Cyling To Malaysia

[fdimike]

Hi All,

My name is Mike and and I am an avid senior cyclist. I'm retired living in Udon Thani and have completed a number of in country as well as several out of country tours here in SEA. I am not a fast rider but can do 100-140km in a day if necessary. I am much more into leisurely riding taking in the sights, sounds and people along the way.

I'm in the early stages of planning my next ride to the west coast of Malaysia as far south as Singapore. I haven't decided on the return as yet but am contemplating flying back to BKK and then cycling back to Udon Thani from there. The alternative would be to cycle back through Malaysia and ultimately to Udon Thani. I'm expecting this trip to take anywhere from 2-3 mos with a departure the first week in May. I am not a camper so sleeping will be in affordable resorts,guesthouses, or hotels along the way. I've never encountered a problem finding a decent place to sleep during any of my previous rides and don't expect to on this ride either.

My planned route (always open to modification) is to ride from Udon Thani to Sukothai via the Khon Kaen area. I then plan to turn south toward Nakhon Sawan, Ayutthaya, and Thonburi. From there I'll travel along the east coast of Thailand through Hua Hin etc to Chumphon where I'll cut over to the west coast of Thailand continuing down to the west coast of Malaysia to Singapore.

I am currently planning this as a solo adventure but would welcome anyone out there wishing to join up with me for part or all of the ride. Age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality are all unimportant to me as long as the person likes to cycle. As a point of reference I traveled to Cambodia via Laos the later part of last year. I began the trip alone and met up with a couple of French riders in Laos who joined in for the trip to Cambodia and beyond. Met a Brit on line through the www.crazyguyonabike.com web site who was coming to Thailand and did an in-country week long ride with him. My journals from some of my previous rides are posted there as well under the user name of fdimike.

I look forward to hearing back from anyone interested in this adventure.

[PaulHamon]

how was the trip?

[Card]

You sure it's safe in the southern leg? You will need to pass through some pretty unsettled areas with IEDs, shootings, murders being committed all the time - and that's just the security forces.

[PaulHamon]

You sure it's safe in the southern leg? You will need to pass through some pretty unsettled areas with IEDs, shootings, murders being committed all the time - and that's just the security forces.

South is lovely and the people are great. I went down the inside until Hat Yai.. then crossed over to other cost... I crossed over at Padang Besar and others get a ferry at Saturn.

You don't need to go thru the RED ZONE, which is SAD because Mr Pumpy says it's very nice riding down that COAST

Paul

[fdimike]

Unfortunately, I had to cancel my trip within a few days after leaving Udon Thani when I injured my knee. I have rescheduled the trip without going to Sukothai for late Sept of this year. A riding friend of mine from France will be coming to Thailand to accompany me and maybe another from the UK.

Paul I rode through the southern provinces a couple of years back as I was returning from my trip through Laos, Vietnam & Malaysia. The only thing negative I can say is that there are limited facilities between major cities even when riding the main highway. I primarily rode highway 42 from the Malaysian border through Narathiwat & Pattani continuing along the coast to Bangkok. I checked in with all the Thai army checkpoints to ask about security along the road. They advised me to stay on the main highway and avoid the beach areas. I was always treated well by the local folks. Despite the Islamic ban on eating pork it was available at select restaurants in both Narathiwat & Pattani.

The ride in Sept will be taking me through the west side of Malaysia.

[Rambee51]

Hello mike I am new to this site and I wish you well on your trips.

Would be interested in any future trips you organize up north any time in the future. As au have not explored any part of northern Thailand yet but it's on the cards.

[fdimike]

Hi Rambee

I'm presently on a tour to Thakek Laos with a friend from Australia. We should be back in Udon Thani in about 2 weeks. I have no set plans for future rides but am expecting my french riding buddy to return to Thailand in Jan 2013. We( FR, AU & USA) have tentative plans to head to China via Savannahkhet Laos & Hanoi VN sometime around March 2013. We expect that tour to last about 3 months. Let me know if you're interested in joining us.

Regards

Mike

[AjarnP]

Hello mike I am new to this site and I wish you well on your trips.

Would be interested in any future trips you organize up north any time in the future. As au have not explored any part of northern Thailand yet but it's on the cards.

HI Rambee,

I liv ein Chiang Rai and am also an avid ROAD cyclist. This area in my humble opinion probably has most of the very best cycling routes in the country. I would be pleased to point you in the right direction for some great rides flat, hills or just plain cliffs we have it all. One nice little tour is to head out in the general diection of West and head over to Chiang Mai, depending on route it is either around 220 Km or nearer to 300 (or perm any amount beteen the two) so two or three days for me.

Another really wonderful trip is to ride a loop from Chiang Rai, to Mae Sai/CHiang Saen, along the Mekong to Chiang Khong and back on a route via Phu Chi Fah. It's a while since I did it but from memory its about 350Km with day two being pretty steep.

Drop me a PM if you'd like to continue.

Cheers

AjarnP