touring SE Asia questions

[Tako]

It is highly likely that l will be relocating to Hong Kong Jan 2010 for a 3year post. I will be taking my bike touring equipment with me!
Question: All my bike/hiking kit is geared towards 3season camping in European climate. How suitable will my equipment be, specifically my tent and sleeping bag - TN Laser and ME Xero350 down bag - l suspect they are too warm and l may have to replace them, but with what? Also, how will the summer humidity affect the down bag when in storage?

All comments welcome, especially those who have experience touring Southeast Asia. Any tips on where to go for ?
Sorry if this is a bit vague at present, l will know more in due course.

[V4281051]

You will not be able to camp in most places in SE Asia,..and there isn't any need to.You will find some type of accomodation virtually everywhere..Most hotels and guesthouses in Thailand ,Cambodia ,Laos and Vietnam will only cost you £10 or less..In fact you can find many places as cheap as £3 a night .You can camp in some national parks in Thailand but it really isn't necessary.You can camp for free in Singapore on the East coast parkway and you can also find some campsites on the east coast of Malaysia mainly on beaches but you can find reasonably cheap hostels also.Leave your tent and sleeping bag at home..A mosquito net might be more important.

[V4281051]

Touring in SE Asia..look at Mr Pumpys website..Peninsula Thailand is very good for touring..especially on the east coast but also around Krabi on the west coast ..Do not cycle anywhere within 50 miles of Bangkok..Anywhere else in Thailand is good for cycling especially off the main roads..Very easy to take bikes on trains or buses in Thailand.Cambodia's roads are also quite good for cycling but stay out of Phnom Penh.Cycling around Siem Riep and Anghor Wat is good also..Laos is also excellent for cycling as there are so few cars.the road from Vientiane to Luang prabang is excellent for scenery ..Best bike shop in Thailand is probably Probike near Lumphini Park in the Silom district of Bangkok..You can get almost anything there..but you will find most small bikes can rebuild wheels etc..But they will be a bit short of good quality components.Quality bike parts in Thailand are more expensive than you would expect. East coast of Malaysia is recommended mainly for cycling..Some very quiet roads just to the north east of Singapore.You cannot take a bike on a train in Malaysia.It has to go by freight train ahead of you and you can collect it at your destination.

[simonhill]

Obviously from HK, China is on your doorstep - but you will need a visa so not an option for weekends. Plenty of people tour in SW China, I'm en-route (waiting for Visa) now.

Lao is wonderful - new roads are being built and touring options are opening up all he time. Very cheap and friendly place.

Vietnam is also great - there is a good 10 - 15 day tour from Sappa back to Hanoi via Dien Bien Phu - big hills but wonderful scenery. Lots of people go from Hanoi to Saigon pr VV depending on time of year (wind direction). There is also a new N>S highway through the mountains that looks like fun (Ho Chi Minh Highway).

Unless you like off road stuff the cycling in Cambodia is less spectacular - a bit flat, but plenty of culture at Angkor Wat and good beaches in the south.

As said previously, Thailand is excellent, particularly in the north (easy train access from Bangkok). You can fly very cheaply (30 quid) from Macau to Bkk, no visa reqd. Many low cost airlines take bikes eg Air Asia for 7 quid.

I agree, forget your campimg gear for SE Asia - the hotels are usually more like a fiver or less. The temperatures can be pretty cold in S China, N Vietnam, etc in the winter -so depending on what you are doing you may need some warm clothing.

The Mr Pumpy website is fun, but very out of date now. I suggest you look at the Lonely Planet one http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/f ... forumID=32 - plenty of SEA info there.
crazyguyonabike.com also has plenty of tour write ups.

[simonhill]

Just thought ....order a copy of the Lonely Planet Cycling SE Asia book from your local library. It is very out of date, but has a couple of good routes to browse (LP > Vientianne in Lao and the NW Circuit in VN). May be worth p/copying the road profiles so you have an idea for future. Note - not worth buying cos so out of date.

[bikefish]

There is also a book of hand drawn maps put out by a UK based publisher Cicerone I think for Cambodia Laos Vietnam. Thailand from 1 july allows only 3 land entries per passport - the immigration go through and tot em up..

[V4281051]

If you are flying into Thailand you will be issued with a 30 day visa..If you leave Thailand and then re -enter you will be issued with a 15 day visa..There are rules about how many more times you can leave the country and re-enter with the 15 day visa...but they are often ignored.
You can obtain a 60 day visa before you go for £25 or a multiple entry visa for about £90. With that visa you can enter and leave the country as many times as you like within a year..
If you go into Cambodia you will be issued with a 28 day visa...which can be extended within the country.It will cost you between 900 baht and 1200 baht depending on where you get it from..You will need one passport photograph for the visa.You need to obtain a visa before you go into Vietnam .It will cost about £60 . If you are a citizen of certain SE Asia countries these visas are considerably cheaper.

[Tako]

Many thanks for all your replies. Advice and tips re: routes, kit, visas duly noted and appreciated.

Yes, I'll be based in HK but hope to get out as much as l can. Sadly no long expeditions, l guess 7 weeks max. I'm digging through Crazyguy in my free time to assess options, which at the moment resembles a blank page
I do have friends in Ho Chi Minh (and Aus and NZ too but might be too costly) so l plan to visit Vietnam at some point. Will look into flights, routes nearer the time. £30 for Thailand flight is incredible - l assume direct flights from HK are much more expensive? The Bangkok - Vietnam route is certainly interesting.

My bike is an audax bike with 36 spoke 700x32 max tyre size. Would this be strong enough for the types of mountain paths you describe?

Simonhill, are you currently touring in China? Do you keep an online tour journal? Would love to hear your opinion on touring there as the Guangdong province is massively overdeveloped so l imagine its poor cycling. I don't know about the surrounding provinces. Any idea on bikes on trains in China? Thanks!

[simonhill]

The rules above about Thai visa are a bit wrong - best to just check out the CURRENT rules before you go. By the way - the basic 2 month tourist visa is free till next March - to encourage tourism. Unfortunately not all Consulates are honouring this.

Sorry, I don't keep an on-line journal - happy to answer questions - as I said, best place is the LP forum I regularly read and post there, plus there are loads of people with current info.

I did ask there re bikes on trains in China - apparently they have to be boxed (ooops, edited in - they DON'T have to be boxed, sorry)- see here http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/m ... D=15895676

I currently in Thailand waiting for my Chinese visa (25 quid here, 65 plus P&p in UK). I'm not cycling the east coast (Guangdong), more what is called the SW. Starting in Guilin - cheap flight from Bkk. Then probably on towards Kunming and down through Yunnan to Lao or Thailand. Not really sure of exact route yet.

Re your bike, you should be OK in most of SE Asia. The main problem with 700'ers is lack of availablity of spares - no breakdowm, no problem. On the NW loop, though, it all depends if they have finished the roadworks and if there are any landslides!! I had 2 days of very rough off-road style riding due to 'road under construction' - they work quickly the Vietnames so should be finished by now.

Check out Bill Weir on crazyguy - he has just finished an epic in China.