The day before I left Siem Reap; I took the bike out for a quick spin to check all was OK (having not ridden for a few days). The same problem was back, the stuttering when dropping the revs. Took it back to the same place, who told me to come back the next day.
So, the next morning, loaded up I went back at the allotted time. The French guy was there, tinkering away at various bikes with a spliff permanently attached to his lips. No mechanic yet, but he was summoned as Monsieur Spliff set about dismantling my bike. My confidence was ebbing; but then the actual mechanic arrived and set to work. Removed, stripped and cleaned the carb, adjusted the valves, did something to the air/fuel mix. Nearly 3 hours later, it was ready to go!
I took it for a quick test ride; seemed OK. So I hit the road and headed west. Hadn't gone too far and the old problem was back. Bugger!!! Well, maybe a bit better. I think it is something I will have to live with, the bike still runs, she just gets a bit breathless at times. Poor thing. Give me a fuel injected bike any day.
An uneventful run to Battambang. I was originally going to do a detour to visit the Banteay Chhmar temple; but after Siem Reap I am all templed out. I'll save that for a future trip.
Battambang seems good. Very quiet and laid back after Siem Reap, and my liver needs a break. Staying in the old French part of town; the historic colonial buildings decaying at a slower pace the old historic expats who still haunt the place.
My itchy feet (literally, damn mosquitoes!) compelled to stay only one night before heading south to the Cardamom mountains. My destination was Praramoy and there were a couple of choices of routes; the highway, or the back roads. Easy choice. Good choice.
As soon as I turned off the main road, the traffic thinned to almost nothing, the view improving as the mountains began as a smudge on the horizon. I was expecting this route to be largely dirt, but the empty tarmac just kept on coming. Eventually there was a 15km or so stretch of dirt road, but after that, it was largely back to the tarmac. Really enjoyable ride today, one of the best on this trip so far. Most of the main highways in Cambodia are pretty dull: straight roads through flat land. Hitting the back/dirt roads is where the fun is to be had.
Rain. I arrived reasonably early as the road conditions were better than expected, so I checked into a hotel, had a feed and then decided to explore route 55 towards the Thai border. Rain, lots of it. Waited it out for a while, it eased and I jumped on the bike and headed west. Didn't get too far. Rain. This is another on the to do list next time. It's raining now. This could make the trip over the Cardamom mountains tomorrow "interesting". Heavy rain on dirt roads in the mountains. Hmmm.
Soundtrack: Levellers - "Leave this Town"
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