Saigon to Bangkok

Day 1 – Ho Chi Minh City

We meet at Northern Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City (please contact us if you need rooms or flights from Bangkok). We spend the day unboxing and testing bikes and give you some time to explore the city. In the evening we dine at the enchanting Temple Club Restaurant.

Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City – Tra Vinh

After breakfast transfer a couple of hours out of Ho Chi Minh to Cai Be - the gateway to the Mekong Delta. Today’s ride will lead you right into the heart of rural Mekong, as you pedal down narrow roads and lanes, past banana plantations and fields of sugarcane. A section of biking takes us off road onto gravel and dirt lanes, weaving through hamlets, across rivers and through quite thick vegetation, this makes for superb biking. A final ferry crossing takes to Tra Vinh a pretty tree-lined town with many ethnic Khmers.

Day 3 – Tra Vinh – Can Tho

The route today is peaceful and the road is scenic all the way to our destination of Can Tho. There is plenty to see along the way from contrasting architectural styles of Khmer homes and temples to the rich and colourful river scenes when crossing many small bridges.

Day 4: Can Tho – Chau Doc

Visit Cai Rang Floating market before transferring approximately one hour to the start of the ride. Once more the scenery is completely different. From Tri Ton the cycling starts to gently undulate and mountains begin to loom as you ride closer and closer to Chau Doc. The presence of Thot Not trees indicates the growing proximity to Cambodia and the local people speak Vietnamese as their second language. We cycle to the Killing Fields of Vietnam at Ba Chuc, where Pol Pot’s regime massacred over 3,000 Vietnamese in 1978. We then loop around Ba Chuc along the border and ride the rest of the way to Chau Doc along incredible country roads. Those with energy to spare can climb Sam Mountain for sunset!

Day 5: Chau Doc – Phnom Penh

Cruise up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh from our overnight stopping place Chau Doc. We get a chance to rest our legs as we see many scenes of local daily life along side one Asia’s great rivers. As we head into Cambodia we stop at the capital Phnom Penh before heading north to cycle among 1000 years of Khmer history.

Day 6: Ride to Oudong

Today we start by taking the back roads out of the modern capital of Cambodia – Phnom Penh for about 45 km to the town Oudong where we branch off towards Phnom Prah Reach or Oudong Mountain, once the capital of Cambodia. The 400-plus steps to the top will get the legs working overtime, but the view is worth it! This ride gives us a chance to see rural Cambodia - stilted houses, rice paddies, ox carts, waving children and of course the friendly Khmer people. After the ride we head back to Phnom Penh and lunch. The rest of the day is free to explore this fascinating city

Day 7: Phnom Penh – Siem Reap

We start the day with a transfer to near Kampong Thom and the ancient temple site of Sambor Prey Kuk. We saddle up and ride between the temples by bicycle. This temple site was constructed in the 7 th century and functioned as the capital of the Chenla Empire. It is one of the oldest temple sites in Cambodia and is mainly covered in vegetation. After our guide assisted tour through the temples we enjoy a local picnic lunch prepared by the local community in small wooden huts along the Stung Sen River and are able to absorb the local sights and sounds. After lunch we have a beautiful ride through rice paddy fields and small villages with many locals greeting you warmly. It is then a 2 hour transfer to Siem Reap.

Day 8: Angkor temples

This morning we start our bike ride to the entrance of Angkor Wat and head to Ta Prohm, famous from the film Tomb Raider, and deliberately left by French conservationists in the same condition as it was discovered; overgrown by strangler fig and silk-cotton trees, giving the temple a mystical and romantic appeal. We continue to Angkor Thom, Bayon temple and the Terrace of the Elephants. We enjoy lunch at the Angkor Café before we explore the biggest religious Hindu edifice in the world - Angkor Wat. Considered the masterpiece of Khmer architecture, this Vishnuite temple is the King’s funerary temple, which is why the temple is orientated to the West. Inside the temple the walls are covered by carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign. After our visit to these magnificent temples we cycle back the 7 km to Siem Reap.

Day 9: Ride to Banteay Srei

After breakfast we will head onwards to Banteay Srei. We cycle through rural countryside to this famous temple which has the best preserved bas-reliefs and other stone carvings in Cambodia. The temple is small in size but of huge significance in understanding the Angkorian Era. From here we continue cycling on rural roads, taking a break for a restaurant lunch before we reach Kbal Spean, also known as the Valley of 1000 Lingas. We put the bikes aside for a 3 km moderate trek uphill through jungle to a river bed with submersed carvings and a beautiful waterfall (in rainy season only). After our visit we return to Siem Reap by vehicle. Dinner is at your leisure.

Day 10: Siem Reap - Battambang

Today we have another break from riding and visit the floating village before heading across the lake to Battambang, Cambodia’s second capital, a sleepy city full of faded colonial charm.

Day 11: Battambang - Pailin

We saddle up and ride south to Pailin. This is the toughest ride on the tour as the road in sections is in poor condition and bumpy (in dry season can get dusty) but the scenery is the most impressive as we head towards Thailand. The road undulates as we get closer to Pailin but there is nothing too steep or long. We will cross streams and bridges and really get a feeling of riding into unchartered territory. This used to be bandit country, but don’t worry the area is now completely safe!

Day 12: Pailin – Chantaburi

A short pleasant ride on the quiet scenic roads to the border crossing. This quiet rural crossing used mainly by local traders makes for a pleasant stop while we complete all the immigration formalities. Once these have been completed we ride through the Thai countryside till we reach the main road and transfer with a change of guides, vehicle and bikes to the beach, with lunch en route in Chantaburi.

Day 13: Beach Day

Free day at the beach to relax in this quite secluded part of Thailand – a must for anyone wanting to see some off the beaten track beaches with the option of a casual morning ride around the local sites of Chantaburi.

Day 14: Chantaburi - Bangkok

We have the morning to enjoy the beach before we head back to Bangkok. Ask about an extension to the beach or Koh Chang.