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Down here in Cambodia on a visa run and decided I'm gonna come back here in June with the girlfriend and spend a month on a dirtbike. I've done big trips in Vietnam and am fine on a bike.

Anybody done something like this? Or been around Cambodia alot? I've been to Phnom penh, Seem Reap and Sihanukville but that's it.. So any advice is welcome.


Edit: Change country to Burma.

[Sappa]

Its been a good few years since I spent any decent time in Cambodia and back then 80% of the country did`nt have paved roads,they were just dirt roads and very uncomfortable to travel on.
A dirt bike is what you would need alright,have you your own or will you be renting one there as I am not sure where you can get them in Cambodia,we only had the Honda dreams without wing mirrors.
It depends where you are coming in from the route i took before was in through Koh Kong to sre ambel and on to Sinaoukiville,from there on to Kampot and continue to Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh to Kampon Chang and stopping off at Battambang,great places to explore around there the temple on the mountain being one.
We continued to Sisophon and further north to Bantaey Ampil,this was a dodgy enough area at the time and pol Pot was just after passing when we were up there,not so friendly place.
We headed over to Chom Khsan and made our way back towards Siem Reip for a few days.
We headed back down to Kompon Chang again and up to kratie to see the Irawidee dolphins for a few days.
Just so you know there is not a whole lot in many of these towns,they have very basic accomodation,food was not mighty coming from Thailand but its what you make of it yourself and I am sure with a bike you will have fun.
From here we went back to Phnom penh and I picked up a serious bit of food poisoning,the local Doc in Kratie moonlighted as a taxi driver and prescribed me placebo pills instead of antibiotics,went on for 6 days before I got into Saigon and had it dealt with properly,my only bad memory of Cambodia.

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Thanks! I'll get a map, check out where the places you mentioned are and then post back.
I owned a dirtbike in Vietnam before saving for a street bike now instead. I can rent an old 250cc for $13 a day or a nice new one for $500 a month. Might get the nice one for the sake of a bit more money.

Offroad and dirt is what I want for maybe half the trip.

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So found out my girlfriend can go to Burma so gonna head there instead.. I think I can rent a bike in mandalay so the plan is a couple of days in yangon and then get the train north and start the motorbike trip.

So any advice on burma is now welcome I know nothing really about it.

[Sappa]

You wont be able to rent any decent bikes or bikes at all in Burma.
This was a major negative when I was there,last time in 2008 but the country changes very slowly.
You could be traveling 2 days to a certain town and the military checkpoint will just turn the bus around and your trip is wasted.
Some amazing beaches along the west coast but difficult to get to,people are nice but the food is crap.
Rangoon is nice enough but if your looking for a bike trip Cambodia would suit you better as you think you have seen bad roads Burma`s are desperate.
I know a few Burmese living in Thailand and it often takes them 10 days to get home from Thailand to their province given the state of public transport.
Your girlfriend might not like the rough travel as it can be a bit tedious,I would recommend Laos ahead of both places for bike travel especially the very north.

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Fek.. I reckon Laos would be the best aswell but I wanna go sit on a beach afterwards. I might be a cheap bike in hanoi, drive it into Laos, do the north, get the slow boat to Thailand and fly to Phuket from Chiang Mai.

This is ridiculous, I've no idea what to do.

[Sappa]

Originally Posted by Ads by Google

Fek.. I reckon Laos would be the best aswell but I wanna go sit on a beach afterwards. I might be a cheap bike in hanoi, drive it into Laos, do the north, get the slow boat to Thailand and fly to Phuket from Chiang Mai.

This is ridiculous, I've no idea what to do.

Your gonna have probs driving the bike into Laos,you can rent bikes in Vientiane.
There is a French fella who operates out of the front of a minimarts opposite Kop Chai Deu restaurant,he has a good selection of bikes and maintains them,talking 20 dollars a day.
Greendiscovery is another crowd,they are right next to Kop Chai Deu and I know they have offices in Luang prabang,you could drive up Vientiane to the north and leave the bike with them on your way back down in Luang Prabang,roads up are good and super scenic.

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Ah I can def drive a bike into laos.. Gf is vietnamese so she can just drive it through the border. I've heard of alot of people driving hanoi>laos>cambodia>ho chi minh so might try that.

I'd rather do it on a rented 250cc though so I have to choose between epic distance journey on a 125 or short and fun trip on a 250.

[Sappa]

Originally Posted by Ads by Google

Ah I can def drive a bike into laos.. Gf is vietnamese so she can just drive it through the border. I've heard of alot of people driving hanoi>laos>cambodia>ho chi minh so might try that.

I'd rather do it on a rented 250cc though so I have to choose between epic distance journey on a 125 or short and fun trip on a 250.

They got Honda van vans,Xr 250's,Kmx 125's,super 4's,choppers,Africa twins and 750 tourers in Vientiane,runs a bit pricier than Thailand for the bikes but you got the option to ditch it and not alter your hol route.
Yep Vietnamese have a special relationship with Lao so you won't have much prob taking a bike in,I often think there's more Viet working in Lao than Laoitian and they make the best dried fish in Vientiane,always nice with a cold beer.

[cocoshovel]

Ive heard a lot of great stuff about Laos and would say it would be fairly interesting.