asphalt breaks in between

Straight even roads we could speed..

and water falls that disappears right under the road below us..

Another long wait to get the military permit as from this point onwards it was a high security area near to China and Pakistan borders.  The roads were maintained and controlled by the military.  All along the road from here onwards we will be watched from the distance from military posts hidden on top of the hills.  Any unauthorized diversion from the main road will be reported and investigated.

Who says you cannot take picture facing the sun?

More road carved from the rocky mountain face

One of the hundreds of  'entertaining' road signs

The long and winding road...

More treacherous section with a steep drop on one side..

We had to stop and waited for the heavy machinery to clear a rock fall which they shoved it aside to let it drop several thousand fee to the river below.  The river has cut deep into the ground below and cannot be seen from this point.

The two motorcycles were mere dots several thouisand feet at the bottom loop as seen from this vantage point.

Finally reaching the top of the loop after going through 22 'elbow' turns

Looking back at the loops we just passed.

Posing at the top of the loop after traveling about 10km from the bottom of the loop

The road stretches for miles in the distant and riding in this altitude, cold temperature , blazing sun and the risks of serious dehydration is real.

Small villages that dotted the hillsides

The roads were narrow, scary and truly treacherous and I hardly saw any smiles..

Rests stop - the local alternative.

The comparative size of the villages and the mountains gives an idea of the distance we need to travel.

Looking back at the road we have been.

The image the slow riders.. see the dots above.

High altitudes farming

dealing with constant water hazards along the way.

Still several kilometers to go.

The three of us went off the road and starts racing up the hill slope.  This Royal Enfield bikes is built like a tank!

Some wanted to ride on..

It was geeting dark and were were still several km from our campsite destination.

View of the sunset lighting up the opposite hills.