trip in laos-cambodia-vietnam

dror_peleg · Oct 24, 2006

hi everyone
we are 3 friends planning riding laos-cambodia-vietnam in this order.we are planning to buy 3 bikes of 125-150 cc and passing the border from laos to cambodia and further to vietnam.
where do u think we can find bikes for sale in laos? we are heading from the northern border from china. can we find this kind of bikes there? is it legal? can we pass the border to cambodia with the bikes?
if u have some more tips or things to advice we will apretiate!!!
thanks very much
dror,asaf and tomer

enduro250 · Nov 12, 2006

you probally won,t be able to get your bike into Vietnam with out a permit. Unless you are really sure what your doing and what border crossing are open to bikes, I suggest you consider renting bikes in the different countries that you go to. I just got turned down last week trying to cross into laos, and it,s a pain in the ass. You will get told no, but you can cross down the road 50 kilos down the road, and 3 wrong turns and 100 kilos later you arrive, and guess what, same thing again. That,s just my advice, next time I am flying to Laos and renting a bike. Tim

Craypot · Nov 12, 2006

That's interesting. On my last trip I noticed lots of Vietnamese plated scooter sized bikes all over northern Laos being ridden by Vietnamese salesmen and other Vietnamese working in Laos.

Mike

DavidFL · Nov 12, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by enduro250

you probally won,t be able to get your bike into Vietnam with out a permit. Unless you are really sure what your doing and what border crossing are open to bikes, I suggest you consider renting bikes in the different countries that you go to. I just got turned down last week trying to cross into laos, and it,s a pain in the ass. You will get told no, but you can cross down the road 50 kilos down the road, and 3 wrong turns and 100 kilos later you arrive, and guess what, same thing again. That,s just my advice, next time I am flying to Laos and renting a bike. Tim

Tim
Interested to know exactly what happened " but you can cross down the road 50 kilos down the road, and 3 wrong turns and 100 kilos later you arrive, and guess what, same thing again"

So
Did you get out of Thailand?
Or
No Laos visa & could not get into Laos?
Or
Got out of Thailand & into Laos, but could not import your bike temporarily into Laos?

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

SilverhawkUSA · Nov 14, 2006

Davidfl-

This is the guys other post-

quote:

David, you rock! I was under the impression that Laos was closed to Thai motorcycles. I will try Pakxan, but one little problem, absolutely no paper work, I have been getting by with 100 baht a road block. This is great news about Pakxan, I will try it on my next holiday. I never finished the book, zen and the art of motorcycle maintenence, but the point of getting onto the smaller roads and getting lost is so true, you don,t know what waits for you out there. In just the last week I started to get interested in a China ride, seems like it is wide open up there. Have you rode into Burma? Tim

Not only does he have NO papers, he also has no clue! But he is quick with advice.....

Dave Early

Ever notice that "What the Heck!" is usually the right answer?

DavidFL · Nov 14, 2006

quote:

Originally posted by SilverhawkUSA

Davidfl-

This is the guys other post-

quote:

David, you rock! I was under the impression that Laos was closed to Thai motorcycles. I will try Pakxan, but one little problem, absolutely no paper work, I have been getting by with 100 baht a road block. This is great news about Pakxan, I will try it on my next holiday. I never finished the book, zen and the art of motorcycle maintenence, but the point of getting onto the smaller roads and getting lost is so true, you don,t know what waits for you out there. In just the last week I started to get interested in a China ride, seems like it is wide open up there. Have you rode into Burma? Tim

Click to expand...

Not only does he have NO papers, he also has no clue! But he is quick with advice.....

Dave Early

Ever notice that "What the Heck!" is usually the right answer?

Yes, beginning to wonder which planet enduro250 is from?
Enduro250 do you have any road & trip reports about real riding in Thailand to submit, as they would surely be as interesting as they would be informative.

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

jimoi · Nov 26, 2006

Forget about it.
Start in Vietnam, Hanoi, work your way around the north, head south, dump the bikes in Saigon, get to Phnom Penh, Rent bikes, ride around after you read a lot of posts here in GT Rider, cross by land into Laos, have Green Discovery send bikes to Pakse, ride from here.

If not, buy bikes and email me when you are ready to sell them, I'll come pick them up off you.

Mingh · Dec 2, 2006

jimoi's plan is the one to go.

You'll have a hard time finding bikes in Northern Laos. We haven't come across any place where they sell 3 suitable bikes.Another good thing about Jimoi's plan is that you get stronger bikes in Laos and Cambodia. Our Minsk was fantastic in Vietnam, great in Laos, but underpowered for cambodia.

We managed to go round V-L-C last year (you'll find details in our older postings), but only with a LOT of luck and quite some bluffing at the borders. Looking back, it's safe to say that our bike was in laos illegally. I believe that if we tried again we would have a 10 to 1 chance to complete the loop.

whatever you do: good luck, and READ Zen to the very last page.... before you go.