A motorcycle convoy headed by Danish Ambassador Mikael H. Winther and Tommy Christensen, a Danish member of the Harley Davidson Owners Group of Thailand, roared on 16 February into Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, 48 hours after the bikers had left Bangkok on the first ever organized MC group trip from Bangkok to Phnom Penh. ScandAsia’s video photographer and producer Wido Schlichting, who lives in Phnom Penh, was there to cover their arrival.
Wido Schlichting’s video is now available on youtube.com/scandasia/
The Go4 Charity Ride was organized to raise funds for Helmets for Kids, a 10-month road-safety programme in Cambodia to buy helmets and provide educational training for students.
The Danish embassy had been in charge of organizing all visa arrangements for the riders at the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border crossing on the unique capital-to-capital motorcycle ride.
Having crossed the border – and crossed over to drive on the right hand side of the road in Cambodia – the bikers continued on Highway 5 to Battambang City and the Khemrabattambang 1 Hotel where the participants held a BBQ at the pool side with live band.
The next morning, the group continued on Highway 5 towards Phnom Penh he Ride continues toward Phnom Penh, a distance of approximately 300 km. Approaching Phnom Penh, the traffic started being bad and the convoy had to slow down a bit. But still the group managed to be able to roar into the capital before dark, creating acute awareness wherever they passed by.
In the evening, a BBQ party was held at Hotel Cambodiana with view of the majestic Mekong River in celebration of the complwetion of the unique ride.
On Friday, the donation ceremony with the hand-over of the funds in support of purchasing the helmets for the kids took place.
Saturday the ride went back again to Thailand, this time taking the scenic route down south over Sihanoukville and further on Road 48 through the mountains towards the Cambodian / Thai border. This is a very nice road, although the speed on some stretches of the road can max be only 60-80 km/h.
