INDEX PAGE

NORTH LAOS

What an absolutely wonderful country to cycle! Every day I’ve been blessed with spectacular landscapes & stunningly beautiful countryside. The locals have been a delight; friendly, hospitable & helpful & the kids yelling out their “sabaii dii’s” & high fiving me as I passed through their villages was part of an amazing experience. 

There’s no other country where I’ve had such a series of consistently wonderful cycle rides, some of which I found extremely challenging. 
ROUTE MAP HERE
FULL REPORT HERE


THAILAND - THROUGH ISSAN
I’m sure there’s much better & far more scenic routes to cycle in Thailand but my primary purpose was to get to Nong Khai & begin a tour of Northern Laos. That said cycling anywhere in Thailand nowadays is an absolute joy & as a cyclist your treat like a VIP. There were extremely scenic legs, especially through National Parks or cutting off onto tranquil rural roads. Add in absolutely wonderful food, friendly helpful locals & affordable accommodation & I can understand why Thailand is many peoples favorite country to cycle in.
ROUTE MAP HERE & HERE
FULL REPORT HERE

SOUTHERN LAOS INCLUDING THE THAKHEK LOOP

My abiding memory of this trip was the 4 days cycling the “Thakhek Loop” & what an absolutely spectacular ride it was – indeed one of the best routes I’ve ever cycled. There were parts of this journey, especially south of Savannaket where undulating roads over fairly barren, boring scenery became tedious & in future I’d consider using a bus between Savannaket & Pakse.
ROUTE MAP HERE
FULL REPORT HERE

THAILAND; Along the Cambodian border & following the Mekong to Nong Khai

Wow! What an absolutely wonderful cycle route. It had absolutely everything; great scenery, good roads, friendly locals, wonderful food, manageable distances, affordable hotels, fantastic towns to stop over in & extremely courteous drivers. Cycling’s become hugely popular in Thailand nowadays & indeed I often felt like a VIP as I traveled around.

To think 4 weeks ago I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy cycling in Thailand & almost turned back to Cambodia, thank goodness I persevered & I’m so glad I’ve rediscovered my love of this wonderful country & the hospitable, friendly Thai people.

Indeed I think this was the most consistently enjoyable cycle route I’ve ever been on.

ROUTE MAP HERE & HERE
FULL REPORT HERE

AROUND CAMBODIA - Part 2

There were some wonderful days cycling especially the coastal roads from Sihanukville to Kampot & cycling alongside the Mekong around Kampong Cham. BUT & it’s a big but, there was also tedious, boring days cycling through deforested landscape especially between Kampong Thom & Sra’aem, what I’d naively called scrubland or uncultivated land I came to realize was in fact recently deforested wasteland.

Still it’s always a joy to be amongst such friendly, good natured people & I do love the colourful street life & roadside activity evident almost everywhere.

ROUTE MAP HERE & HERE

FULL REPORT HERE 

VIETNAM – HUE TO HANOI VIA HALONG BAY

A sometimes tedious cycle up highway one interspersed with the wonderful scenery of Phong Nha, Ninh Binh & the absolutely sublime landscapes around Cat Ba.

ROUTE MAP HERE

FULL REPORT HERE 

SOUTH CENTRAL VIETNAM – UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A journey from Phnom Penh to Hue ticking off some of my bucket list routes. Cycling up to Dalat was a slight disappointment, followed by an absolutely exhilarating cycle from Dalat to Nha Trang & finally over the Hai Van Pass to Hue. Includes the wonderfully scenic coastal roads between Nha Trang & Quy Nhon.

ROUTE MAPS HERE & HERE

FULL REPORT HERE

SOUTH CENTRAL VIETNAM – PART 2

A journey through Vietnam's central highlands & back to Cambodia.

“This route was a slight disappointment & after the dramatic scenery of coastal Vietnam the scenery on this route was often fairly bland & uninspiring. Too often I had no choice but to use main roads often blighted by regular roadworks & convoys of horn blaring trucks.”

ROUTE MAPS HERE & HERE

FULL REPORT HERE

SOUTH CENTRAL VIETNAM – PART 1

A wonderful cycle from Ho Chi Minh up the coast to Quy Nhon, through often sublime coastal scenery with enjoyable stopovers in the beachside resorts of Vung Tau, Mui Ne, Nha Trang & Quy Nhon.

“As I sit here in Sihanukville one month later & remember some of the stunning roads (especially between Dai Lanh & Quy Nhon) it’s undoubtedly the most scenic road I’ve ever cycled, with good weather conditions it would be absolutely unbeatable in parts.”

ROUTE MAP HERE

FULL REPORT HERE 

VIETNAM’S MEKONG DELTA

A fairly aimless meander through the wonderfully scenic & cycle friendly Mekong Delta

“It’s been enjoyable, effortless cycling with flat roads, mostly in very good condition & extremely manageable distances between towns. There have been extremely scenic & enjoyable routes but occasionally I did get bored of flat roads, rice fields, canals, fruit plantations etc & yearned for the coastal scenery of Central Vietnam or mountainous scenery of route 14.”

ROUTE MAPS HERE & HERE

FULL REPORT HERE

SIHANUKVILLE TO PATTAYA & BACK

A cycle through Phnom Penh to Pailin then onto Thai highways to Pattaya returning over the Cardamom Mountains to Sihanukville.

“This route proved to be another extremely enjoyable trip. Cycling around Cambodia is always a joy & the Thai infrastructure & first world facilities proved a stark & enjoyable contrast to Cambodia’s third world facilities.

The highlight for me was tackling the Cardamon Mountains between Koh Kong & highway 4, a challenging ride for me &………….”

ROUTE MAP HERE

FULL REPORT HERE

AROUND CAMBODIA

Despite Cambodia’s lack of breathtaking scenery it’s still a wonderful country to cycle with flat roads & manageable distances. The colourful local life, good humour & warmth of the locals makes it my favorite country to travel in & there’s always a fantastic photo opportunity around the next bend. 

ROUTE MAP HERE

FULL REPORT HERE

CAMBODIA – BANLUNG TO SIHANUKVILLE

Returning from Vietnam over long & often bone jarringly rough roads until arriving in Phnom Penh & enjoying a pleasant cycle back to Sihanukville

ROUTE MAP HERE

FULL REPORT HERE

HUE (VIETNAM) TO BANLUNG (CAMBODIA)

Traveling without a map or camera over some fairly mountainous terrain & learning a few valuable lessons on route. 

ROUTE MAP HERE

FULL REPORT HERE

RECOMENDED BLOGS & JOURNALS FROM CAMBODIA & VIETNAM

An adventurous ride from Phnom Penh to Banlung & into Vietnam HERE
Another cycle through Cambodia & into Vietnam HERE during a much longer trip.
From Laos to Cambodia & onto Vietnam HERE
Well written account of a trip through Cambodia, Vietnam & back to Cambodia HERE
Cambodia - Pursat to Koh Kong through the Cardamon mountains HERE
A short but interesting trip through Cambodia & Vietnam's Mekong Delta HERE