[Ride Report] S4^dreamer & Pplater Laos-Cambodian Tour

[Pplater]

On May 11th 2009, Debbie and I followed on the trails of precedents who have rode Laos and Cambodia. In posting our ride report, we’ll provide route information and updated road conditions encountered on our tour, just as others have assisted us with sincerity.

Day 1- Singapore to Hatyai (South Thailand) (11 Hours on the road on the NSH)

[s4^dreamer]

Day 1:

The furthest I have ridden before this trip was Betong, Yala Province. This is my 3rd tour only and I'm still waiting for my Class 2.

Anyway, this is the 1st time I'm travelling so far up to Hatyai in just day one. It's a whole new experience for me.

[s4^dreamer]

Day 2 - Hatyai to Hua Hin

On Day 2, we rode up from Hatyai to Hua Hin. And we had to do about 3 hours plus of night riding. It was a nightmare for me.

First of all, it's pitch-dark.

Secondly, imagine having vehicles U-turning in the middle of the highway, it's something I never really thought of but just heard of. I should say that it's something you've got to experience it for yourself.

Thirdly, I was having a major migraine and I had to cover this whole leg with that pain!

Next, imagine having cones popping in front of you in the middle of the highway...
Gasp! I had to jam-break and then swerve to avoid them.
The way they place the cone doesn't allow us to react early because they are placed horizontally... Plus it's dark...

Lastly, there are also some uneven roads that causes major bumps to my bike... that made my migraine even worse... I almost wanted to puke while riding...

Nevertheless, I managed to reach Hua Hin.

[Pplater]

It was only day 2 and our 'no night-riding" rule went out of the window. Prior to this tour I had no experience riding at night in Thailand, so this was a new experience for me too. Compared to night riding in Malaysia, I have to admit Thailand's night rides are a little more challenging. The Malaysians know how to lay their cones to close a lane safely over a hundred metres or two, especially on the NSH. The Thais, on the other hand, sometimes close their lanes horizontally, even after a corner

[oriental]

Nice trip..i will keep myself glue to tis thread liao..

[Pplater]

Day 3 - Hua Hin to Bangkok

It was supposed to be a 500 odd km ride to Cambodia, something our predecessors completed with ease. This leg went wrong for us 200km from the start. Route 35 was not labeled numerically. In retrospect, we highly suspect the right turn off Route 4 towards ‘Bang Phae’ was actually Route 35. We overshot into Bangkok and got stuck in a heavy jam.

Spectrum had loaned me a GPS unit. We switched it on but the map’s detail level was no good. We also did not know how to use the auto-routing function. A little fiddling with the GPS and Debbie and I decided to shove it. The unit would remain off for the rest of the tour. We fare better on good old maps and the compass. They always work; almost always, as the story unfolds.

I decided to use Bangkok’s local ‘GPS auto-routing’ instead. Frantically recalling broken language skills from my Thai class in school a year ago, I managed to request a taxi driver to lead us onto Route 305 for 40 bucks that would lead us towards Cambodia.

Alas, my Fazer 600 fried in the Bangkok traffic. It overheated and I would later fail to push-start it after a second overheating. I was lucky that my bike finally quitted me 100metres in front of a shop that could service big bikes-Terra Motorcycles. According to the shop’s boss, there are only 3 big bike shops in Bangkok, a city larger than Singapore. It’s like having your bike break down in front of Loois or Mah Motor in Singapore. The day's events took its toll on me, but thankfully the mech was confident of fixing it. I was told a faulty temperature sensor prevented the bike's fan from turning on, and this resulted in overheating. A word of caution though-be ready to pay up to double the price you usually pay in SG if you use their services. The boss claims that its due to import taxes. But carrot head or not, I had no choice but to be chopped. I was a foreigner far from home with few options.

[SW9000]

Originally Posted by s4^dreamer

On Day 2, we rode up from Hatyai to Hua Hin. And we had to do about 3 hours plus of night riding. It was a nightmare for me.

Hi. Care to share your start and end time for each leg and average riding speed if possible?
Hua Hin is abt 750km from Hatyai which should take around 9hrs (my newbie agaration).
I'm still long way in planning mine but kind of worried might end up miscalculate and have to travel at night. Night riding in unknown territory... ewwww.
Thx.

[kittosoft]

Originally Posted by SW9000

Hi. Care to share your start and end time for each leg and average riding speed if possible?
Hua Hin is abt 750km from Hatyai which should take around 9hrs (my newbie agaration).
I'm still long way in planning mine but kind of worried might end up miscalculate and have to travel at night. Night riding in unknown territory... ewwww.
Thx.

plan in advance, have about a 2 hours plus buffer just in case u get lost. Rule for me in thailand...

Try not to ride in the night
NEVER go into central bangkok
when in doubt stop and look at the map OR ask someone

cheers

[Pplater]

Originally Posted by SW9000

Hi. Care to share your start and end time for each leg and average riding speed if possible?
Hua Hin is abt 750km from Hatyai which should take around 9hrs (my newbie agaration).
I'm still long way in planning mine but kind of worried might end up miscalculate and have to travel at night. Night riding in unknown territory... ewwww.
Thx.

We spent 11 hours on NSH cruising 130-140km/h in clear traffic. On Route 4 towards Hua Hin we spent 12 hours cruising around the same speed, but had to go slower at 100km/h for the 3 hours plus of night riding. We typically take a 20-30min break every 100+km on average for the first 2 days, so thats a lot of stoppages and a very easy pace.

Thai time is 1 hour behind SG time, so the trick is to pack as much as you can the night before, and leave early when their daylight breaks at 6am Thai time to maximise your daylight. Night riding and rain slows you down. We learnt it the hard way.

[s4^dreamer]

On Day 3, yes... we were stuck in the horrible Bangkok traffic. I was a little startled. This is one of the very few times I meet with such bad traffic.

Something I realized... it's really not easy to ride a long distance in one stretch.

[ah_veo]

wow.....live telecast! cool !! gd luck bro...enjoy ur ride,and ride safely

[s4^dreamer]

Day 4 - Bangkok to Sa Kaeo (Last border town before the Cambodian Border)

The Fazer was supposed to be ready by 10am (Bangkok time), but there was a delay and we only managed to leave Bangkok only at about 1+pm (Bangkok time). What a delay! We knew that somehow we might not be able to reach Poipet, Cambodia as planned.

Nevertheless, I'm still thankful that the Fazer broke down at the right place where there are competent enough mechs to handle the problem.

Thankfully, we had the much-needed assistance from the boss of Terra Motorcycles and was able to navigate out of Bangkok and onto the major highway that leads us towards Cambodia!



Off we went, but alas, the weather wasn't kind. It was raining heavily!



We just went ahead... it was again an almost 10+ hours ride on the road.

Riding on Thai roads on a rainy day can be quite a scary experience for me. I realized that the roads can be very slippery. Therefore, we had to travel slower at about 80-100km/h.

Because of the slow average speed, we were unable to cross the Cambodian border at Poipet.

Therefore, we stopped at Sa Kaeo and stayed at Tippura Hotel for the night.



And we crossed the Cambodian border at Poipet on Day 5. Stay tuned for more updates!

[racingter]

Nice....waiting for more reports from you guys!!!

[wait4me]

ups and power la

[kittosoft]

question: do you need to apply for visa to enter cambodia and laos? and how much?

[Pplater]

Originally Posted by kittosoft

question: do you need to apply for visa to enter cambodia and laos? and how much?

Singapore citizens do not need visas. The Cambodian border crossing is a little 'interesting' though. Check the next post.

[Pplater]

Day 5 - Sa Kaeo to Siem Reap

We set off for Siem Reap and arrived at the Thai immigration and customs building. A handler guided us through and asked for 250 Baht per pax for his directions at the end of the service. I did not dispute the request although I suspected the money was not official payment. At least he watched our bikes while we cleared customs together.



Arrival at the Cambodian side



As with many international border crossings, immigration clearance for the rider is easy, but not equally so for the bike. We arrived at the Poipet Customs House at 12 noon. The customs chief likes his afternoon nap and bath from 12noon to 2pm, so plan to arrive before or after. We met a junior officer who told me that we needed a Carnet De Passage. From precedents I knew he was lying. I had no idea why they were being difficult. We had rode 2000km to the border only to be asked to turn back.



After waiting for 2 hours in doubt as the chief had his nap and lunch, I offered $15 US Dollars per pax to the junior officer as bribery for customs clearances. It was 2pm and services resumed. We were led to see the chief, a fat, obnoxious, half-naked man clad in his bath towel. In 15 minutes we cleared the customs. The bribe was rejected. We were not issued motorcycle importation papers. Only a photocopy of our log cards and passports were kept and we were allowed through. It felt like a set-up for bribery to be paid when exiting the country. We were later proven right.



Gasing up. Cambodia uses Octane 89 Gasoline. Debbie and I played it safe and added octane boosters although we knew 2 friends riding a Hornet 9 and VStrom 1000 who used Octane 89 without boosters and ran fine.



We were prepared to ride on off-road conditions along Route 6 towards Siem Reap, which was the reason why we decided to cross the border early from Sa Kaeo. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find freshly laid NSH quality tarmac all the way to Siem Reap.



Checking into Angkor Thom Hotel for $12 USD a night.



Our Travel Tips:

Cambodia and Laos' roads are right-hand drive. You ride on the right side of the road.

Gasoline 89 is sold at about USD $0.87 per litre; it gave us more than 10% additional milege than thai gasohol 95. Some Caltex stations sell Techron Silver with an octane 91 rating. Don't count your luck on finding them everywhere.

Bring your currency in small notes, preferably no larger than USD $20 bills. Stores will return small change to you in Riel, the local currency. Try to clear these as soon as you can because the Riel is worthless outside their country.

USD $1 = 4000 Riel as of May 09.

A friend of ours paid for $15 of fuel with a $100 note on his trip. He received several hundred thousand worth of Riau in return. Poor chap.

[s4^dreamer]

My comments on Day 5

When you are in a foreign land, sometimes you might just need people's help. Although both of us suspected that the payment asked by the thai handler wasn't official, but I can assure you that he is an official over there. And yes, everything went quite smoothly with his help.

At the Poipet Customs, it wasn't so for the importation of the bikes into Cambodia. The customs people were making it very difficult for us to enter into the country. I was praying so hard that we will be able to cross into the country! And I'm glad we were able to...

As for the petrol, the octane booster was poured into my bike because I had no one to check with as to whether the Octane 89 petrol would work well with the Super 4. I don't know of any other Super 4 riders who used such low octane petrol though. I rather not risk having the bike unable to start with such petrol

Gosh! After we cleared the immigration for ourselves, we realized that everyone drives and rides on the right side of the road. It took me a least 10 minutes to get really used to it. Just something to take note of.

[xXxRatedxXx]

Dang it!!! So fun! Next time i will do it also! One day....

[Cool_Cruiser]

Originally Posted by s4^dreamer

My comments on Day 5

When you are in a foreign land, sometimes you might just need people's help. Although both of us suspected that the payment asked by the thai handler wasn't official, but I can assure you that he is an official over there. And yes, everything went quite smoothly with his help.

At the Poipet Customs, it wasn't so for the importation of the bikes into Cambodia. The customs people were making it very difficult for us to enter into the country. I was praying so hard that we will be able to cross into the country! And I'm glad we were able to...

As for the petrol, the octane booster was poured into my bike because I had no one to check with as to whether the Octane 89 petrol would work well with the Super 4. I don't know of any other Super 4 riders who used such low octane petrol though. I rather not risk having the bike unable to start with such petrol

Gosh! After we cleared the immigration for ourselves, we realized that everyone drives and rides on the right side of the road. It took me a least 10 minutes to get really used to it. Just something to take note of.

my personal view, i wouldn't mind 'exchange' unofficial $$$ for unofficial service as this will fasten the process of clearing custom & guide is there to ensure things are going smoothly. what is few baht/$$$ if you consider the time saved and lessen the frustration.

the reason for making it difficulty actually is a hint of *$$$*

wish you guy & gal complete your journey and ride safe.

[Nighthawk_250]

.........................

[Pplater]

Chris, I'm sure your time will come one day.

Cool_Cruiser, our Ride Report is written retrospectively. We have already completed it and returned to SG last week.

Up next will be our first R&R day in Siem Reap. PS: I only found out Angkor Wat is where they filmed Tomb Raiders when I saw a DVD with Angelina Jolie on the cover selling outside the Wat.

[Cool_Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Pplater

Chris, I'm sure your time will come one day.

Cool_Cruiser, our Ride Report is written retrospectively. We have already completed it and returned to SG last week.

Up next will be our first R&R day in Siem Reap. PS: I only found out Angkor Wat is where they filmed Tomb Raiders when I saw a DVD with Angelina Jolie on the cover selling outside the Wat.

oic...kudos to you guys
and the information/report you wrote/share do help forumers here like us if we're to plan to travel to thai and cambodia.

[s4^dreamer]

Day 6 - R&R Day in Siem Reap

Oh boy! Finally a rest day after 5 intensive days of riding...

Of course, it's a day for us to explore Siem Reap! And yes, of course explore the famous Angkor Wat!

Before we went to visit Angkor Wat, we checked out of the Angkor Thom Hotel. Yes, I know it's quite cheap but of course, we want to stay somewhere better!

While walking around the town on Day 5 evening, we discovered a hotel called the "Claremont Angkor Hotel". There was a marketing manager sitting at the reception and asked us if we are Singaporeans. Well, guess what? He is a Singaporean. We decided to take a peek at the room. It was so much more posh and value-for-money than the Angkor Thom Hotel. You will see why later. It was just for USD$25 a day. Since we paid for the room at Angkor Thom Hotel, we might as well make do and just stay for the night.

Amazing! They even have their own website, you can check them out at http://www.claremontangkor.com/

Let's take a peek at the beautiful interior of the hotel...










After checking into the Claremont Angkor Hotel and placing our luggage in the room, we went out to explore Angkor Wat and the other temples such as Angkor Thom.

Oh yes, I must say that the day pass for entry into the Angkor Wat and the other temples is quite pricey. We paid USD$20 for each person for one day. But I must say that it's money that I wouldn't save because Angkor Wat is THE main thing in Siem Reap.

After sitting in a tuk-tuk around the Angkor Wat, I found that they all look the same to me...

But I should say that they do look majestic... here are some of the shots...














I always thought that I would one day get to Cambodia and visit the Angkor Wat. It's just that I didn't imagine myself riding to Cambodia and beyond. Just to think that I didn't even know how to ride a bicycle about 3 years back.

[s4^dreamer]

Day 6 - R&R Day in Siem Reap (Continued...)

How could I forget this?

After we went to Angkor Wat, we rode our bikes around to look for bike wash! And, we found them! It's not very obvious actually. They do not have signboards saying "Bike Wash" or "Car Wash". We saw them washing a car and we used body language to ask if they wash bike or not. And yes, they do!

The boys are in-charge of washing the bikes...


And the girls are in-charge of wiping the bikes dry...








Woo! What a sight! It's certainly something I have never seen before. These kids are just so diligent!

And yes, certainly... our bikes do look squeaky clean now!

Stay tuned to read more about our travels as we make our way towards Kampong Cham and beyond!

[Pplater]

Day 7 - Siem Reap to Kampong Cham

It was one of days when we didn't know where we would spend the night. We knew we were heading along Route 6 to get to the other side of Cambodia, but that was about the whole plan.

A good breakfast at the hotel before we hit the road.


After Kampong Thum, we were at a split road. We could either continue along Route 6 for 150km, or choose a 50km off road stretch. We elected the shorter route.




On these sandy roads we could still ride at 60km/h. On the rocky gravel roads, we were doing 20 or 30km/h. We were lucky those were few and far between, just enough to get a glimpse of off-road riding, but not enough to pose any real challenges. Still, I struggled, and Debbie left me in the dust. She would later say, "High gear, Low revs". I would find riding on rocky roads a lot easier from here on.

There are constant road works along Route 6 and Route 71, and there was a sense of rapid development in Siem Reap town. Cambodia should be popular with tourers in time to come.





Some toys for the kids


"Cows are the first class road users"-quote Spectrum.


We finally encountered bad weather near Kampong Cham. Heavy rains flooded the roads in a crimson tide of mud and rocks. Even the locals ceased riding. The next major town was about 200km away, and we had 2 hours of daylight left. It was time to call it a day early in Kampong Cham, while we still spotted a decent looking hotel and a few places to eat. Dinner was fairly palatable.

A pic I left out. Back in Siem Reap, we were trying to buy the next day's breakfast when we came across this Poppy Seed bread sold at the Caltex station. We wondered if we could get high eating this.



Our travel tips
The shorter stretch of Route 71 is passable by all types of bikes in dry weather. Check with the locals at the petrol station just before the split road for updated road info. We encountered more Cambodians who spoke English than Laotions.

Cows were a constant threat in Cambodia, and I mean constant. It was nothing like the scale I encountered in Thailand or Malaysia. The knowledge that the nearest emergency medical trauma centres were very far away was a sombre reminder to keep a steady speed of 100km/h on good roads.

[NC30]

Great report, keep on posting!!

[s4^dreamer]

My comments on Day 7

These rocky gravel roads was nothing compared to what we were going to face in the days ahead. As for the "high gear, low rev" tip, I got it from watching "Long Way Down" when Ewan kept on dropping his bike on off-road terrain and Charley told Ewan the exact same thing. Let me tell ya... it really works! You will realize that you will have more control over such terrain by doing this.

Yes, I was really happy that I was able to see smiles on these children's faces! At that moment, I realized how fortunate we are as Singaporeans. We have everything.

I must tell you that the floods over there that occurs on a heavy downpour is not to be trifled with. The floods are really high and yes, because of that we had to stay in Kampong Cham. The rain was just too big. And yes, even the locals were ceased riding.

THE COWS!!! Oh my gosh!

Like I said before, I only went to Thailand once prior to this trip. So, I saw NO cows or any sort of animals before.

Now they are at the side of the road chewing grass and suddenly they make the decision of crossing the road! NOOOOOOOOoooooo....

And they are bigger than the bikes... So, that's why I didn't dare to go too fast. Then again, at this stretch... i was going like 100-110km/h... as I wasn't threatened to do hard-braking to avoid hitting them YET...

[sino74]

for ur riding tour...

[Pplater]

Originally Posted by sino74

for ur riding tour...

Thanks bro. Its been a long time since our class 2 days at SSDC Long time no see already.

[sino74]

Originally Posted by Pplater

Thanks bro. Its been a long time since our class 2 days at SSDC Long time no see already.

[s4^dreamer]

Day 8 - Kampong Cham to Pakse, Laos

We started the day early and woke up at 6am Thai time and had breakfast in our room in order to save time.

We bought bread along the streets of Kampong Cham when we were strolling around the town on the night before. And also a can of tuna from the petrol kiosk along the way.

This is their local bread...


After that, we set off from Kampong Cham towards Pakse, the border town of Laos.

We didn't really stop for a break until we saw a eatery cum petrol kiosk. We took the opportunity to stop for petrol as well as to eat. In these sort of places, food is not as accessible as you think it is.



It was nothing fancy, but just a simple bowl of noodles...


After we had the bikes and our stomachs had a fill, we moved on towards crossing border into Laos.

We passed by the "Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge"! It was sure a nice sight with the Mekong River as a scenery. It was sight to behold!



Me crossing the bridge...




Zhehong crossing the bridge...




Some snapshots of the Mekong River...


As we drew closer and closer to the Checkpoint of Cambodia to exit Cambodia, I was having trouble looking for the checkpoint.

When I saw a group of Caucasian backpackers walking towards the checkpoint, I knew that this is the one! And it's just a barrier... that's all...



At the Cambodian checkpoint... you guessed it right! We had to pay as we exited Cambodia, since we didn't pay when we entered the country. It sounds like a conspiracy to me though...

Anyway, we paid USD$1 per person to get our passports stamped.
And USD$5 per person to get our bikes out of the country legally.

And the Laos Checkpoint looks like a local residences and it certainly don't look official at all... Gosh! I didn't even think that it is a checkpoint...

It looks so "kampong"!

We paid USD$10 for both of our bikes to enter into Laos. And USD$1 per person to get our passports stamped.





Ah! The moment we enter into Laos, we started looking for gasoline. Lucky for us, it was very near the checkpoint. Just a couple of km after the checkpoint.



After that, we found a place to rest and retired for the day.

Stay tuned for more updates on the trip!

[Pplater]

Day 9 - Pakse to Vientiane

We woke early and left Pakse since it was a rather lifeless town. Its funny how many people, ourselves included, grumble when we go to touristy places; but when we end up in a "not so touristy place", we can't wait to get out of it. In the 24 hours run-up to Pakse, we had been eating poorly. In Pakse, we had an energy bar each for breakfast since we couldn't find any bread or eateries early in the morning. The meals on the road would be equally rough for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, starting the day early did not pay off. Instead of heading North-West towards Vientiane, I made a topo error and led us East towards Vietnam. Well, you know, at least they both start with 'Vie', so it wasn't so bad, right? It wasn't until 80km in the wrong direction, near the Vietnamese border did we turn back. We wasted 3 hours. Bummer.


So off we went from Pakse again at 10am, eager to recover lost time. We reached one of Lao's RnR and started looking for the 7-11.


When we couldn't find an RnR later, we pulled over to rest.


Because of my topo mistake in the morning, we were 150km short of Vientiane at dusk. The last traces of daylight shimmered over the horizon when I pulled us over for some energy bars.


At least we came across some family selling Vitamilk to go along with it. I also realized energy bars are good backups for rides into Laos and Cambodia. Its harder to come across an eatery in the more desolate stretches. At times it was just Debbie, me and the roads. We didn't see vehicles for long stretches.


The next 150km would take us 3 hours, going at about 50-60km/h. After recovering from the occasional blinding high beams from oncoming morons, I wondered if the patch of darkness on my right stretching into the forward abyss was water. Yet vertical poles seem to protrude into the ground from the patches. No, it was a gaping hole. A long gap several hundred metres long just beside me, with metal poles stretching down. Between more blinding lights and finding the centre line, I tried not to get my front wheel into the gap. I would flip for sure. Was it the fatigue? Or was it my imagination? What were we doing riding in complete darkness beside a long gaping hole?

No time to think. The tarmac ended. I avoided the largest two pot holes on both sides of me and landed on sand. And later gravel. The single headlight behind me shone forward. We kept going, and that was the last of it. We had made it into Vientiane after 16 hours on the road.

At last, we finally had room service. While tucking in, I had that feeling like I was tucking in after an army outfield exercise. We were tired and hungry. We had not ate well nor slept well. But we were finally eating good stuff on nice white sheets. No more energy bars I'm not sure I'll complain when I next get to a touristy town. I'll take the "touristy" stuff anytime

[xXxRatedxXx]

Ahhaha still following... but up to now i still dono... have u all completed the trip or updating as you all go along???

[Pplater]

Originally Posted by xXxRatedxXx

Ahhaha still following... but up to now i still dono... have u all completed the trip or updating as you all go along???

came back last week then started writing.

[antartica]

wow! excellent stuff guys... wish i could get on the road and just ride... haiz... not so easy when you're settled down and your other half don't really fancy the "rough" life style

well... have to first get my 2A then apply for my "off" pass... hahaha

nice write up guys thanks

[xXxRatedxXx]

Originally Posted by antartica

wow! excellent stuff guys... wish i could get on the road and just ride... haiz... not so easy when you're settled down and your other half don't really fancy the "rough" life style

well... have to first get my 2A then apply for my "off" pass... hahaha

nice write up guys thanks

no need ah.... go one day trips lor!! hhaha.. last time i also tag team with a family man.. we went in sunday morning... came out sunday night. both also 2B bike... slowly slowly go to mersing.... hahha.

[s4^dreamer]

Originally Posted by antartica

wow! excellent stuff guys... wish i could get on the road and just ride... haiz... not so easy when you're settled down and your other half don't really fancy the "rough" life style

well... have to first get my 2A then apply for my "off" pass... hahaha

nice write up guys thanks

Aiyoh... what "rough" lifestyle! This is nothing compared to those riders who have ridden to Africa. But, nevertheless, it was still "rough" for me...

As for your "off" pass, good luck bro!

[Pplater]

Originally Posted by s4^dreamer

As for your "off" pass, good luck bro!

+1 on that

[kingfisher]

Thank you for the ride report, was planning to do a cambodian - laos trip some time in oct this year but looks like I have to postponed it to next year due to other commitments.

[geeteethree]

Just want to add my thanks for the trip report. Love the Laos immigration "booth".

Great job

[antartica]

Originally Posted by s4^dreamer

Aiyoh... what "rough" lifestyle! This is nothing compared to those riders who have ridden to Africa. But, nevertheless, it was still "rough" for me...

As for your "off" pass, good luck bro!

Originally Posted by Pplater

+1 on that

well for her she dun reali fancy the "uncaged" feeling for too long
short rides still ok... then will say it's hot and dusty and you know the rest... lol

so prolly once i get my 2A would be self exploring or find others to tag along for short trips... after i get my "off pass"... hahaha

[xXxRatedxXx]

Originally Posted by antartica

well for her she dun reali fancy the "uncaged" feeling for too long
short rides still ok... then will say it's hot and dusty and you know the rest... lol

so prolly once i get my 2A would be self exploring or find others to tag along for short trips... after i get my "off pass"... hahaha

No need ah ant... just go 1 day trips lor... hahha. After i went for mine with one other friend. bitten by touring bug already.

So i guess next for ZH and Deb shall be ENDURO series of races!!! HAHAHA!!! But that one need tens of thousands of dollars in bike and equipment to enter ENDURO.

[s4^dreamer]

Originally Posted by antartica

well for her she dun reali fancy the "uncaged" feeling for too long
short rides still ok... then will say it's hot and dusty and you know the rest... lol

so prolly once i get my 2A would be self exploring or find others to tag along for short trips... after i get my "off pass"... hahaha

hehe... short trips are always a good start!

Hot, dusty, dirty, hungry, etc... are sometimes "sadly"... part and parcel of touring...

You are really hilarious! "Off pass"!!! Got stamp or not?

[Pplater]

Originally Posted by xXxRatedxXx

So i guess next for ZH and Deb shall be ENDURO series of races!!! HAHAHA!!! But that one need tens of thousands of dollars in bike and equipment to enter ENDURO.

me no lacer lah. you never see the p-plate on my avartar pic meh?


Geethethree & Kingfisher - You're welcome. Cheers

[antartica]

Originally Posted by xXxRatedxXx

No need ah ant... just go 1 day trips lor... hahha. After i went for mine with one other friend. bitten by touring bug already.

So i guess next for ZH and Deb shall be ENDURO series of races!!! HAHAHA!!! But that one need tens of thousands of dollars in bike and equipment to enter ENDURO.

can try that bro

Originally Posted by s4^dreamer

hehe... short trips are always a good start!

Hot, dusty, dirty, hungry, etc... are sometimes "sadly"... part and parcel of touring...

You are really hilarious! "Off pass"!!! Got stamp or not?

well... that's something most of us who have "chiong sua" are used to, but unfortunately for the majority of the regular Singaporean female that's something that is unecessary... told her that i'd like to just take the weekend with her on a ride to KL and she can tell me that i can ride on my own and she'll meet me there taking a bus... HAHAHA

off pass.... er... lemme go look for my old ones and see if she'd sign them? LOLz


waiting for the next exciting installment of the trip report

[strada]

No offence, your 2nd day nite ride of 3 hrs is not something I would encourage to aspiring young riding enthusiast heading towards Cambodia, an option is to stay for another day or to bung into a guest house a;long the way to avoid the nite ride.

Rgds

[s4^dreamer]

Originally Posted by strada

No offence, your 2nd day nite ride of 3 hrs is not something I would encourage to aspiring young riding enthusiast heading towards Cambodia, an option is to stay for another day or to bung into a guest house a;long the way to avoid the nite ride.

Rgds

Yes, it's definitely not encouraged. But, the thing was that there was NO guesthouse or any of that sort for you to stay over. Don't expect Cambodia to be like Thailand where there's always place for you to stay... Sometimes even finding food can be a problem, let alone a place to stay...

[Pplater]

Originally Posted by strada

No offence, your 2nd day nite ride of 3 hrs is not something I would encourage to aspiring young riding enthusiast heading towards Cambodia, an option is to stay for another day or to bung into a guest house a;long the way to avoid the nite ride.

Rgds

Agreed too. We try to avoid night rides as well.

If you're refering to that 3 hours or 150km towards Vientiane from Pakse, we were hell-bent on getting to Laos even if we did see any guesthouses. We did not want to stay another night in a sub-standard guesthouse with cold shower, hot air cons, flooding toilets, mosquitos, flies, and eat energy bars

If you're refering to the 3 hours night ride towards Hua Hin, I believe all aspiring tourers have to start their night touring somewhere. Its an idealistic rule for all of us to try to stick to. I'm sure you also know its often ignored out of choice in small groups, and sometimes due to the lack of choice when following big groups.

[s4^dreamer]

Day 10 - Vientiane, Laos

Finally there is another rest day in the schedule!

We decided to stay in Vientiane to explore the city! As we walked around the city, we discovered a lot of bike rental shops that rent out bikes!



However, it's quite pricey. It's for about USD$30 for 1 day.

We also walked around the Vientiane Morning Market.






After that, we had a hearty lunch at a hotel that we chanced upon along the way as we were having our leisurely walk. It's only about USD$10 per pax! Can you believe it??

Wow! What a spread!





What's different is the presence of the Patuxai, The Victory Gate! It looks so magnificent!


Stay tuned for more updates of the trip!