We need advice.
Next winter we may have 3 months available and want to do a tour of south east asia. We have never been before, and have only toured in Europe. So our questions are,
1. How to fly bikes there from UK and of course, get them back again.
2. Where to fly to, and back from?
3. Where to tour with the time we have?
4. Best ideas for accommodation?
5. How to get best value as we will be on a tightish budget?
Thanks, all . We always appreciate the advice we get on here.
South east asia, have 3 months
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
There are plenty of Crazyguyonabike blogs you can read for inspiration and advice. I particularly enjoyed following Jeff and Roselind a couple of years ago: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=16648. They did a similar trip to the one you are planning.
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
Check how where you are going fits with the monsoon season. I think that it arrives with November.
Yma o Hyd
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
I would suggest you do a bit more research and then come back with more specific questions.
As said, there are loads of journals on crazyguonabike that can fill you in. Also get some guidebooks eg Lonely Planet (buy or borrow from library). Use these to decide what you want to see. No point planning a route that misses major sites you are interested in. Likewise, no point in hitting big towns just because they are there.
If by SEA, you mean N of Singapore, ie not Indonesia then best time is between November and March. The weather is dry and cooler, with general NE wind direction. Note this if you are planning a length of Vn or Malaysia, etc.
Accommodation is cheap and plentiful, don't worry about it. Food is generally wonderful.
You will soon learn how to live on your budget. Local restaurants and street food, buy stuff in markets, it's all part of the fun.
You will need to look into visas, some countries not needed, some at border, some in advance. Lonely Planet Thorn Tree country forums can help with info.
You can fly your bike no problem. I use Emirates who fly into plenty of SEA countries and you can fly into one and out of another.
The normal countries are Thai, Lao, Vn and Cambodia. These can be seen in 3 months. You can add Malaysia, but it is more expensive and developed.
Meic, the Monsoon is a year round weather system, (very) basically with 2 main parts. Summer wet SW winds, winter cool dry NE winds - but lots of local variations. Google for more info.
I have spent years cycling in SEA and happy to help, but please do research first rather than fire off lots of off the top of your head questions.
As said, there are loads of journals on crazyguonabike that can fill you in. Also get some guidebooks eg Lonely Planet (buy or borrow from library). Use these to decide what you want to see. No point planning a route that misses major sites you are interested in. Likewise, no point in hitting big towns just because they are there.
If by SEA, you mean N of Singapore, ie not Indonesia then best time is between November and March. The weather is dry and cooler, with general NE wind direction. Note this if you are planning a length of Vn or Malaysia, etc.
Accommodation is cheap and plentiful, don't worry about it. Food is generally wonderful.
You will soon learn how to live on your budget. Local restaurants and street food, buy stuff in markets, it's all part of the fun.
You will need to look into visas, some countries not needed, some at border, some in advance. Lonely Planet Thorn Tree country forums can help with info.
You can fly your bike no problem. I use Emirates who fly into plenty of SEA countries and you can fly into one and out of another.
The normal countries are Thai, Lao, Vn and Cambodia. These can be seen in 3 months. You can add Malaysia, but it is more expensive and developed.
Meic, the Monsoon is a year round weather system, (very) basically with 2 main parts. Summer wet SW winds, winter cool dry NE winds - but lots of local variations. Google for more info.
I have spent years cycling in SEA and happy to help, but please do research first rather than fire off lots of off the top of your head questions.
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
Thank you for the correction of my terminology.
As an example if going to SE Asia in November you could choose to go to Bali on the Indonesian Archipelago which will be at its rainiest November-March, or to Cambodia which is rainy from June to October. Or you can move around avoiding it almost altogether.
As an example if going to SE Asia in November you could choose to go to Bali on the Indonesian Archipelago which will be at its rainiest November-March, or to Cambodia which is rainy from June to October. Or you can move around avoiding it almost altogether.
Yma o Hyd
-
Ivor Tingting
- Posts: 856
- Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 9:57pm
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
beeb wrote:We need advice.
Next winter we may have 3 months available and want to do a tour of south east asia. We have never been before, and have only toured in Europe. So our questions are,
1. How to fly bikes there from UK and of course, get them back again.
2. Where to fly to, and back from?
3. Where to tour with the time we have?
4. Best ideas for accommodation?
5. How to get best value as we will be on a tightish budget?
Thanks, all . We always appreciate the advice we get on here.
So basically you want a travel agent.
"Zat is ze reel prowoking qwestion Mr Paxman." - Peer Steinbruck, German Finance Minister 31/03/2009.
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
Ivor Tingting wrote:So basically you want a travel agent.
Before the travel agent ... a guide book
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/southeast-asia
Possibly an old copy in the local library.
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
Of course we have all forgotten this very forum.
The OP could search this and the "does anyone know" forum for suitable topics, eg:
Flying or flying with bikes
South East Asia and specific country names
Visas
Health
Insurance
Etc, etc
The OP could search this and the "does anyone know" forum for suitable topics, eg:
Flying or flying with bikes
South East Asia and specific country names
Visas
Health
Insurance
Etc, etc
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
If I was heading to that part of the world in summer I'd want to include Yunnan province in China. Never been there, but it looks like just my kind of place from the tour reports I've read.
One link to your website is enough. G
Re: South east asia, have 3 months
I agree about Yunnan, it's a wonderful place. I've toured twice about 3 months in all. Some amazing scenery, but some big hills. I climbed for over 40 kms to get out of the Red River valley, but I had had a 37km no pedal descent a few days earlier.
Thy were talking about going in winter (I presume they mean UK winter). Summer is liable to be wet and hot. Autumn is very good. By winter it can get cold further north at higher altitudes eg up near Dali or Kunming. Down south it's warmer and would better, but autumn is best.
The OP didn't bother to come back. I wonder if they read any of this.
Thy were talking about going in winter (I presume they mean UK winter). Summer is liable to be wet and hot. Autumn is very good. By winter it can get cold further north at higher altitudes eg up near Dali or Kunming. Down south it's warmer and would better, but autumn is best.
The OP didn't bother to come back. I wonder if they read any of this.