Driving - Cambodian style!

So you just felled a small tree and you have no way to transport it except by bicycle? No worries!! Simply balance the tree over the handle bars and seat of your bike, then ride the bike astride the tree. Just make sure the ends of the tree don't swipe other drivers off their bikes when you turn a corner!

Need to transport 25 chickens to market on your bicycle? That one's easy! Simply string the chickens by the legs to a long stick and tie the stick horizontally to the rack on the back of your bike. The chickens bounce along on the stick, quiet and blinking, their heads just barely clear of the dusty road...

Need to transport 6 small pigs to market on your bicycle? That's easy once again - the pigs go side by side into a wicker cylinder that's strapped to the back rack of the bike. They look out the gaps in the basket as they wriggle against each other to get a bit more room. In fact, you can transport almost anything on the back of a bike it seems...

Ever wondered how many people can possibly fit into the back of a ute? We've flown past plenty loaded with at least 25 people. It's also possible for people to ride on top of huge loads of watermelons precariously stacked, or loads of sand or bricks.

It seems like there is only one rule when driving here in Cambodia - there are no rules! Theoretically they drive on the right here, but this usually means driving in the middle of the road and doesn't stop people (including us) riding their bicycles down the left hand side of the road into oncoming traffic when they need to.

Also, there seems to be no age limit to driving here. School kids ride their motos to school with three classmates on the back, their feet dangling just clear of the road. Luckily the average speed limit around the towns seems to be about 30km/hour.

So, how does it all work????

When turning left at a roundabout (the equivalent of of right in Australia), don't bother going right around the roundabout - no one does that and it would probably cause an accident. Just enter the roundabout and go left. Don't be afraid of the vehicles coming straight through - they'll (hopefully) let you through. If on a bicycle, follow a car as they are big and they will carve a path for you.

If you're in a car and you want to overtake a moto, tuk-tuk or bike in front of you, just blare the horn to let them know that you're passing and then pull out onto the wrong side of the road. Don't worry about what's on the other side of the road unless it's a bus or a truck - everything else will get out of your way even if it means that you run them off the side of the road.

When turning right from a side street into a busy road, there's no need to stop or give way. Just swing out into the traffic and it will somehow part and let you in. They are keeping their eyes peeled so as long as you are only going slowly nothing bad will happen. Turning left is another matter. When turning left, it's best to ride out onto the left hand side of the road into the oncoming traffic, before swinging over onto the right hand side when there's a break in traffic. (This can take a while and applies whether you're a car, moto or bike. If you're in a truck or a bus just do whatever you want and everyone goes around you).

Lastly, just because there's roadworks going on in the middle of the road doesn't mean that you can't drive over them. If you can conceivably get across roadworks (including ditches, piles of sand, piles of rocks, fresh bitumen etc) while avoiding being crushed by a roller or irreparably damaging your vehicle then there's nothing stopping you. Make sure to keep an eye out for the kids using the piles of sand as a sandpit. (The same rule applies to pedestrians - those "Keep Out" signs are more advisory than mandatory, right???) - N.