Vietnam-Cambodia Bike Tour 2018

Our first cycling experience in a foreign country! A light and fast bikepacking ride from Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) down south to the Mekong Delta, then up north to Phnom Penh, plus a side trip to Angkor Wat temples – squeezed in a 8-day itinerary last April 2018. Plane tickets to major Indochina cities are now relatively cheap, plus local airlines charges only P1,000 for MTBs (Legazpi-Manila-Saigon, bare bikes unboxed and un-bagged).

The first day is spent travelling from Sorsogon to Saigon – bus to Legazpi City, fly to Manila, the long queues in NAIA immigration, fly to Saigon, and taxi from airport to District 1. There are lots of accommodation options in the streets and narrow alleys of Pham Ngu Lao, especially backpackers and budget  hotels (P 1,000 or less per night for 2 persons with breakfast).

We arrived at Pham Ngu Lao area at 2 AM on the second day, checked-in at our hotel, and immediately sought out food - and had our first pho bho (beef noddle soup) and bia (beer) at 3AM. It was early morning and yet throngs of tourists of varying nationalities are having good time in bars lining Pham Ngu Lao Street. We walked the streets of Saigon the whole day visiting a Hindu temple, Saigon central park, the war museum, Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Post Office and the Ben Thanh market. When crossing busy Saigon streets full of motorbikes – go with the flow of local pedestrians.

War museum, Vietnam war from the perspective of Vietnamese people

Notre Dame Cathedral

Saigon to Can Tho, Vietnam, 171 km, 9:31 moving time

Saigon streets is a maze, a challenge in navigation especially for a foreign cyclist. Then there is the multitude of motorbikes outnumbering cars and trucks by the thousands. Our navigation aid is maps.me app on a mobile phone mounted on the handlebar which we used throughout the trip and we never got lost or deviated from the pre-planned route.

Started out from Pham Ngu Lao at 5:30 AM into the early morning Saigon traffic rush. The city urban sprawl stretched out for kilometers as we headed southwest to Highway 1. There is an underlying rhythm in the Vietnam motorbike traffic which we got attuned to after a day riding with them: no sudden sideways movements, let them pass left and right, counter flowing is common, and full attention to the front. The roads are good over here, even better than Philippine roads. Getting food is easy as there are plenty of roadside restaurants offering good balanced dishes – rice, pork/chicken/fish, with soup and always with a heaping serving of various vegetables. Never seen an obese Vietnamese. The food gets cheaper away from tourist areas.

Our weapon of choice for the trip: an MTB and a foldie.

Rural Vietnam roads.

Crossing the Mekong River near My Tho.

River ferry rides is inevitable when cycling Mekong Delta.

Where to?

Reaching the town of Tan-an, we left the insane traffic of Highway 1 for a more rural road leading to My Tho. Cycling these rural roads is much like cycling Central Luzon back roads. We reached My Tho city before lunch time and crossed the Mekong River over an impressive bridge. Turning west, we cycled across rural Mekong Delta communities and had to take two river ferries to reach Vinh Long. It was already near dusk when we reached the big city of Can Tho. By 7:30 PM, we checked-in at Kim Long Hotel (highly recommended) just near the river promenade. Lots of foreign tourist by riverside restaurants meant more expensive menus, so we looked for where the locals eat. Chicken, rice, veggies please (ordered over Google translate) plus iced tea, for about P75.

Can Tho to Chau Doc, Vietnam, 120 km, 5:49 moving time

The day started early at 5 AM for the Cai Rang floating market. It was a 5-hour boat trip to a river market where agricultural products are traded between wooden boats and with a side trip to a noodle factory. There was more tourist than traders.

It was 10 AM when we started rolling out of Can Tho. Middle of the summer and Vietnam countryside was sweltering. Before arriving in Vietnam, I was expecting a pleasant ride down rice fields and farm houses but the road side scene is mostly urbanized – strip development along major roads. In my opinion, Vietnam has overtaken the Philippines in terms of standard of living and infrastructure. Never seen a beggar, or a “taong grasa”, or makeshift housing "barong-barong" along the road. And not one dog loitering the streets! No tricycles, pedicabs, jeepneys or its equivalent – everybody has motorbikes. The terrain during the entire duration of the trip was flat as a pancake.

Mostly motorbike traffic all the way from Saigon to Phnom Penh.

Plenty of iced tea/coffee shops offering hammocks line the roads of Vietnam.

War memorial park honoring soldiers who died in the French and American war, and a flat tire.

The road from Can Tho to Chau Doc follows this river.

Our favorite refreshment, ca phe da (strong brewed coffee with plenty of ice).

Uncle Ho! The most revered hero of Vietnam.

It was dark when we reached the border city of Chau Doc where we settled for a P 500/night hotel and a P 75 street meal. For whatever reasons, Vietnam hotels insists on keeping your passport upon check-in.

Chau Doc to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 154 km, 8:42 moving time

Another long day of cycling and with uncertainties. We had no Cambodian currency, first timers on land border crossing, unsure of road conditions, even unsure of our safety with the “killing fields” history of Cambodia. And it is a long ride, almost a century ride in a foreign road.

Many have commented to the long distances that we cycle daily during this trip, thinking that we a riding too hard to enjoy the experience. Well, we have trained for this ride – doing 200+ km weekend practice and heat training rides. Moreover, we packed light – a short checklist with absolutely no camping equipment (tents, stoves, etc.). Everything fits on a Sandugo backpack and a Larga handlebar bag.

Sidewalk breakfast at Chau Doc..

Street market.

Rice fields of Vietnam.

Started out later than planned at 5:45 AM – had to wait for the hotel desk to appear so we can retrieve our passports. After a breakfast at a sidewalk “diner”, we cycled to the border crossing which is about 26 km away. By 9 AM we were at Tinh Bien-Phnom Den land border crossing in the middle of rice fields. Exit stamp, then entry stamp in 30 minutes. No visa required – hail ASEAN! 

Vietnam-Cambodia border crossing.

Friendly Cambodia immigration man.

Mid-morning and 120 km to go to Phnom Penh! Cambodia leg started with overcast skies and on surprisingly good road with little traffic. We managed to change dongs to riels in a "sari-sari" store near the border. About 50 km from the border is the large town of Doun Kaev where we had lunch and rest stop. The next 78 km to Phnom Penh was very challenging – the afternoon sun was unbearably hot, motorbike traffic is getting denser and the road condition deteriorated. Badly asphalted roads meant a slow, jarring and dusty ride. Crazy truck drivers and thousands of Khmers on motorbikes are congregating towards the capital after a holiday and we are in the middle of it!

It's mid-morning, with 120 km to go. 

Mid-afternoon, brutally hot in the Cambodian countryside.

City of Phnom Penh.

We managed to reach Phnom Penh with daylight left but got stuck on traffic at the downtown area. It was dark when we checked-in at City Center Hotel (P 800/night) just across the Royal Palace. Plenty of tourists, restaurants and bars fronting the river. Food is relatively affordable and everything is priced and paid in US$. Dinner was followed by a very happy pizza and Angkor beer.

Angkor Wat

Sixth day. The plan was to visit the Royal Palace early then catch the 11 PM bus going to Siem Reap but we woke up late – after three days of 445 km cycling and the happy pizza. After a hasty pack-up and breakfast was a trippy 6-hour bus ride across the Cambodian countryside.

Angkor Wat is a vast complex of temple spread out in the jungle and one of the best way to explore the site is by bicycle. We did a clockwise bike tour of Angkor big circuit on the seventh day, and a tuk-tuk tour of the little circuit the following day.  

Nice ride! Long live long distance cycling! Here is the pre-planned route map:

Next project would be to bike the Indian Himalayas in 2019, from Manali to Leh to the Khardung La pass or the "highest motorable pass in the world" plus a trek to Stok Kangri!

By Noel Mercado II