thailand, laos, vietnam, cambodia en myanmar

bazz

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Mar 7, 2013
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I promised to write a report here of the SE Asia part of our trip. It took me a while but here it is.
We started of in Bangkok where our motorbike (a KTM 950) was waiting for us. We left it there 5 months earlier because it way too expensive to take the bike into China. We did go to China but bought small bikes there. See below for some links about that part of our trip.
South Thailand we did before so this time we chose to go to north Thailand famous for the greens hills and countless corners. We used the Mae Hong song Loop as out basic route and did some detours on our way to Laos.

Green it is!
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Lots of corners...fun for us, but not for everybody
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It didn't take long for us to go and explore some off road. It all started very nice
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However on the other side of the mountain which has less sun it was another story
Still sweating if I think about it...crazy how slippery the mud is here
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From Thailand we went to Laos. Here crossing the Mekong
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We had a bit of rain the first days which makes riding a challenge :)
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Border patrol..wished I had one of those 125cc for the mud
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Starting to get the impression that this road is not a lot used
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Laos girls on a sunday
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Entering Vietnam on a foreign bike is normally not possible except when you join a tour. But we had time so we thought lets give it a go

First border we try is not a success. Only locals allowed and they send us back. Vietnam was only 1 km further down the road
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Luckily the road going there and back was very nice with beautiful scenery
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Second border we try and to our own amazement they let us in! It's the Na Meo border and it took us a couple hours to convince them but they say ok. We had to promise them we would leave Vietnam at the same border
Na Meo Border Crossing
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And almost immediately a welcome from the red government
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Since we only have 1 month and we promised to exit at the same border we decide to only ride the north.
Hanoi must be one of the most hectic cities we ever rode in. There are about 2,5 million small 125cc bikes. None of them bothers to obey traffic rules.....
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your mobile butcher
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Wherever we stop we become a local attraction. Always the same questions. What does your bike cost, how fast does it go and how much petrol in the tanks.
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Again beautiful scenery to drive through
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The kids in the villages love a huge bike with two white people on it
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We love their way of transport..I guess its what you are used to
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Colorful people on their way to the market
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On the market itself
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No straight roads here.
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If you cant stand people touching and climbing on your bike you better don't go to Vietnam...
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From Vietnam we went to Laos and Cambodia again. Since we had to wait for some parts we didn't do a lot of riding here.
In Cambodia
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The initial plan was to ship from BKK to India or Nepal but somebody offered us to go on a guided trip through Myanmar to India. Not cheap at all but shipping the bike and two plain tickets was almost as expensive so we decided to go for it. Our first guided trip!
At the border between Thailand and Myanmar we meet up with Petra en Anders (http://twobikersoneworld.com/) on 2bmw f800's and a french/italian couple in an old landcruiser.
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Posing with some people from Bangladesh
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On the road in Myanmar
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Posing again at the Bagan temples
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Friendly police here so I take advantage of it :)
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the border from Myanmar to India
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And thats it for south east Asia. For the moment we are riding in India/Nepal

For those interested some links to other reports of our trip.
Its in dutch but its mainly pics so it doesn't matter. And you can always use google translate.

north-thailand, laos, vietnam, cambodia en myanmar: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?t=6293
thailand, laos, china: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?t=5796
Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zuid Afrika: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?p=51724
Namibie, Botswana, Zambia en Malawi: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?t=5001
mali, burkina faso, togo, ghana: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?t=4659
Mauretanie/Senegal/Guinea Konakri: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?t=4396
in Marokko: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?t=4257
In Europa: http://forum.lc8.nl/viewtopic.php?t=4172
 
Nov 12, 2013
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Excellent trip report,so lucky to enter into Vietnam on your own bike!
And to battle through the mud...two up...on a big bike.....congrats on that!!
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Wow! Spectacular pictures and a wonderful report! Congrats on getting into Vietnam and thanks for sharing this amazing experience! :clap:
 
Mar 30, 2010
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Nice one indeed.

Respect with the big bike, mud, dust and Hanoi traffic...

Lovely clear pics in Vietnam.. Some pretty special riding and scenery there..

Cheers
Brian
 

Moto-Rex

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Jan 5, 2008
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Great report and stunning photos.

Those mountainous areas in Vietnam look amazing.

Thanks for sharing your adventure.

Moto-Rex
 

DavidFL

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Wow. Awesome ride & report. Congratulations on getting into Vietnam. Can you remember what the cost - border fees were?
Where did you cross from Thailand into Laos - in the south maybe?

Love the Vietnam pics, that N-N-E is sensational for motorbike touring alright.
 

bazz

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Mar 7, 2013
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thanks all! Scenery in North Vietnam is indeed very spectacular. And we were there when the views were 'not very' good due to the haze everywhere. North to the border with China there are tons of rice teraces that can easily match the famous ones frome China..but too much haze for nice pictures. Beside the scenery the very colourful people are also fantastic off course. One day I will go back...
Davidfl;298944 wrote: Congratulations on getting into Vietnam. Can you remember what the cost - border fees were? Where did you cross from Thailand into Laos - in the south maybe?
We had to pay 20USD for the temporary permit. But I think this went in to their pocket. I didnt get a receipt for this. But since I was in a weak position and didnt want to risk my entrance to Vietnam I just payed it. No other costs except the pre arranged visa off course. We didnt entered in the south but the picture where we cross the mekong is idd in the south. The pic should have been on the end of Laos. We entered at Huay Xai. The pictures in the mud are on the road from Muang Moeng to Xieng Kok to Muang Long. A very nice and scenic road but with some mud :)
 

DavidFL

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bazz;298957 wrote: thanks all! Scenery in North Vietnam is indeed very spectacular. And we were there when the views were 'not very' good due to the haze everywhere. North to the border with China there are tons of rice teraces that can easily match the famous ones frome China..but too much haze for nice pictures. Beside the scenery the very colourful people are also fantastic off course. One day I will go back... We had to pay 20USD for the temporary permit. But I think this went in to their pocket. I didnt get a receipt for this. But since I was in a weak position and didnt want to risk my entrance to Vietnam I just payed it. No other costs except the pre arranged visa off course. We didnt entered in the south but the picture where we cross the mekong is idd in the south. The pic should have been on the end of Laos. We entered at Huay Xai. The pictures in the mud are on the road from Muang Moeng to Xieng Kok to Muang Long. A very nice and scenic road but with some mud :)
Thanks for the response.
That Muang Mung - Xiang Kok road looked like a good ride in the wet. Why did you decide to go that way rather than down R3 to Luang Namtha; surely that would have been safer two-up?
Interested in how you went crossing from Chiang Khong to Houei Xai - did you get to use the bridge or ferry?
 

bazz

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Mar 7, 2013
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Davidfl;298967 wrote: Thanks for the response.
That Muang Mung - Xiang Kok road looked like a good ride in the wet. Why did you decide to go that way rather than down R3 to Luang Namtha; surely that would have been safer two-up?
Interested in how you went crossing from Chiang Khong to Houei Xai - did you get to use the bridge or ferry?
Well...a lot of the rides we now think are the best ones we did are the ones when we left the most easy route. We have lots of time, I have a huge petrol tank and I like going off road :) If it turns out too difficult we can always turn back.

We took the ferry..Bridge was not open yet when we were there.
 
Jan 9, 2011
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Awesome trip with great pix.
I am curious if you have a tip over on the slippery road!? That scares me.
 

Rod Page

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Jan 7, 2010
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Just found this thread & the photos merit being seen again.

The scenery in Vietnam left me drooling. A stunningly beautiful country!
 

bazz

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Mar 7, 2013
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VietHorse;299273 wrote: Awesome trip with great pix.
I am curious if you have a tip over on the slippery road!? That scares me.
a bit of a late answer...
On these roads I didnt tip the bike...to my own surprise:)
But on a lot of other roads I did..especially in africa in deep sand...very difficult with a huge heavy bike
But at low speeds most of the times this isn't a real problem.

meanwhile we are home since a month and already missing travelling:cry:
 
Apr 20, 2008
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Hi Bazz

Nice report and amazing pics of your SEA trip.
Will be great if you share your blog on other rides ie. the ride from Thailand to Myanmar and back to your home country.
Such info and experience of yours will be very helpful to those who wish to do similar ride from this part of the world to Western Europe.

Thanks.

Regards.

Lip Meng