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West and South Asia From Turkey to Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Ladakh and Bangladesh
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Old 4 Oct 2010
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About the routes, there are just so many of them to take! But this is what I did in Nov/Dec 2005 with an Africa Twin, we were a group of 5, and still think this was among my best trips in that area:

- From Bangkok along the eastern seaboard or Sukhumvit Road to Rayong, Trat, then cross into Cambodia in Koh Kong (visas on the border for around 20-30 USD). Sadly the great dirt route thru the province is gone (=paved now), and I believe you dont even need to cross the rivers on rafts any more, as they were building bridges, much quicker, but less adventurous


- Relax in Sihanoukville, maybe do a daytrip to Kep, Kampot & Bokor Hill Station (but I heard the road to Bokor may be closed now)


- Continue to Phnom Penh, which is a very interesting and vibrant city; get a Lao visa from the consulate


- Head east, then north to Stung Treng (but unless you´ve been to Angkor temples near Siem Reap, that might be a detour to consider, also nice floating villages to see neaby at Tonle Sap-lake)... the road to Laos was under construction, but not difficult may well be ready by now; border officials collected small bribes on both sides, and the road in no-mans land was bad but not long


- Spend a few days in Si Phan Don, ´4000 islands´ in the middle of the Mekong near the border


- A very good road built by a Scandinavian company goes all the way to Vientiane, about 800 kms from the border; Pakxe & Savannakhet maybe worth a visit on the way... OR if you´ve got time, you can take a more eastern route, but that´s more mountaineous, and roads could be bad (they said they´d be nearly impossible on a big bike, especially if it rains)


- Vientiane also worth a few nights, then head north to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang; quite good, twisty road, and really spectacular mountain scenery with nice small villages along the way, and river rafting possibilities near Vang Vieng


- In Luang Prabang (which is an interesting temple city) go to the harbour & negotiate a slow-boat transport to Huay Xai (it takes 2 days on the river with an overnight stop in a really small village along the way.. and for us, the boat cost something like 75 USD per head with our group of 5 - but remember to include the carrying of the bikes into the boat, or you´ll pay extra - also the lifting of the bikes above the water looked pretty hairy!!) There might also be a road between these places, but it is a very mountaineous area, and at least that time everyone claimed it is in very bad condition. I cannot comment on that, but the boat trip in itself was also a unique experience


- After two days on the boat, which I did not find boring at all, because of wonderful views to the mountains and the river, plus there was also a nice possibility to just chill out, unload in Huay Xai (I dont remember, if that name belongs to a town on the Thai or Lao side, or both!) and we needed to spend the night on Lao side because the Thai border had closed, then crossed the river in the morning


- Back in Thailand, there´s a wide variety of great routes to the south, and no need to stick to the main roads, either. That time, we followed the small roads near the Lao border, and they were fantastic (but for example the route to Mae Hong Song, and then south along the Burmese border was equally thrilling, it just takes several days more time, if entering from Huay Xai). Generally the area around Chiang Mai is a heaven for motorcyclists!


We spent some 3 weeks doing that trip, was maybe around 4000 kms total. But there are just so many things to do & see, so you can easily spend a lot more time. Also this part of Asia is very cheap to travel, stay and eat, so even a low-budget traveller can stay longer without a problem.
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