The Four Corners of South East Asia

This is the grand tour of mainland Southeast Asia, a twenty five day loop through four countries covering roughly 5,200 kilometres with daily legs anywhere between 150 and 400 kilometres. The operator describes the route as ninety five percent paved, with the remaining five percent gravel or broken surface, and builds in rest days at Luang Prabang, Hanoi and Siem Reap. It begins with the best of northern Thailand. Doi Inthanon at 2,565 metres and the Japanese war museum come on the first riding day, then the Long Neck Karen village near Pai, and the famous 1,864 curve road down to Chiang Rai and the White Temple. The Golden Triangle at Sop Ruak, with the House of Opium, is the last Thai stop before the Lao border. Laos is Mekong country: Luang Namtha, Pak Beng at the confluence of the Nam Beng and the Mekong, Hongsa and the old royal capital of Luang Prabang, then back north through Muang Xai and over the Song Cha mountain to the Vietnamese border at Tay Trang. Vietnam takes up the longest stretch, from the Dien Bien Phu battlefield up the O Qui Ho pass at 2,005 metres to Sapa, through the rice terraces of Nghia Lo to Hanoi, then south along the Ho Chi Minh Trail past the Dong Loc memorial to Phong Nha, the DMZ and Hien Luong Bridge at Dong Ha, the Hue Citadel and the Hai Van pass into Hoi An, and finally the highland roads to Pleiku. Cambodia closes the loop with the Yeak Laom volcanic lake and the Mekong at Stung Treng, two nights at Siem Reap for Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and the Bayon, then Battambang and Pailin before the border back into Thailand and the coastal run to Pattaya. A tour leader rides with the group, local guides join in each country, and a support vehicle carries luggage. Twenty four nights with breakfast, twenty lunches and thirteen dinners, fuel, unlimited mileage and entrance fees are included. Visas at each border, flights, alcohol, insurance and a suggested one hundred dollar staff tip are not. Five riders confirm a departure.

Bike Tour Asia's longest regional trip covers about 5,200 kilometres in twenty five days, starting in Chiang Mai and finishing at Pattaya after a full circuit of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The first week rides the Mae Hong Son Loop and the Golden Triangle before crossing into Laos for the Mekong towns of Pak Beng and Luang Prabang. Vietnam follows by way of Dien Bien Phu, the O Qui Ho pass into Sapa, the terraced valleys at Nghia Lo and Hanoi, then a long southward run down the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Phong Nha, the old demilitarised zone at Dong Ha, the Hai Van pass and Hoi An to the central highlands at Pleiku. Cambodia brings Stung Treng on the Mekong and two nights at Siem Reap for Angkor, before the final crossing back into Thailand.