During my 25 years in South East Asia I have always enjoyed riding through Laos and the South East regions of Cambodia. Over this time I have done bits and pieces of both countries. This scouting ride was planned to cover the “white spots” and create some new and exciting tour routes.

Setting off with some old and new riding buddies, our first stop was Nong Khiaw in Northern Laos, an easy ride from our base at Chiang Mai, Thailand. Nong Khiaw was where we met up with our Laotian tour guide, Yai, and then continued east to Ban That Hium. This road was beaten up, dusty, full of potholes and overloaded Chinese trucks not stopping for anything, especially motorcyclists! 

We were heading to Vieng Xai, a town in the north eastern corner of Lao. During the Vietnam War the Lao communist government used caves in the area to take refuge. This part of Laos is mountainous and the scenery is quite beautiful. From the seat of my motorcycle the feeling was one of riding through a real-time museum as we passed through endless hill tribe villages with the local kids waving and smiling, without a care in the world. A truly unique and authentic experience.

After a couple of days’ hard riding we arrived in the city of Phonsavan, famous for its “Plain of Jars” (UNESCO world heritage site since 2019). Leaving Phonsavan to the south towards the Rock Forest and the Kong Lor Cave, two places that are well worth visiting. At the Rock Forest they are offering hiking and zip lining activities while at the Kong Lor Cave you can take a boat ride on a river through the mountain. Further south we then stayed overnight in Thakhek, a charming town by the Mekong River. 

The following morning we made a detour via Savannakhet to Xepon which is close to the Vietnam border and along the famous road 9, on the 17^th parallel, which saw heavy fighting during the Vietnam War. We took time off the bikes to visit a war museum in Lam Son (40 km from Khe Sanh US base in Vietnam). Continuing southbound we traveled on the Lao “Ho Chi Minh Trail” which is truly a “road less travelled” and not marked on any of our maps.

The next route highlight was the Bolaven Plateau. With a maximum elevation of 1,350 meters the area features many scenic waterfalls and coffee plantations while also offering exhilarating motorcycle riding. Our visit coincided with the Buddhist New Year, full of local celebrations, festivities and of course lots of water splashing!

In Southern Laos we visited another UNESCO world heritage site, “Vat Phou”, a Khmer temple built during the same era as the famous Angkor temples in Siem Reap. 

After taking a local ferry across the Mekong River we stopped for a well-deserved rest day on Don Khon, one of the 4,000 islands on the Mekong River. This is a beautiful area to explore by boat however part of the river is not possible to navigate due to the rapids. The French colonial power built two ports and a 7km long railway line here for the transportation of goods.

It was now time to leave Laos (and our guide Yai) behind as we crossed the border to Cambodia where we were warmly greeted by our Cambodian tour guide, Nak. 

From the border station we rode close to the Vietnam border directly to Ban Lung for our first overnight stay in Cambodia. The next day we started early and took the road south along the Cambodian “Ho Chi Minh Trail” to the highlands located in the south eastern corner of Cambodia. This region features waterfalls and offers a cooler climate making it a popular destination for Cambodian and Vietnamese tourists.

Once again we met the mighty Mekong River, this time checking out the Mekong Dolphins north of Kracheh. The best way to see these magnificent creatures is to take a boat tour on the river. Back on the motorcycles we followed the river, passing a couple of colonial trading towns before reaching the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh where we indulged ourselves in some (well-deserved) 5-star accommodation and dining.

Our final ride in Cambodia took us to the Tonlé Sap, Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake and one of the world's richest inland fishing grounds. From that point we needed to use another local ferry crossing after which we rode 40km of dirt roads to Kampong Thom. 

We were now at one of the trips’ highlight destinations: “Preah Vihear Temple” yet another UNESCO word heritage site on this tour which is a spectacular temple located on a 525 meter high clifftop and was built by the Khmer’s during the same time as the Angkor temples.

So after adding many roads and locations to our memory banks and planning maps it was now time to cross back into Thailand and head home to Chiang Mai.

In total our scouting ride took 20 Days and covered approximately 5,800 kms.

The experiences were memorable and the best of these will be added to our already extensive tour list through SE Asia.

If you dream of experiencing this part of South East Asia on a motorcycle please contact us and we will tailor make a tour for you and your friends to enjoy !

You can also choose from one of our many fixed departure, guided tours listed on our web site.

www.biketourasia.com 

Daniel Senicar (founding partner of Bile Tour Asia).

Chiang Mai, Thailand, April 2024.