Okay, free beer to the guy who wins this contest. Next year I'm really pushing to do a RAGBRAI ride, or if summer classes fuck that, I'll do something to Madison with Warmshowers.

WHen I graduate, Spring 2013, I really really really want to knock out two life goals at once: tour in a foreign country AND visit asia. Whomever has information about the cheapest tour in asia possible, won't only get a free beer, but a night "on the house."

Yes I'm a little drunk right now (plus), watching rockford files (minus), but a drunk tongue speaks a sober mind. Go go go go go go go

Drunks. Takes one to understand one.

I want to Cycle Japan, and/or see Ankor Wat (China is appealing, but the language scares me)...

Let's discuss in this thread...

eviljelly, who did some touring with archiesturmer earlier this year, is currently bumming around in the Asia region. He may know some things.

Some of my old roommates traveled SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, China, etc.) for a couple months and they said it's pretty cheap all around. They were not traveling by bike though.

He's the first one who came to my mind, but he ditched his bike in Europe and flew to Asia. He's in Korea right now, then flying to Singapore, then taking the train up to Bangkok via Malaysia.

How do people just constantly travel like that, economically speaking?
I may want to go it alone when I'm in Asia, so that no one steals the future love of my life away.

In terms of figuring out a bike tour route, I recommend http://travellingtwo.com/ (a little better organized) and http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/ (a lot more info but it's all written by users so less organized).

Asia is obviously a huge, huge place. When you say Asia, where are you talking about? Middle East? South Asia? Southeast Asia? East Asia? I've only been to a few places in Asia (Dubai, most of Korea, a couple cities in Japan), so I'm not sure I can really speak as any kind of expert on the subject, but I am planning on traveling rather extensively through Southeast Asia soon. I will say that Asia tends to have unbelievably huge, sprawling metro areas which are difficult to navigate by bicycle.

The one exception to this appears to be Japan - the Japanese are amazingly patient drivers, so it's not as much of a religious experience (as in, near-death) to bike there, i hear. In terms of cost and ease of travel, though, Japan is awful. I skipped Japan this time around in large part due to the costs involved.

Southeast Asia has what is affectionately/tongue-in-cheekly known as the Banana Pancake Trail, so named because of the hostels serving banana pancakes (or similar breakfast foods) catering to the many young Europeans, Americans and Aussies traveling on the cheap. English is widely spoken along that "trail" and you can travel rather cheaply - $30/day is about the figure I've seen, for food, activities, transport, and lodging.

In terms of paying for it all, well, people have different income sources. Some people pay for travel by saving up in the "real world", other people have generous parents, and others take off with only a few thousand bucks in their pockets and work as they go. Teaching English is a lucrative job in many countries.

FTFY

I've never met this Eviljelly guy have I?

Multiply the worst American city you've seen by about 3-5.

The closest analog I can think of is the Las Vegas strip, packed full, with much worse drivers. All over the sprawling metro. Full of a lot more people, too.

i'm gonna guess we've at least been on rides together, but... yeah, I dont know.

Sounds like a good place for a tourcat™.

I will be doing a tour of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos starting in December and can let you know things after that. A good website with backup data on cost is goingslowly.com (also happens to be a couple from MN).

If you want to travel by bike it's normally fairly cheap...if you want really cheap bring a tent. In Korea USA citizens can find teaching english jobs fairly easy, haven't heard about other countries.

If you want to expand your selection and are under 30 look at France, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. The last three have "working holiday" visas while France you can get a BUNAC visa (need to apply while in USA). These give you anywhere from 6 months to a year visa to work in the country and travel. I believe Ireland and France are only eligible if you are less than 9 months out of college.

Just a note, I think it is ABSOLUTELY worth buying travel insurance...if you look around you should be able to fine it for $600 a year and make sure it covers medical AND your bike (or at least a chunk). This coming from the girl that broke her arm on her first tour.

Personally I do the work, save money, travel, repeat method. You can always work for accommodation in some countries at hostels. It is amazing how cheaply you can live if need be!

Thought I would put up notes one country at a time.

Cambodia bike touring:

The central part of Cambodia is very flat. At this time if you take highway 6 to Siem Reap it is in good condition from the Thai border (Poipet). Highway 5 from Battambang to Phnom Penh is also in good condition though it does have some rough patches closer to Phnom Penh. Highway 3 is in good condition from Phnom Penh to Kampot.

Traffic is used to slow traffic and gives cyclists plenty of room. Again as it gets closer to Phnom Penh traffic gets more aggressive. Also, there are tractors that you may be able to draft behind.

Since you talk of solo touring I would suggest getting an early start as there is almost no trees and as such shade along the roadways. It seems the worse time is around 2:00 pm.

Since you are solo touring I would say you should be able to get by on $10 a day. This would be bare minimum. No beer, only eating at food stalls, and paying for your hotel. It is easy to find hotels for $5 or $6 a night which include bathroom and a/c or fan. It might be possible to find places cheaper as well. As this cost was shared by 2 people we didn't try get the absolute cheapest place (this price included 2 beds...might be cheaper for 1 bed). Also, remember you have to pay for bottled water...some places have fill stations but didn't see too many in Cambodia..normally spent about $1/day.

In general I would recommend at least $15/day if you can swing it as you can have some luxuries along the way. This would also allow some restaurant meals, relaxation (i.e. massage, beer) and take into account places where hotels are closer to $8/day.

I'd suggest having reserves so you could see Angkor Wat ($20 1-day admission), as well as get crab or such when you get to the coast. Also, you would need to take into account visa costs (currently $20 + 100 baht at Cambodia border (30 days), and $40 in Phnom Penh/Sihanoukville for Vietnam visa + $1 at border (beware to specify day arriving in Vietnam so you get the full 30 day visa).

We didn't go to the north/northeast or down to the southwest so can't comment on those areas.

Cambodia would be a great first cycle tour as the land is flat, there are towns or food stalls every couple of km, the people are friendly and helpful, roads are in good quality, the history is compelling, and there are some beautiful things to see. There is also the comfort of having the Cambodian “taxi” constantly around or what can be referred to as an on call sag wagon. These vans are packed to the brim (or more) with people and goods and if you have a bad cycling day and need to get somewhere using them you will think it's worth spending the $5 or less! I will caution that you do cycle through a lot of rice paddies but the ever constant “Hello's” keep the terrain from getting boring.

Cambodians are very open and will do their best to help you out if they can! Really can't say enough good things about them as a people.

Vietnam -

Everytime I talk about Vietnam people assume I hated it. This is not the case but it was very difficult for me to get used to the cultural differences which are also the reasons I really loved it. I'll talk about those after the bike info.

At first riding in Vietnam seems like absolute chaos. This in fact is not the case but the rules of the road differ so greatly from the western world that you have to learn a whole new set of rules. I've outlined some of the most important but there are many more that you will have to figure out on your own.

1.) Honking – Many cyclist hate Vietnam just for the honking. But this is actually very helpful. Honking tells a person that they are in or will be in a position where you should keep your path (or if it's a truck to move over for the wide load).
2.) Shoulders are two-way roadways for motorcycles and bikes. Do not ride all the way over to the right as people will enter and exit without looking.
3.) Everyone makes adjustments for new traffic. Do not keep riding in a straight line if a motorcycle merges in from the right. Make a slight motion left and everyone else will follow.
4.) If all else fails hail mary, or get to the side of a local (works extremely well on left hand turns).

I've never encountered anything like cycling in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It's crazy and if you like city riding it will take you to new levels!

I've had some of the most beautiful riding of the trip in Vietnam. Dalat to Nha Trang was amazing as well as Hoi An to Hue. Hanoi to Dien Bien Phu was also lovely though hilly.

Downsides:
If you want to take a bus with the bike it can become a nightmare. All of the local buses take bicycles but are cramped and take a very long time. Finding a carrier that takes bikes can be time consuming and frustrating but they are out there you just have to keep at it.

If taking a train beware that cargo is not always unloaded at each stop. We almost lost the bikes as we got off and the train started moving. This was not the main train line so I'm not sure if it's the same on the Reunification Train (Hanoi to Saigon).

People are pushy and unhelpful. They are very nice but I compare them to most Americans. If you have an accent they don't bother trying to figure it out (by miming or other means). It is very useful to have a phrasebook as Vietnamese is tonal and pronunciation that makes it understandable why people are not understanding you (G = y and such).

If you are traveling by yourself you will be invited to join people in eating or other things as they don't like to see you by yourself. This is really sweet and even if you can't communicate is nice to be around people that want to make you feel good.

You will be cheated out of money. If you can accept this your trip will be much happier! Check your bill. If you think it is too much it more than likely is. It's not rude to question it politely. ALWAYS ask how much something is prior to ordering.

We found the north as being much more honest and friendly but pretty much every other person I've talked to has said the opposite.

Take advantage of the hammock rest stops as there is nothing better than drinking an iced coffee and sitting in hammock. Enjoy the ice cream man as it's an inexpensive delicious treat.

Thanks, Carissa, for sharing your wonderful information with everyone. I will definitely keep this in mind (saved it in a notepad file) if I ever do a tour of Asia. - regards