World’s Worst Road

An article from Travelling Board ranked the most dangerous roads in the world.

http://travellingboard.net/travel-guides/the-most-dangerous-roads-in-the-world/

The winner was the ‘Road of Death’ or North Yungas Road in in Bolivia.

The winding mountain ‘highway’ covers about 70 km. through the Bolivian Andes from La Paz to Coroico. The heavily traveled route reaps from 100-200 souls every year. The slightest lapse in attention and the driver will find himself hurtling down the steep slopes and his passengers screaming out their last breath.

Eeeeeiiiieeeeeeiiiii!

I googled ‘Thailand worst road’.

A web search delivered the road between Poipet and Siem Reap.

I overlanded on this horrid road from Siem Reap to Pattaya rather than fly Bangkok Air. My friend Nick and I figured that the plane-taxi option cost about 6000 baht and 6 hours versus 2000 baht and 7 hours staying on the ground. 4000 was almost over 60 beers at the Buffalo Bar. Too much beer to sacrifice.

We hired a 1997 Camry and set out at 8am.

The driver drove the 220 kilometers every day.

“Four hours. 10 hours have rain.”

Dirt dust and potholes.

Bangkok Air pays Cambodian officials to not repair the road to maintain their stranglehold on the air route being the only option for anyone other than backpackers and heavy beer drinkers like Nick and me.

Rattling across the flat plain we passed buses loaded to the gills with passengers wearing scarves.

“Seven hours. 100 baht.” The driver informed us.

I love beer, but also my butt and was glad to be speeding to Poipet at 50 kph. Once we hit 70. A stone cracked the windshield. It wasn’t the first time. We arrived at the border in four hours as promised. Another 3 took us to Pattaya.

Bad road?

Yes, but not dangerous like ‘The Road of Death’ or Pattaya’s 3rd Road.

Someone dies between Pattaya Tai and Pattaya Klang every day.

Mostly motorcycle drivers racing without helmets.

Their death poses are memorialized by white paint outlining their final sprawl.

Scary.

Almost as bad as crossing Sukhumvit at 3am.

Now that’s really scary.

Especially if you run the red light.