From India To Vietnam And Back,

Jun 8, 2007
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Hi Guys.
Well I thought that I would start to post about our proposed Travel Plans And Keep expanding as I get more information and planing completed.
The basics of it are, Two Aussies Starting off in Bangalore India.We Pick up 2 Brand New Royal Enfield 350 Bullets That we have all Related Carnes etc 4.And we go for a weeks ride down around the south to break the bikes in a bit. Seing as we have warantys with the bikes and are picking them up from the manufacturer we should have no problems having them tuned. Once The Bikes are outfited and the final tune is done we start heading up north to Agra To see the Taj Mahal. We spend a week around the area and start to head towards Mayamar.Now at this point were a little stuck. We dont know if we are going to be able to get through Mayamar with the bikes or even be allowed to travel overland.I am planning on writing some letters to their embasy etc to attempt to get some authorisation.If we get to go through then plans will be made for Mayamar.
Once in Thailand we will spend a week based out of Chiang Ri where we have a house organised. From there we head towards Either Cambodia or towards Laos. Theres really 2 areas were going through in Laos being the capital vientiane and down south Near Ubon Ratchatani on the thai side to a place called Pakse. In Cambodia Phnom Penh and Siem Riep are the two places we will plan on going through.Once in Vietnam about 2 weeks in The North and a Couple of weeks going down the coast. Then Basically Head Back to Thailand. At this point our exact route is yet to be sorted. What we have done is purelly highlight certain Areas we plan on stopping in and then try and plan a route after. The major problem I see is will we be able to get from India through Mayamar to thailand and whether we will be able to get the Enfield 350's into Vietnam. I have read a lot of information about this through the forums and we are yet to come up with the best way to try and accomodate this. If there are any of you that have more up to date information about either of the Two problems we have please let me know.
We arent expert riders by any means but we have a good sense of Adventure. Digby is the one responsible for it all and giving me this passion to want to do this after a Great ride With him a couple of years back. I will make sure to buy you a bia Hoi when I am over there.
Well Guys I will Keep you posted as plans evolve. Again if you have any good links or information post bellow or pls msg or email me @ [email [email protected]][email protected][/email]
 
Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
In my opinion your chances of pulling off your proposed itinerary are slim and none, with the highest percentage on the "no chance".

Here are a couple of fairly recent posts on Myanmar from this website. If you do a search you will come with even more;

http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... ,motocross
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... ,motocross
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... ,motocross (my own experience)
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... ,motocross " "
http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOP ... ,motocross

It appears you are also aware of the Vietnam limitations, but a search here should answer most of your questions.

I would recommend an extended time in Laos. What you speak of from Vientiane to Pakse only touches on a small part of what there is to see and enjoy in Laos. If you are going off into the countryside in the Pakse area there is a fair amount to see. The highway between the two points is basically a straight boring drive. You need to elaborate more on the details of your trip as you get it together to get some more specific advice.
 
Jun 8, 2007
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Thanks for the quick reply. :) I have read these links but still will not give hope. Its still a frontier area though and I dont want to miss out on it.If we pull this off we will be one of the few. I have read somewhere about A Harvey a gentleman and his wife going from india but I Canot find a link anywhere.We have All the points Now that we specifically wish to Visit. I am trying to get an online route setup.Also is there a way to edit previous posts in forums? Also where would i best post the total Picture of our trip in the forums.
Thanks In Advance
 
Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
Best of luck and I hope you can pull it off. I agree, don't give up hope if it is something you really want to accomplish. RobertH recently pulled off a China trip by finding his own way of doing things, not unusual for Robert, you may find a new way also.

The icon with the pencil on it above your message allows you to edit your own posts. Davidfl can better tell you where to post, but I would suggest under "Trip Reports -Other". If you wish to ad photos check the 'New User' forum for a "How to".

Again best of luck, hope you make it and keep us posted as it progresses.
 

DavidFL

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Chiang Khong
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Digby must have done a great job on you.
To me it all sounds a bit too basic & unrealistic, but please have a go and let us know what happens...

Have you had a look at
Crossing Borders
https://www.gt-rider.com/crossingborders.html
off the main GT Rider site

Thailand / Myanmar (Burma) the legal international land border crossings are:
1. Mae Sai (T) / Tachilek (M)
2. Mae Sot (T) / Myawaddy (M)
For bikers however, these are not viable options for touring Myanmar, as travel permits for individual riders are not yet generally available, and who knows when it will become a reality?
Note (1) that there is a 3rd legal crossing from Ranong (T) to Victoria Point (M), in the south of Thailand. This however, is not a land border crossing, but a sea crossing by boat.

Note (2) that in August 2004 Simon & Suzi Harby riding an Africa Twin & a Transalp, rode from India via Nagaland & Manipur, thru Burma & into North Thailand at Mae Sai. This was a world first, but is most likely going to remain a one-off trip & not be repeated for a long time. Check out Simon & Suzi's site
http://mccs.co.uk/global/
for info & their trip report.
Also take a look at the GT Rider board
Link removed
and
Link removed
reports.

It took Simon & Suzy 3 months to get their permits & they weren't allowed to ride all the way even, but had to truck the bike & fly one section in the North.

Overall you’ve got a great idea, & it would probably be a first if you could pull all of it off, but it is also a bit problematic:
1. Proving your Enfield is reliable enough & / or that you can fix it yourself beside the road will be the first problem.
2. Getting out of India & into Myanmar is your biggest problem.
3. Crossing Myanmar in the wet? season is a serious problem.
4. Arriving in Thailand is "easy."
5. Once in Thailand, using Chiang Rai "spend a week based out of Chiang Rai" doesn’t make much sense to me - for what?
6. Entering Laos or Cambodia should be easy.
7. From Chiang Rai to either Cambodia or Laos is a no brainer to me. If you're going to Vietnam, then it should be Thailand - Laos - Vietnam - Cambodia. Cambodia is a long way across Thailand, just to go back up to Laos then into Vietnam. Why keep doubling back?
Enter Laos in the North, then try any of 6 border crossings between Laos & Vietnam & let us know which one works for bikes, as we don’t think any of them do unless you're on a Viet registered bike.

Whatever, best of luck & please keep us informed on how you go. It should be fun & an exciting learning curve.