This is a great trip. The first few days featured the most challenging cycling, which I enjoyed although the scenery was not particularly interesting. I would have prefered more cycling in Cambodia and Vietnam which were more scenic. However I did think the trip offers a good balance of cycling and sightseeing. There are not too many bus transfers, although I would have prefered to pay $40 to fly to Phnom Pen from Siem Reap rather than the 9 hour bus ride! The Thai backup team were superb and made the first few days cycling a joy and meant that we could all cycle at our own pace. There was less backup in Cambodia and Vietnam which together with busier roads meant we had to stick together, which was frustrating at times. The Cambodian and Vietnamese guides were not as good. The Vietnamese guide was inexperienced at leading cycle tours, which did lead to one or two safety issues, plus he left as soon as we reached Saigon, which was a pity as we had no local guide to show us around the city.
Cycling, food, temples, boats, villages, history, villages and cities - a great and varied fortnight!! Like cycling Kerala & the a Tropical South (which I can totally recommend) this was another wonderfully varied trip. Loved the fact that there were many cultural, religious, historical and culinary experiences intermingled with cycling in a great part of the world. The cycling in Thailand was not as scenic as we'd hoped but the food and stops to see temples, rubber plantations, etc. made the long cycling days more interesting. We changed bikes 3 times (different bikes and back up teams in each country) which was not ideal but crossing the busy border between Thailand and Cambodia was a highlight for us (like India without the saris!). It was very hot and humid and some of the fairer people were sunburnt on the cloudy days!
It must be said this is a bit dull to begin with - the first three cycling days are not particularly interesting - but it builds and in the end it is a great experience. Cambodia is a fascinating journey from the pomp of Angkor Wat to the rat infested piles of rubbish in Phnom Penh to the anguish of the Killing Fields; I'll never forget it.Vietnam was a complete contrast - colourful, enterprising,confident, resplendent with gold starred red flags everywhere.