Hi folks!

We are planning a two months tour for this summer, what i would like to see is:

Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
Thailand

the period will be from 20-25 july till the end of september, beginning of october. Right now my biggest concern is the weather, it seems really not the best moment but unfortunately is the only period where i can take a break from the university!

If anyone have some tips and info to share, interesting places to see, nice things to do.. whatever!.. that would be great!

cheers
Sil

What mode of transport were you planning to take?

Hi Sil!

If you plan going by bike, you cannot enter Vietnam with a big bike. I thought >250 cc is not allowed. You can also think a renting a bike in each country, very easy everywhere randomly available. For Thailand tips have a look at GT-rider or rideasia.net
We went to Chiang Mai and rode the Mae Hon Song Loop and further down along the Burmese border. Great ride! Lots of interesting places to stop and over a few thousands (hairpin)bends and beautiful scenery. In cambodja its great offroading, where you'll be immediately off the beaten track. Laos we had to skip as for time constraints unfortunately.
We got some ideas for Cambodia route from a rental website, its in Dutch but you'll get an idea, have a look.
Cambodja Avonturen Motorreis - Motor Trails - Avontuurlijke Motorreizen

Have fun planning, if you want to know more pm me

greetz Els
Two for the Road
Amsterdam- Tasmania

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Dream it, do it!
www.2fortheroad.nl

the idea is buy a bike and sell it in the end of the trip. Do you know if some extra documents (like CDP) are needed if you buy a bike, let's say in Vietnam and then you want to move to the other states? (or vice-versa)

Since you can not enter in Vietnam with a bigger bike then 250cc maybe is possible to buy a bigger one there and then ride out (I'm not fun of big heavy bike anyway but since we are 2 i was thinking to something like 400cc (xr, dr ecc) is it possible to find them down there?

thanks a lot!..
cheers
Sil

It seems bikes registered in Vietnam are able to get out of Vietnam, and also return there. And no other bikes are allowed to enter Vietnam (and there´s no cc limit, it´s just a net rumour)... UNLESS you do arrange kinda similar as China, and that costs (a lot!!)

So, buying from Vietnam, you should be able to tour all 4 of these countries, but buying from Thailand, Cambodia or Laos should get you into those 3, but not into Vietnam.

And maybe you can add Malaysia into that list as well, because while officially requiring the carnet, seemed relaxed about it.

You problem might be the quality of used bikes available in Vietnam... probably a much better selection in Thailand.

I recently bought a Minsk in Hanoi and rode through all these countries
Here are some things that may help
Viet-Nam is the main problem as border crossings with a bike is sometimes difficult and as I wanted to ride back into Viet-nam, ( make sure you get multi entry visa), buying in country was the best option. If you do decide to buy, Hanoi is an advantage as district plates (29 ) will help with authorities throughout the north and south.
There are many places to rent rooms though they are not advertised well, learn the different names for the different districts.
Border crossings- North is open (Den bien to Udamaxai, Laos) beware the road deteriorates on the Laos side for 100ks then ok.(Bribe warning)
South - Bo-y is under a lot of construction so only roadside shacks for Laos and a simple process on the Viet-nam side ( this is a great ride )
Centre- Khe-san to Laos very efficient no waiting
I took the bike through the Laos-Thailand borders at Vientienne to Udon Thani here make sure of your papers (owernship mainly) I was rejected at the Cambodian-Thailand border (Siam reap to Thailand) but there are border tensions there ( Siam Reap means "the defeat of Thailand" after all)
Thailand to Laos at Savanakhet across the friendship bridge -sweet- carry spare photos if no visa
Viet-Nam to Cambodia no problems (A vaccination-health card helps here)
Cambodia-Laos primitive (bribe warning)
Cambodia and Laos are a doddle to ride around (mainly flat), if you keep to the main drag , if you travel off season, make this gospel.
Thailand is a shock if you have been riding in Laos-Cambodia, very modern, very fast and this is where a small bike is found lacking. There are dedicated bike lanes though.
What I would do different next time-
Bugger the Minsk Its cheap but its old tech and will give you problems. I will get a hero honda or something, more expensive but reliable ,parts everywhere, NOT a smokey, noisy two-stroke A small bike ,imo, goes as fast as you should when travelling in SE Asia. Also it is easier to lift them onto canoes, ferries,trucks etc.
I would avoid the main highway in Vietnam, its a bitch (although there are some special vistas sometimes) I prefer the mountains , the Ho Chi Minh trails (there are many) Not easy, but an adventure.
If Asian city traffic worries you, just get up real early and make the city limits just on dawn.
If you have any specific questions I would be happy to reply If I'm able.
BTW I'm jealous , your're about to have the time of your life

No CdP required for any of these countries and you don't need one with a Thai reg'd bike for Malaysia, either. Thailand (& Laos & Cambo) don't issue or use them, which otherwise would effectively close the Malaysian border, as Thais can't get CdPs...

So you were able to cross this bridge on a bike without problems? When I was there in 2009 anything with less than 4 wheels was not allowed on the bridge.

Check the forums on GTRider.com for updates.

__________________
Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10