Summary

Summary

Total Trip Distance: 4408 km

Duration: 6 weeks

Thailand (Chiang Mai, Khaem Son, Khao Yai, Aranyaprathet)

Cambodia (Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kratie)

Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City -by bus)

Laos (Pakse, Thakhek, Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang)

Thailand (Thung Chiang, Chiang Mai)

Back at home in Chiang Mai

 When first planning this trip we were both going to be on Mark’s CBR 250.  Luckily he upgraded to the CBX 500 in January which meant Jenny started riding the CBR.  She enjoyed riding a bigger bike enough that we decided to take 2 bikes on the trip.  We can’t imagine what the rougher bits of the roads would have been like with both of us on the CBR!

We changed the route slightly as we went, and were glad to discover the Laos/Thai border crossing that saved a day and turned out to be a great alternative.  The biggest change was deciding not to try to drive to China.  There were several factors:  difficulty getting across the border, that motorbikes are not allowed in Kunming or on the Hwy to Dali, much colder weather and finally, that we are only permitted to have the bikes outside of Thailand for 30 days and we were already 16 days into our second permit.  We are going to fly Chiang Mai – Kunming the week we get home to finish the interviews for Mark’s research.