Aussie Ben Laffer of Angkor Dirtbike Tours explains, "Because Cambodia has suffered so many years of civil war and lack of development it’s way behind the rest of the South East Asia region in terms of infrastructure. That means that many of the highways that would normally have been tarmac years ago are still dirt. You can point a finger in any direction around the country and there’ll be a dirt road at the end of it."

And why take a tour in Cambodia rather than, for example, neighbouring Thailand? "In Thailand," Laffer explains, "as in the rest of South East Asia, on a tour you are riding a dirt bike following a tarmac'd tourist trail for the most part, the majority of the routes you take could be done in a tourist coach. In Cambodia dirt bikes and serious four wheel drives are the only way to get to the places we take you.

"This is dirt bike riding for real, there are no tarmac ring roads or short cuts, you are riding the main highways that are still undeveloped, to places where if regular tourists want to go they have to go by plane."