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Island hopping with a 125? Island hopping with a 125?
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West and South Asia From Turkey to Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Ladakh and Bangladesh
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 9 Aug 2011
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Island hopping with a 125?
Hey guys,

I'm trying to plan out a rough route for the SE Asia part of my RWT. I land in Bangkok in October and then fly strait to Han Oi to buy a motorcycle and start my adventure. I'm looking for some advice on islands that are relatively easy to get to with a motorcycle (GN125cc) either by longtail or ferry. I plan on spending 4-5 months in the region ending in Singapore before heading to NZ. I 'm a beach bum at heart and plan on spending much of my time on islands and by the coast. I am aware that for me to travel to many of these Islands I'll will have to leave my bike at a guesthouse, friend or reliable mechanic, storage, etc. If anyone has any experience or suggestions for this it would be greatly appreciated. What islands have you taken your bikes to and which were the best? Thanks!

So far the Islands that I am most interested in are:

Vietnam:
Phu Quoc
Cat Ba Island

Cambodia:
Ko Tonsay
Ko Russie
Koh Rong
Koh Tang
Koh Ru

Laos:
Don Dhet
Don Kohn
Don Khong

Thailand:
Southern Andamans
Koh Phi Phi
Ko Pha Ngan
ko Tao
Ko Kradan
Similans
Sirins
Ko Ngai
Ko Phra Thong
Ko Lipe
Ko Muk

Malaysia:
Redang
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  #2  
Old 10 Aug 2011
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Thai bride
Hi,
I have been to most of the Islands you mentioned in Thailand and although I rented out bikes while there, it should be possible for sure as all the islands have large passanger ferrys that also carry cargo to the islands, 125, no probs.........................Id recommend, Ko Pha Ngan and Koh Phi Phi as they were my personal favourites They are all incredibly beautiful you will have a great ride
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  #3  
Old 10 Aug 2011
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Phu Quoc worth a visit, one of the few places in Vietnam you can have a sundowner
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  #4  
Old 10 Aug 2011
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Mekong islands are generally served by flat boats that incur a larger fee, check they are not served by car ferries (Don Khong etc.) some locals work the bike crowd, one to the north of Don Kohn tried it on me telling me his was the only boat capable of carrying bikes
Phu Qhouc A fast ferry out of Rach Gia the best way there, beaches excellent need your bike to get to the best beaches, a bit of road works though, watch out for trucks in the dust.
Koh Samui ,Pha ngan and Tao are served by a car ferry once a day
hope this helps
have fun mate
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  #5  
Old 10 Aug 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twobob View Post
Mekong islands are generally served by flat boats that incur a larger fee, check they are not served by car ferries (Don Khong etc.) some locals work the bike crowd, one to the north of Don Kohn tried it on me telling me his was the only boat capable of carrying bikes

Here with a group of 8 falangs, and taking our 115cc scooters from the Lao "mainland" to Don Khong. We hadn´t arranged anything beforehand, and I think we had to wait about 30 minutes at the boat landing (but this was in December 2006)... anyway, Si Phan Don was fantastic, well worth a visit!



The stairs are actually way steeper than appears on the photo – and also finally lifting the scooters into the boat (and off the boat) was a bit of a handful. I definitely would NOT want to try this with a big, heavy bike!!



Returning from the islands some lazy days later, our bike transport was on this "ferry"... it did look a bit hairy, but luckily the weather was calm! (Actually they took us on another, regular boat
, and that one so nearly capsized
after hitting something, probably an underwater tree)!

Something more about the trip & SE Asia here:
Chicken Chasers
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  #6  
Old 11 Aug 2011
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Great info! Thanks guys!
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Old 12 Aug 2011
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Just looking through your "Chicken Chasers" web site now...
Chicken Chasers

Very interesting info and photographs!
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  #8  
Old 13 Aug 2011
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you lucky one... I envy you so much


Cat Ba: very easy to get to it with your bike. I did it in 2009. Took the ferry in Tuan Chai Island north of Cat Ba then crossed the island and took several ferrys to get to Hai Phong.

Phu Quoc: I had sold the bike in Saigon, so took bus+ferry to Phu Quoc. The fast boat Rach-Gia to PhuQuoc was called Superdong. Its not a ferry but motorcycles were also carried aboard. Sea was rough so I expect they were rusted in a short time.


Phu Quoc was simply incredible. Saddly it will change in the near future with the big airport and improved roads.
I still have some white pepper I bought in the plantations in the center of the island. Its the best I have ever tasted.
The fishing villages in the north are a great view and you will really enjoy the virgin beaches.

Paradise.
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Old 21 Aug 2011
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Originally Posted by bclarke View Post
Just looking through your "Chicken Chasers" web site now...
Chicken Chasers

Very interesting info and photographs!
I´m glad if you found it useful. The site itself was just a school exercise on web-design (and the very first I ever made myself - I´d like to make a few updates there as well, but unable now cos I only had a 30-day trial license to the software that I made it with!)
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