The so called Death Highway traditionally goes from Ban Lung, Ratankiri to Sen Monorom, Mondolkiri in North-eastern Cambodia. It was given this name due to its extreme remoteness, harsh environment and living conditions of those living along the trail. The trail is scheduled for development into a paved highway in the next couple years so Tim and I decided this was the last chance to experience it authentically.
About a third of the trail (nearest to Sen Monorom) was already sealed (unpaved) a year ago, making the journey a whole lot easier but that didn’t change the fact that much of the trail is still very difficult ranging to impassible in the rainy season. Bicycle was definitely the transportation of choice although we passed several jungle motos and ox carts along the way.
Overall, we have to say that the trail is more deathly boring than deadly. We were unlucky enough to avoid any animal encounters and were essentially in the middle of uninteresting forest for the majority of the trip. This adds one more reason why the trip was mostly for bragging rights and not scenic pleasure.
Highlights of the trip included crossing the Srepok river in Ratanakiri (made famous by the movie Apocalypse Now)