Thailand Tour - All advice appreciated!

[Scoobysnack27]

So here we are!

My partner and I, along with two close friends (Jill & Sharon) have decided to go to SE Asia (Thailand/Laos/Cambodia etc) for a cycle touring holiday next year. We are looking at a three week trip and, although we have looked at organised tours, have (for now) plumped for independent travel.

The sketchy plan is that we will travel relatively light (not always easy with Jill's love of gadgets and luxury), will stay in guest-houses/hotels rather than camp and are wide open to route suggestions and possible itineraries.

We are not planning to go until November 2012 (we're all Public Sector so it pays to plan well ahead!), and our normal method is to spend many nights, over dinner and far too much wine, planning and pawing over maps, arguing about minute details and sometimes throwing tantrums! Believe me, we enjoy this!

So, knowing that there are lots of people out there who have done magnificent things on two wheels in this part of the world who (we hope) wouldn't mind letting us learn from their experiences and mistakes, please share what you can. We are after;

- Country recommendations and comparisons
- Visa info (before you travel or while you are there?)
- Medical prep? - Inoculations, illness etc.
- Route suggestions and itineraries - tell us about the terrain!
- Any unexpected pains or pleasures? - ie. hitching in the States a few years ago, I had an unplanned, "over-night," in an isolated rest area in the Pennsylvania mountains(Pain), but at 6am the next morning, walking out to watch the first rays of cool sunlight catch the fall trees and the perfect silence - bliss! If something touched your soul on your SE Asia trip, please tell us.
- Transport info (both getting there/away & "in country" info - best ways to transport bikes on buses/trains, routes to avoid etc.)
- Gear and gadget must haves (I know this is very personal but also entertaining - ie. I always carry a wine-glass!?)
- Bike info - What did you use? Did it work? When it didn't, where did you get it fixed? Best bike repair/equipment stores?
- Accomodation recommendations - If you stayed somewhere fantastic, please let us know.
- Tales of training for your trip - getting bike-fit etc.

As you can see we are like sponges! No piece of information will be wasted.

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

[Shanecycles]

I Love Thailand,

If you fancy a challenging but beautiful route check out the NW of Thailand.

Here is my trip blog for this area including limited info on accommodation and food/water stops. By the time you go it will be all tarmac if it isn't already.

 

[gdlerner]

Hi
you can check my images on my web and after I can give you an advice
www.colmanlerner.zenfolio.com
Regards

 

[Ticktockmy]

Just meander arouind the country, I guess you will arrive in Bangkok ok, arrange for a taxi van to pick you up from the Airport and take you to a hotel in Bankok itself, have a few days in BKK to get used to the feel of the place and the impossible langauge and script, then head out of town. Northwards is ok to Mai sac on the border of Burma or south towards the river Kawi. but overall you can travel anywhere in Thaialnd and enjoy it.

Shanes route is a good one for someone new to Thailand.

But read up on what the thais think is insult, mainly head and toes.. and nudity

And for sure you will enjoy it.
And they do a dammed good massage. and with extras if you want...LOL

 

[Crankarm]

Beware the ladyboys .

 

[frank9755]

Excuse me guys, but as I'm doing something almost identical to you, I hope you don't mind if I piggy-back on your thread rather than start a new one, so info can be shared!

I've just booked to go to Thailand in December!

I'm doing a tour (Red Spokes) that goes into Laos but am going out 10 days early with the intention of doing a solo trip first. My flight goes through to Chiang Mai and am planning to do the NW loop via Mae Sariang and Mae Hong Son, then ride over to Chiang Rai via Fang and Tha Ton.

In researching this I've read, amongst other things, Shane's blog (thanks Shane, sorry you got ill out there!). It sounds like a pretty challenging but beautiful route.

A couple of questions:

What is Chaing Mai like? Is it a place to head straight out of or would I regret not having a day or so there? Current thinking is that it I'll probably head straight out on the first morning. I've found loads of listings type info for CM but not much that says if it is good or not!

How many hours can I expect to cycle per day in December? When I'm riding solo I like to do quite big mileages but I don't plan on riding at night unless unavoidable. I'm assuming I'll have 11.5 hours of daylight but does the day get cut short by eg regular mist in the morning, or being too hot to move in the middle of the afternoon? ie Can I expect to get 8-10 hours' riding per day or is that not realistic?

What do people do about malaria and mosquitos there nowadays?

Anything else I should know...?

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

nobody's suggested this yet


the above link takes you to a site where people who have already done tours write up their experiences in a blog type of way. fascinating and there's also a forum to ask q's aswell.

good luck.

 

[mr_hippo]

I have been living and cycling in Thailand for the past 10 years, mainly in Bangkok which the locals refer to as BKK or Krung Thep(pronounced (‘Krung Tep’) but have recently moved to Nakorn Ratchasima also called ‘Korat’.

Visa and medical information – better to get that from official government web pages but most corner shop pharmacies will give you correct information and medication – cheap and without prescription.

Route suggestions – before I start on this, let me introduce you to a Thai word that you will be hearing a lot – ‘farang’ but sometimes ‘falang’. It just means ‘foreigner’, a lot of farangs are upset by its use.

Where I lived in BKK, there were not a lot of farangs and, of course, I have been to the tourist’s sights, I have not been there for many years. Please try to avoid the tourist’s places and see the real Thailan dand you will be pleasantly surprised! I have been welcomed into their homes after chance meetings in coffee shops, when l have been lost, l have been helped by local people and even by police and given a ‘blues and two’s’ escort.I have been welcomed into villages where I have been the first farang to visit.Never be in a hurry, you will be surprised how many locals will want their photo taken with a cycling farang. Not overly familiar with the north-west, I prefer the north-east; in my opinion it is the real Thailand.

Never transported my bike by train but, l believe, itis possible but trains are slow. Most buses have been converted to run on gas and the luggage compartments now hold huge gas tanks so space is at a premium,check with bus companies. A possible alternative, if four of you are travelling,is to hire a van and driver (van here means ‘minibus’) - bit more expensive but door to door service.

Perhaps the best bike shop in BKK is ProBike and theyhave a network of dealers nationwide, print out the following page - http://www.probike.co.th/dealers.php- all addresses are in Thai & English. Labour charges are cheap and servic eusually quick.

Accommodation – it is almost unheard of me to pay morethan 700 Baht/night/double room

nobody'ssuggested this yet

also see http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1r4vFZo&page_id=156238&v=2yand the next 3 or 4 pages

How many hours can I expect to cycle per day in December? When I'm riding soloI like to do quite big mileages but I don't plan on riding at night unlessunavoidable. I'm assuming I'll have 11.5 hours of daylight but does the day getcut short by eg regular mist in the morning, or being too hot to move in themiddle of the afternoon? ie Can I expect to get 8-10 hours' riding per day oris that not realistic?

I normally start cycling at first light - about 6 am - less traffic and not too hot. I find that with starting early as the day warms up I can cope but if I goout later in the day, I cannot. Ride until about one oclock, rest for a few hours and then do about 2 hours before nightfall. Cycling at night - not recommended

Other points to watch out for:-

Traffic entering main road has priority over traffic onmain road

Contraflow motorbikes, bicycles, noodle carts and carsare the norm

Very few traffic lights have an amber but they do use acountdown times - sometimesr

You will be overtaken on both sides

 

[rualexander]

I spent a couple of months touring Thailand in 1992 so what i know is probably well out of date but it was a great country to tour with friendly people and cheap food and lodging.
I did four routes on the bike and travelled between those areas on the train including the sleeper south of Bangkok.
The routes were -
A short five day tour around Sukothai,
The Mae Hong Son circuit from Chiang Mai which has some tough hills!
A lovely weeks ride alongside the Mekong river from Chang Khan to Nong Khai
An island hopping tour from Trang via Ko Lanta, Krabi, Phang Nga, etc, and then over the peninsula to Surat Thani for the train back to Bangkok.

Thoroughly recommend it.

 

[Alberto]

Just seen this. We've just come back from Thailand, although not on a cycle tour...We may be able to answer a few of your questions if it's not too late?

- Chiang Mai: there's nice things, plenty of temples and nice food. But if you are short on time, best to head out. We can recommend a great local restaurant in town (Huen Phen, look it up). Traffic is very heavy around the ring roads, but we noticed that cars give more space than in the UK. We also saw seasoned cyclists heading for the mountains either early or late in the day due to heat.
- It does get very hot, even up in the mountains. Best to avoid the central hours, although there seemed to be lots of shade in the forestry areas.

Regarding malaria and mosquitos, we did not have any problems nor did take any profilaxis. You may want to look into this if spending time in rural areas? the normal measures of mosquito repellent and long sleeves at night was enough for us, but we were not camping either.

Hope this helps!

 

[Durian]

I've been living in Chiang Mai for the last five years and my recommendation would be to head North. November is a great time of year in the North, everything is green as it's the end of the rainy season, the roads are generally excellent for cycling and the temperatures have dropped to a pleasant 26-28 degrees centigrade. Thailand also celebrates the festival of Loy Krathong which usually occurs at the full moon in early November, Chiang Mai skies are lit up with fireworks and fire lanterns and the river is full of candles floating along on the current, it's a wonderful festival to experience.

If you're hoping to visit Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, and intend to do most of it by bike, I would say three weeks is not a lot of time and would advise that wherever you decide to start your trip don't even go out of the airport in Bangkok but get a connecting flight straight away to where you want to begin your trip. You can always leave Bangkok until the end of your trip should you wish to do any sightseeing there. If you do decide to start in Chiang Mai make sure you book your flights early as many people do fly up here for the Loy Krathong festival.

Northern Thailand is mountainous and unless you're extremely fit, or looking for a major challenge, I would avoid the Mae Hong Son and Pai route, it's tough! My route would be this. Leave Chiang Mai and cycle 95km North to a small town called Phrao, it's a lovely ride with undulating hills and you pass through teak forests, the road is quiet and the scenery is great, there is accommodation just before you get in to the town. From Phrao you can then head West towards Chiang Dao and join Highway 107 from where you turn North and go up to Fang and Thaton.

After spending the night in Thaton you can then put your bikes on a boat and go to Chiang Rai. From Chiang Rai head up to Chiang Saen from where it's a short pedal up to the Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Burma all meet. From Chiang Saen I would then go to Chiang Khong, here you have the border crossing across the Mekong in to Laos. Whilst in Chiang Khong go and visit The Hub bicycle museum and, more importantly, the attached bar. It's owned by Alan Bate who about a year ago smashed the record for cycling around the world.

The next morning, hangover permitting, cross the Mekong and go in to Laos. I've never cycled in Laos but it looks as though it's easy enough to cycle to Luang Prabang which is a must see place. The other alternative is to go by boat to Luang Prabang, they have a slow boat which takes two days or there is a fast boat taking about seven hours, not sure about putting bikes on the boats though. After Luang Prabang head South to Vang Vieng and then Vientiane before crossing back in to Thailand at Nong Khai. From Nong Khai you can decide whether you want to head over to Cambodia otherwise you could follow the Mekong by heading West.


The standard of driving in Thailand is poor and as previously mentioned you will get traffic coming at you on your side of the road so be aware, traffic also pulls out from side roads without the driver or rider looking before doing so. Only ride at night if you really have to, many cars and bikes don't have lights and drinking and driving is common.


When you arrive in Thailand by air you will be given a visa upon arrival for a 30 day stay, the last I heard was that if you enter Thailand from a land border they were only giving you a 14 day stay, these things change so check prior to your departure. I crossed to Laos at the Chiang Khong border last month and it cost 35 US Dollars for a one month visa, easy to obtain upon arriving at immigration, complete a couple of forms and have a passport photo ready. Whenever travelling in this part of the world it's a good idea to have a supply of passport photos and some US Dollars.


Enjoy your trip wherever you may end up, this is a great part of the world to explore.

 

[frank9755]

Thanks all for tips.

I've just got back. Had a fabulous time.

I got a connecting flight to Chiang Mai and did a loop out to Pai, Mai Hong Son, Khun Yuam, Mae Chaem and Chom Thong. Beautiful, but it was hilly! I thought the ride from Pai to Mai Hong Son was about the hardest day's cycling I'd done (carrying touring load) but the ride across from Khun Yuam towards Mae Chaem easily beat it, then going up to Doi Inthanon from Mae Chaem was harder still, with over 500m of ascent in just 4km of riding. My Garmin reckons it was up to 31% slope, and I am not arguing.

After a day to recharge my batteries, I rode up to Tha Ton, and got the boat down to Chiang Rai, which was great fun.

I met Alan Bate, had the honour of riding with him for a while, got rather drunk in his bar and saw the wonderful collection of bikes in his museum. Fascinating chap, and a genuine cycling enthusiast!

Then a loop round Laos, which was also excellent. The people were extremely friendly, the scenery wonderful and the gradients were a lot kinder!

On the whole I would say that the standard of driving from the point of view of a cyclist and the quality of the road surfaces was at least as good as the UK.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

I'll be doing the length of Vietnam in February (the scenic route), so I'll let you know. In preparation, I'll also be doing HCMC to Mui Ne in 2 weeks and some of the other riders will be doing the Mekong. My other fellow rider is currently doing Cambodia and Laos, so you can read her blog here.

For the big Vietnam trip, I'll post a thread here soon with all of the maps in detail (25 stages), and we'll be blogging throughout the ride too.