Should I rent a bike in Northern Thailand or Cambo

[spakur]

Hi.

I am having a hard time to decide. Perhaps you fellows could help me a bit?

I’ll be landing in Bangkok at the end of January. My return ticket is 4-5 weeks later. My first thought was to fly to Chang Mai, rent a bike and tour the area (gravel roads) for a couple of weeks and then return it and head down to the sea for the last week or so. Now I am thinking that perhaps I should fly to Phnom Penh and rent a bike there and spend all time in Cambodia instead. I have done some research on the Internet and found that it seems to be no problem to find a 250 Off-road bike in either place (right?).

Some Q’s that could help me decide…

1. Is there much more gravel roads in Cambodia? (I prefer gravel)
2. Will I get bored spending all time in Cambodia? Are there a lot of nice places to visit? ( I prefer less touristy places)
3. Is the weather much hotter in Cambodia than Northern Thailand?
4. Is buying a bike an option? I don’t want to spend a week buying, registering and selling.
5. How much should I pay to rent a decent Honda 250 (or similar) for 3-4 weeks?
6. Any recommended rental shops?
7. Any places in the region to avoid?

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Regards,
Spakur

 

[Hovis]

Hi Spakur
1. Most of Cambodias roads are gravel and dirt, this part of the year it's pretty dusty.
2. Here you'll find the tourist less places, not in Thialand.
3. Weather is about the same
4.Buying a bike is not an option if you only stay for a couple of weeks.
5. Normal rental fee is around US 10 a day for crap bikes, for US 25-30 you can get a mint condition 250 with insurance.
6. Flying Bikes on st 110
7. Lucky Lucky on Monivong blvd.

 

[spakur]

Thanks for the reply! I am know in Phnom Penh and has just rented a decent Honda Xr250R. Tomorrow I'll leave town and go to Sen Monorom were I'll spend a day ot two before heading on to Ban lung. See you folks on the road...