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For the past quarter of a century Lonely Planet travel guides have been the market leaders in travel guides for independent travellers, who are in turn generally regarded as the pioneers of new destinations. Therefore when Lonely Planet recently brought out a guide book entirely devoted to cycling in Indochina this can be taken as a sign of things to come. Biking tours through Vietnam are nothing new and Exotissimo have been successfully organizing these for both groups and individuals for more than five years but it is only during the last 18 months or so that this once niche market has really taken off. And it is not only the specialist adventure tour operators who are interested in biking programmes, cycling segments are now being added to mainstream classic tours.
So just what is the attraction of seeing a country from the saddle of a bike rather than from the comfort of an air-conditioned car or bus? In Vietnam, and Indochina in general, where the vast majority of the population do not drive cars, it allows the visitor to escape from the tourist trail and really experience the country close up and meet its people on an equal footing. Instead of passing through the landscape you can become a part of it, with all its sights, sounds and smells. For visitors who have experienced cycling through the countries of Indochina the highlight of the trip is usually something that was completely unscheduled, perhaps stopping for a roadside rest and being invited into a farmer’s straw hut for tea or helping to harvest rice or being invited into a one-roomed county school to teach a few words of English. Just how much actual biking is involved depends on the individual and the distance to be covered in each day. All our biking tours are accompanied by a back-up vehicle for when legs begin to get weary. In Vietnam, where the daily distances to be covered are usually well over 150 km and can be up to 300 km, the travelling is split between periods in the saddle and periods resting in the back-up vehicle. Exotissimo are one of the few ground operators in Indochina with an experienced team of English-speaking biking guides who cycle along with the clients as well as taking care of the more traditional guide’s role of imparting information along the way. Vietnam is without a doubt the most popular biking destination in Indochina, and for many specialist tour operators it is also one of the most popular biking destinations worldwide, but Cambodia and Laos are also beginning to appear in the brochures. The classic Vietnam bike tour is from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi (or vice versa) along Highway One. Although Highway One, Vietnam’s main artery, can be a little ‘hairy’ in places, it is hard to beat the wonderful scenery along the route. It is all here, deserted sandy beaches, brilliant green rice fields, groves of palm trees, dusty towns with bustling street markets, friendly smiling faces and all set against the dramatic back drop of the Central Highlands.
Vietnam’s rice bowl, the Mekong Delta, in south of the country makes for an interesting three or four day biking trip. The flat terrain is ideally suited to exploration by bike and although the main thoroughfares are rather busy it is easy to get off the beaten track along side the countless waterways that meander through the delta region. Exotissimo’s 2002 brochure features a sample 3 day programme called ‘The Mekong Delta by Bike’. The similarly flat farming land of the Red River Delta in the north of Vietnam also offers opportunities for some pleasant cycling. A half-day trip from the port city of Haiphong follows country lanes through unspoilt villages and verdant rice paddies from where children shout greetings and wave enthusiastically. A very different northern biking experience can be had up in the far north around the hill station of Sapa. Here the cycling is on winding mountain roads with terraced rice fields in an area populated by the colourful H’mong and Dao minorities. Overnight stops can be arranged in mountain villages with H’mong or Dao families.
In comparison to Vietnam, biking tours are relatively new in neighbouring Cambodia and Laos, however this is set to change as both countries offer some interesting possibilities. For example Exotissimo’s 10-day ‘Saigon to Angkor by Bike’ itinerary links Vietnam’s dynamic southern metropolis to the archaeological masterpiece of the Angkor temples, passing through some rarely visited parts of the Cambodian countryside en route. Once at Angkor what better way to see the dozens of temple sites than by bike with an itinerary like our 7 day ‘Cycling Angkor’ programme. Cambodia’s south coast has some fine deserted beaches and our ‘Southern Loop’ itinerary takes in one of the best Sihanoukville as well as Kirirom National Park and some adventurous cycling through Bokor Mountain National Park.
With the improved security situation within the country, Laos now offers some enticing opportunities for exploration by bike with its northern peaks and hill tribes and the contrasting bicycle-friendly lowlands of the south. A bike trip from the capital Vientiane to the mountain kingdom of Luang Prabang offers a real possibility to see parts of Laos that few outsiders have seen before as well as some beautiful scenery. In southern Laos the flat terrain makes for easier biking and options include trips to Champasak and the nearby pre-Angkorian ruins of Vat Phou as well some impressive waterfalls, rich farming lands and lush tropical forest. For more information on biking trips in Indochina please contact us at biking@exotissimo.com |
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