East and North East Thailand routes

[dereksheph]

Were now in northern italy having cycled the complete east coast from Trieste to Lecce and from Taranto back up to Siena. We fly to Thailand on 25th and need some help.....Has anyone cycled from Bangkok to Friendship Bridge border crossing into Laos? I'm putting together a route and itinerary and would welcome any assistance on long distance routes in Thailand. Day to day stuff is easily got and there's a ton of posts on the web  about one or two day routes but I would like to get an overview of  the whole road.
As I said, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Derek and Linda

[jags]

haven't a clue but man great cycling so far enjoy Thailand stay safe.

jags.

[dereksheph]

Thanks mate !
G

[Matt2matt2002]

Let me know your visa plans. I'm not up to speed on them now but I have heard there are constraints on entering certain countries more than once within a period and also visas obtained at borders can be shorter than those obtained in advance.
I like the idea of touring the 3 or 4 countries around Vietnam so look forward to hearing more about your plans/ itinerary.
Good luck

[j-ms]

Hi Derek

Crazy Guy on a Bike (https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/) is the go-to source of information for touring in SE Asia (and the rest of the world too in my opinion).  Restrict your searches to Journals and to the areas you expect to visit and you will pick up a ton of useful information.

We are currently in Vietnam having cycled up through Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia from Singapore so we didn't cross into Laos this year.  Last year we crossed into Laos twice from Thailand and entered Thailand three times (at the airport and from Laos and Cambodia).  However, conditions do change and it might best to arrange a multiple entry Thai visa before arriving.  This year we arranged Thai visas in Kuala Lumpur and Vietnamese visas in Sihanoukville but last year we just just arrived at the border posts and sorted them out there.

North East Thailand is mostly extremely flat close to the Mekhong but further away from the river, some of the National Parks in particular, have some good hills.  I suggest having only a broad itinerary.  Thailand is a very easy country in which to cycle tour and not much planing is needed.

We have spent four months out of the last sixteen cycling in Thailand and I am happy to field any questions you might have.

Regards
Jean-Mac

[dereksheph]

Let me know your visa plans. I'm not up to speed on them now but I have heard there are constraints on entering certain countries more than once within a period and also visas obtained at borders can be shorter than those obtained in advance.
I like the idea of touring the 3 or 4 countries around Vietnam so look forward to hearing more about your plans/ itinerary.
Good luck

Hi
I'll be updating on progress intermittently as we go along but after some geeking, we're fairly sure that we can get 30 days Visa on arrival in Thai Camb and Laos but only a 15day Visa at the viet border. We plans to do a rough clockwise tour with about a month in each country. A 30 day Viet Visa will be got prior to going at an embassy. We will reenter Thailand after 3 months on another 30 day visa. We reckon this is long enough to be out of Thai to not look like we're residing there. Also, we will have flights booked from BKK onwards to prove we are reentering temporarily to fly out. I am hearing about an EVisa for Vietnam which is useable at land borders which started this year. But can't find much info on it.
Cheers
Derek

[Matt2matt2002]

Good advice given re crazy guy
Here is a recent  copy of one guy's plans for a ride through the area from a visa point of view.
Quote:........

This is how I'm hoping to have solved the problems with visas. (as EU citizen).
Vietnam. I had to apply for a visa online, an got a confirmation letter to show a the airport. That'll give me 30 days in Vietnam (for the minimum of 1700 km)
Cambodia. I ordered and got a visa online. I can stay in Cambodia for 30 days which has to be done before December 3rd.
Laos. I can get a visa at the border. 30 days.
Tailand. I have to get to the embassy in Vientiane. Hopefully I can get a 2 month visa even if I donīt have a flight out of Thailand. They might need documentation, that I have enough money too.
Malaysia. I can get a visa at the border.
Indonesia. I have to get to an embassy in Malaysia.

[John Saxby]

Crazy Guy on a Bike (https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/) is the go-to source of information for touring in SE Asia (and the rest of the world too in my opinion).

+1 for Jean-Marc's advice, Derek.

CGOAB can be a bit much if you're looking it it for the first time, but if you know what you're looking for, then it's the place to go. The journals are the core resource for your questions, but sometimes, both "Articles" and "Forums" contain useful info. (You can ignore the sideswipes at Rohloffs that you may see -- just jealousy.)