The 5 Fingers of Southeast Asia

Our first day's ride on our Motorcycle Tour of Southeast Asia brings us immediately to our first border crossing. We pass into Cambodia and through small villages on our way to Siem Reap, which has become Cambodia's, and possibly Asia's, most holy of tourist pilgrimages. Siem Reap is a bustling commercial town because of the nearby Angkor Wat temples, but also boasts a vibrant nightlife of pubs, bars, pool rooms, music, restaurants. It's a great place to unwind after our initial ride and have a few drinks whilst soaking up the atmosphere. Oh, and by the way, in Thailand they drive on the left side of the road but in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam it's right side!
(365 km/227 miles)

You're about to transition from those who haven't yet seen Angkor Wat, to those privileged few who have. It's right up there with Machu Picchu or the Taj Mahal or the medinas of Marrakech. The sheer scale of the temple complex is mind-blowing, and a visit to Ta Prohm is particularly impressive, as the authorities have left much of it in the same condition as they found it, still covered in lush jungle growth and creeping vines. The place is awesome, and a must see on any motorcycle tours of Southeast Asia.

We're back on the bikes today to meander across some of rural Cambodia. It's a pretty flat country but we'll find a few hills and curvy roads to keep us entertained as we go via Preah Vihear and head east until we reach our destination on the Mekong River at Stung Treng.
(300 km/186 miles)

We continue in an easterly direction on our Southeast Asia Motorcycle Tour. We visit Yak Lom crater lake, a 4,000-year-old crater. A picturesque place, a great opportunity for a swim. Next in line is our second border crossing, at Le Thanh. It's a somewhat bureaucratic four-stage process of getting riders and vehicles out of Cambodia, then riders and vehicles into Vietnam. But sanity usually prevails and soon enough we'll be winding through some picturesque hills to regional Pleiku in the western districts of Vietnam.
(300 km/186 miles)

We are heading to the town of Kon Tum, where there are an old wooden church and a Catholic seminary school, a legacy of French missionaries from over 100 years ago. We'll then proceed via the Violac Pass down to the coast and head north to the beachside resort town of Hoi An. Our hotel is right on the beach, but if you don't like sand between your toes there's also a swimming pool.
(330 km/205 miles)

Today is our rest day in Vietnam during our 28 day Southeast Asia Motorcycle Tour. We can leave you to totally do your own thing, you can lie on the beach all day or explore the centre of Hoi An, or we can suggest a few options such as perhaps a short ride to the UNESCO Heritage site of My Son, the former capital of Champa Kingdom dating back to the 7th century. In the evening, Hoi An old town becomes a stunning spectacle of colourful lanterns, an absolute must-see.

We bypass the busy nearby town of Da Nang and head across the spectacular Ocean Cloud Pass on a high coastal road. We'll stop for lunch in the historic Old City centre of Hue, the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the national capital from 1802 to 1945. We will visit the Forbidden Purple City, Đại Nội Citadel, surrounded by a moat and thick stone walls. Last part of the day we stick to the coast and finding our hotel at Dong Ha.
(190 km/118 miles)

In the morning we visit the Vinh Moc tunnels, built to shelter North Vietnamese from the American bombings. We will walk part of the tunnel complex and get an understanding of how the locals survived during the harsh war years. From here we turn away from the coast and head inland. Meander through the foothills on the long narrow highway QL15, also known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. Our next destination for the day is the Phong Nha cave, UNESCO world heritage site. We will explore the cave by boat, a two-hour enjoyable boat tour. Then we ride a short distance to our 'Farm Stay' accommodation for the night.
(150 km/93 miles)

Today on our Southeast Asia Motorcycle Tour, we wander a little more across some Vietnamese countryside before striking west and coming to our next border crossing. At Nam Phao check post we cross into Laos and continue for a short distance to our accommodation in nearby Lak Sao.
(260 km/162 miles)

It's difficult to imagine or comprehend, but it's a startling fact that during the Vietnam War, the US military dropped 260 million bombs on neighbouring Laos, which is more than fell over the entire of Europe during the whole of World War II. Some 80 million of these failed to detonate, and over the ensuing five decades, less than 1% of these have subsequently been cleared.

We travel deep within the Laos forests and emerge further north at a town called Phonsavan in time to visit the nearby 'Plain of Jars’ and UNESCO megalithic archaeological site, another unusual sight that few tourists have visited, so another unmissable stop on ourSoutheast Asia Motorcycle Tour.
(340 km/211 miles)

A beautiful winding road takes us further north to another UNESCO World Heritage town, that of Luang Prabang. It's a one-time capital and ancient learning centre, full of stunning Buddhist temples.
(260 km/162 miles)

Today is our third rest day. The town of Luang Prabang is a former royal capital of Laos and is easily explored on foot or wheels – you'll have the use of your bike if you want it. It’s an unstructured day to give you options; some of you will probably visit a few of the 32 wats (temples), others may choose to ride to the nearby Khung Si waterfalls, take a river cruise on the Mekong River. Or sit quietly with a drink and count the number of saffron-robed monks.

Laos is an incredibly diverse little country, where 49 different ethnic groups have been identified in the population of less than 8 million. We’ll ride through a few rural villages and lush farmlands which will have you wanting to stop for that award-winning magazine cover photo. Our Southeast Asia Motorcycle Tour is heading for Luang Namtha in the remote northwest of the country.
(310 km/193 miles)

Another day, another border-hopping. We cross the Friendship Bridge from Laos into Thailand (remember to use the left side of the road!) and proceed to the legendary Golden Triangle region, so named for the three borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. The local Opium Museum presents an interesting diversion.
(250 km/155 miles)

No time to get complacent about which side of the road – we're off to Myanmar which is again right-side driving. Through Tachiliek check-post we come to extensive forested areas and lots of twisty winding roads. If you check out the route on Google Maps, you'll see there are not too many straight sections on this part of the Southeast Asia Motorcycle Tour! We meander westwards to the small outpost of Keng Tung.
(190 km/118 miles)

Long but stunning day through the hinterland of northeast Myanmar awaits us. Some of it is still virgin forest, and some tracts have been cultivated into those iconic tiered rice paddies so typical of this part of the world. We continue the 300k or so to Namsang.
(340 km/211 miles)

Our journey is continuing west, we come to more populated regions and the larger town of Taunggyi before finding our accommodation in Nyaungshwe on the shores of Inle Lake.
(150 km/93 miles)

Inle Lake is like something straight out of a Nat Geo documentary. The local fishermen here have developed an unusual style of paddling their craft – they stand on one leg at the end of their boat and wrap their other leg around the single oar to paddle. This leaves both hands free to manipulate and cast their net, whilst on the move. It also gives them a higher vantage point above the reeds and plants, to spot the small schools of fish they seek. We'll have a rest day here and go out onto the lake to observe this traditional and unique fishing method.

Today is a somewhat long riding day and takes us to the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Pagan. Pronounced 'Pah-Gahn' and not to be confused with our modern interpretation of 'pagan', the Pagans were Buddhists and were the first to unify several disparate regions into what later became the country now called Myanmar. Between the 9th and 11th centuries they built, can you believe, over 10,000 Buddhist temples and monasteries on the plains around the town of Bagan, our destination for tonight. More than 2,000 of these temples remain today, recently declared UNESCO heritage site, and it’s a stunning sight to gaze down upon them from a vantage point near our hotel.
(330 km/205 miles)

We stick to the smaller regional roads today, heading to Taungoo, a former Capital of Burma. The forests here provide excellent hardwoods including teak which forms a major export industry, as well as a certain kind of palm called areca which is popular for supplying betel for the locals. We run parallel to mountain ranges on our east and west as we head south to Taungoo.
(400 km/249 miles)

The district of Taungoo was once, in the 16th Century, the largest Empire in the history of South-East Asia but was short-lived. Following the Second Anglo-Burmese War, the British annexed the southern half of the district including the city of Taungoo, building a Royal Air Force airbase there for The Flying Tigers.

Today we ride through the Karen state from where the Long Neck tribes originate (and we'll visit them in a couple of days), to reach the town of Kyaikto. We'll reach here in mid-afternoon, with time enough to visit the nearby Temple of the Golden Rock (Google it!)
(250 km/155 miles)

Today we will ride via the southern Myanmar hinterland to our final border crossing. One last time we need to process bikes+riders through two sets of Customs and Immigration, and then we have a wonderful short green ride through Thai forests to Mae Sot.
(270 km/168 miles)

We’ll have very little traffic on today’s ride, which hugs the Myanmar border for much of its length. We’ll pass through many small villages and frequently ride by poppy fields which the authorities would tell us are for the production of methadone, but of course, much of the world’s illicit opium is also cultivated here. It's a long and delightful day's ride north again, to Mae Hong Son.
(390 km/242 miles)

Before we ride today, we'll visit the Karen tribespeople, better known by the less attractive touristic moniker of The Long Necks. They're natives of Myanmar who migrated across the porous border several generations ago and made Thailand their home, and the women of the tribe typically wear heavy brass rings around their neck (and arms and legs) to give a 'stretched' or elongated appearance, which they find more attractive. Then we head off to explore the roads for which northern Thailand is justifiably famous! It's a short half day's ride to Pai through some absolute riding nirvana. We'll get there in time to explore the famous Pai Walking Street in the early evening.
(180 km/112 miles)

Our final rest day. There are a few sight-seeing options available in the surrounding district, but our hotel has an attractive swimming pool and cold beers… There are lots of motorcycle-specific T-shirts available here, and even a Certificate from the local Tourist Office, proclaiming you have just ridden 1,864 curves at an altitude of 1200 meters. If you want to explore beyond the hotel and waking street, visit the Grand Canyon, elephant camp, Chinese village, rafting on Pai River.

We only rode about 1,000 of those 1,864 curves two days ago, so guess what? On our last day's ride of our Southeast Asia Motorcycle Tour, we do the rest of them, on the way from Pai to the northern district capital of Chiang Mai. When we get there we'll need to convince you to surrender your bike keys! Time for a beer, a shower, a swim (perhaps not in that order) then our farewell dinner and a look back upon what we've achieved in 4 weeks.
(190 km/118 miles)

Our Southeast Asia Motorcycle Tour officially ends with breakfast, then you're on your way to the airport. From Chiang Mai, you can fly Domestic or International, depending on your connections. By now, it's been fun!