Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Touring
Reload this Page >

Touring SE Asia Advice

Notices
Touring Have a dream to ride a bike across your state, across the country, or around the world? Self-contained or fully supported? Trade ideas, adventures, and more in our bicycle touring forum.

Touring SE Asia Advice

Old 08-11-11, 11:40 PM
  #1  
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 2
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Touring SE Asia Advice

Hello All!

I'm planning a tour for this winter from December to Feb. in SE Asia. So far I know I want to fly into Thailand, and after that my planning is very rough, and before I start I want to tap into the vast knowledge here on the forums. I'm looking to hear about those epic routes that can't be missed and great places that I gotta see! Any help, tips, and ideas would be awesome cause from what I've read so far I've got tons of options! I'm not the savviest at searching the forums, so if something like this already exists pass on the link, or we can start a new one here!

Thanks!
Lucas
Volleycycle is offline  
Old 08-12-11, 04:08 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Jasper Alberta
Posts: 469

Bikes: Surly Ogre

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Pretty varied geography in SEA. Thailand has some great ride, I love the south personally, but the traffic can be a little much. Bangkok itself at night is a blast to ride, the streets can be very quiet. Some bike shops.

Cambodia... Very very flat for the most part, rice field after rice field...... But the people are lovely and you'll get sick of saying hello to all the kids. The traffic from Phnom Pehn to the coast can be horrible.

Laos. Do it. Very hilly, very quiet good roads, few people. Can be some serious distance between villages and cities (in the south). Zero internet south of Pakse if that's important to you. ATM's can very hard to find, as well as english speakers outside the touristy regions.

Don't bother to bring a tent, getting a room is usually not hard and very cheap.
SparkyGA is offline  
Old 08-12-11, 08:10 AM
  #3  
Bike touring webrarian
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 2,068

Bikes: I tour on a Waterford Adventurecycle. It is a fabulous touring bike.

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 119 Post(s)
Liked 91 Times in 50 Posts
Here are some links to get you started.

This page has 5 links to information about bike touring in Cambodia.

This page has 9 links to information about bike touring in Laos.

This page has 7 links to information about bike touring in Thailand.

This page has 7 links to information about bike touring in Southeast Asia.

Obviously, not all of the these links will be of interest to you but they are a good place to start your planning.

Have a great time,

Ray
raybo is offline  
Old 08-12-11, 09:45 AM
  #4  
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,008
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 283 Post(s)
Liked 118 Times in 86 Posts
I've toured in Thailand, Laos, & Malaysia. Dec-Feb is the ideal time to tour in northern Thailand and northern Laos, as those 3 months are sufficiently north of the equator that they have significantly more comfortable temperatures than during the rest of the year. It also coincides with the dry season. I did a wonderful loop heading north from Chiang Mai along the borders of both Burma & Laos, going as far east as Nan before heading back westward toward Chiang Mai. I also rode through the northern half of Laos from Vientiane toward the Chinese border, then westward back toward Thailand. Both of these rides were superb with great scenery and good roads. Touring in Thailand is very straighforward, as easy or easier than touring in developed countries. Laos is much more basic than Thailand. A few places I rode through in Laos were off the electrical grid. Accommodations were sometimes primitive outside of the larger towns in Laos. I agree with the advice above about leaving camping gear at home. Don't bother with a stove, either.

There are trains in Thailand which can be very useful. I took a night train from Bangkok to near Vientiane, and it was very easy to take a bike. There are also trains between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, as well as a few other routes in the country.

Overall, I thought touring in Thailand was better than in Malaysia. It's harder to find quiet roads in Malaysia. Most of my biking was on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, from Singapore up to Kota Baru near the Thai border. I was also on Penang, a wonderful island off the NW coast of Malaysia. Penang, and especially its main city Georgetown, are absolutely superb to visit.
axolotl is offline  
Old 08-18-11, 08:55 AM
  #5  
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 2
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Awesome, thanks for the suggestions and help!
Volleycycle is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Chr0m0ly
Touring
42
10-16-18 09:46 PM
Squeezebox
Touring
5
01-16-16 07:47 PM
skyzo
Touring
24
08-13-11 11:18 AM
Lamabb
Northeast
6
10-05-10 11:03 AM
John Bailey
Touring
8
12-10-09 08:23 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.