Ron Damon

Anyone?

Or PP to Preah Vihear?

saddlesores

have you researched the many trip reports on crazyguy?
crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: A place for bicycle tourists and their journals

note that road conditions have changed, particularly in cambodia in the last ten years or so.
chinese have paved many of the lovely dirt roads.

i'd prolly take the preah vihear route, cross into thailand at o'smach, cross northeastern thailand, then vientianne to luang prabang.
if you head north from PP, you'll wind up following the mekong for much of the route. boring.
although there are some nice rides more along the vietnam border heading north.

Ron Damon

Gotcha. So the route you are suggesting is: PP > Preah Vihear >> Thai border at O Smach >> Vientianne via eastern Thailand > Luang Prabang. Is that correct?

Then swing west to Chiang Mai? 😉

saddlesores

of your two options, yes.

but there's a gooder router.......go east. (i don't have my journals and maps available now, but...) and sorta follow the vietnam border towards memot or snuel (?), then you have some dirt/sand tracks through jungle to trapaeng something. then you head west on dirt road towards stung treng. head north, cross into laos, turn east at champasak towards vietnam again. at attapu or xeyseth head north to sekong and ta oi and xepon and so on. check a map - you'll be in the middle of the country, about equal distance from vietnam and mekong.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...&src=page_next

Ron Damon

Yeah, I see that. Essentially route 76 heading north until it meets route 78 which takes you to Stung Treng, which looks great. Except that there is nowhere to sleep, that is, no hotels and I wasn't planning on carrying a tent, etc. 🤔

saddlesores

there are small guesthouses in most areas, some are just shacks for truckdrivers.
check the crazyguy journals.......writers will often detail the accommodations at the end of each daily ride.

Yan 

I had a great time in Laos but the hills were brutal. In Luang Prabang I had a beautiful guesthouse room that overlooked the river. The gasoline in Laos had no smelly additives and was great to cook with.

Ron Damon

I asked for water and she gave me gasoline, was the title of a Howlin' Wolf blues. Good to know man. But I am afraid my days of roadside cooking are behind me. I first visited LP in 2004 and it was starting to be a bit of a tourist circus. Hopefully I am not disappointed when i visit again.

Yan 

I would counsel you to reconsider that notion. Southeast Asians are small statured with correspondingly small appetite. As a bike tourist you're not going to be able to source enough calories without cooking. Eventually I got so embarrassed by always asking for seconds at restaurants, I would buy one lunch, bike five minutes down the road and go to a second restaurant and buy a second lunch.

axolotl

I strongly disagree with your assertion that touring cyclists can't get enough calories in SE Asia without cooking. I've toured in Laos, Thailand, & Malaysia. I was with a partner then entire time in Malaysia, and with 3 other cyclists much of my time in Laos. On several occasions, I ate dinner with other touring cyclists in Thailand. We never cooked and we always got plenty to eat. We never had to ask for seconds or go to a 2nd restaurant after a meal. I never met a touring cyclist in SE Asia who complained about portions. The food is wonderful in Thailand and Malaysia. It's less varied in rural Laos but is still tasty. The food in SE Asia is almost always delicious, inexpensive, and readily available. It's one of the best things about traveling in SE Asia. I would never bother with a stove or camping equipment there.

Yan 

I had no issues in Thailand and Malaysia; however in Laos the typical road side shack meal is a small clump of rice noodles in hot water. I could eat four of those bowls and still not be full. In Myanmar, I was in the country for 18 days, and from the afternoon of the first day until the 18th day I had not one solid sh*t the entire time, I wish I was exaggerating. So at some point you may begin to pine for a stove simply so you can cook and eat plain white rice for a couple of days. I lost over 10lbs in the 2.5 weeks.

I am a 6 foot tall male. When I rode Shanghai to Singapore in 2010 I ended the trip at 128 lb bodyweight (different year, different trip from Myanmar above). Yes I typed that correctly. Going through Malaysia during Ramadan didn't help.

bwilli88 

From Phnom Penh, go north to Kampong Cham, 125KM or so either on Rt 6 or follow the river on rt 223. From there go to Kratie cross the Mekong either at Kampong Cham or a Steung Trang,130km or so. Then head north to Steung Traeng also about 140km. From there you have to figure your own way as I do not know further.
OBTW I live in Kampong Cham

Ron Damon

Which route would you take if you cared about scenery, less traffic and lodging options?

bwilli88 

The trip I told you about is along the Mekong. It will give you some good river scenery. The other route out Route 8 to 7 thru Memot, Snuol and out east to Route 76 is thru the Mountainous region of eastern Cambodia. Particularly from Snoul to Saen Monourom. Once past Saen Monourom it will continue to be rolling hills all the way to Ban Lung. It is very beautiful hilly jungle scenery. decent roads for either route.

Another route would be PP to Skun and go north to Preah Viheah. I know some of that route but not real pretty until you are past Rt 6 and onto Rt 62. Then I know very little.

Ron Damon

Yeah, based on Saddlesore's tip I've been looking at that Snoul to Ban Lung haul on Rt.76., then a swing westwards to Stung Treng via Rt.78, continuing westwards towards Preah Vihear on Rt.64. And then crossing into Thailand or continuing westwards and then south to Siem Reap. I've been to Angkor Wat before but it is so magnificent that it merits a repeat visit.

Ron Damon

...the other variant calls for continuing north after Stung Treng into Laos to visit Vat Phou and then swinging west to Thailand via Pakse.

bwilli88 

Looking again at your question about traffic, scenery and good lodging, follow the Mekong. unless you need to have mountains. The east road sucks for travel because of traffic.

Oh, the traffic laws here are just suggestions. Do not stop at a stop sign, definitely stop at a red stop light and look carefully before proceeding thru a green light.
I have been traveling on a 2-lane road and have had 3 large trucks traveling abreast come at me multiple times. Alway keep an eye out for an escape route to one side or another while here in Cambodia.

Let me know if you come thru Kampong Cham and I would like to meet you and ride a bit. PM here or email bwilli88@ Gmail

Ron Damon

Will reach out when and if I roll into KC. 😉 Still debating where to go, either Cambodia and|or thereabouts, or Taiwan.

Been to Preah Vihear? Worth the haul, I hear...

saddlesores

sure, it's worth a visit, but.......

.....if you've just gone through angkor wat, it's kinda 'meh.'
....if the farmers are burning off the rice fields, there's not much view other than haze.



if you do go, say hello to the boys!






if you decide to go further west, past angkor, you could try beantay chmar. satellite temple complex of angkor, similar architecture, but almost no tourists. and the local community has homestays available.
https://www.visitbanteaychhmar.org/

this was my homestay for two nights