Most Inspirational Moment
The greetings and general friendliness of all local people; particularly children. Quite amazing.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader was Chaiya Jaisodsai or Chai, who was just great. He made everything so easy for us, and kept everything running smoothly. He introduced himself to us as our General Manager, there to do anything he could to make things easier for us. His favourite phrase was 'No problem', no matter what the issue was, and it really didn't seem to be, even when he was attempting to 'herd cats' ie our group!
Exodus has a policy of local guides in each of the countries; Chai being Thai, did the Thailand bit, but we had separate local guides at Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and in Vietnam. The bike teams also change (as do the bikes) at the borders, but Chai stayed with us throughout, so crossing the borders was a breeze with him in control, not to mention him completing almost all of the paperwork for all eighteen of us the nights before! Amongst the other things he organised for us he also got us to eat street foods, which we may not have done without him , such as stuffed frog, tarantulas, crickets etc. Overall we cannot thank him enough.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Cycling:
If you are not a regular cyclist, do cycle before going to get saddle fit. (We are not cyclists, and in our early sixties, but did some cycling for three months leading up to going; the Exodus guide provides good advice, though we didn't rigorously follow it)
Do take your own cycle/pedals if you have them. Changing them is no problem at all for the cycle team.
Do wear padded cycle shorts, and do follow the advice on wearing nothing under them, it just adds to friction. (I was sceptical of this, but am now a convert) Clothes are very easily washed and dried overnight in almost all rooms. The group leader can easily arrange full laundry which is very cheap, but generally only where you are staying more than one night (Siem Reap/Phnom Penh)
Consider using or taking Sudocrem or other moisturiser/antiseptic to prevent or treat chafe.
The bikes are mountain bikes with disc brakes, so if you take a front pannier, remember that the handlebars are quite thick and your attachments may well not fit. Ours didn't and we were not the only ones! Some in the group had bought relatively cheap velcro fitting ones from Decathlon, which had long velcro straps and fitted well. You will want some way of carrying your camera, phone, and those of us that carried a small rucksack got very sweaty backs. All the bikes have water bottle holders.
Water stops are numerous, electrolyte powders were provided, along with a huge amount of snacks with every water stop. We didn't bring our own energy bars etc, and there was absolutely no need to.
Cities:
If you want to see Bangkok, consider adding extra days at the beginning, this will also allow acclimatisation to the heat. Similarly, consider added a night or two at the end if you want to see Saigon, otherwise there is really very little time to see either.
Insects:
Malaria is not a problem on this route, but other mosquito borne illnesses like Dengue are, so bite avoidance is important, you will need DEET! If going again we would also buy a knockdown fly spray, as not all the rooms in the hotels were mosquito free, and also to spray under the mosquito net in the homestay on the Mekong (plenty of mosquitoes there!). We would also take a plug in type mosquito coil with tablets for the same reasons.
Suggestions
The only other comment, is really for Exodus. The bus journey from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is about 6 - 7 hours, and is unavoidable. It was broken for us by lunch at an ancient temple site which we were shown round (apparently a new feature of this years tour), which was great and in our opinion fully worthwhile even though it added some time to the journey time, and by a coffee stop and to taste tarantulas at Skuon, all good fun. But..... the bus we had for this part of the journey was far too small and uncomfortable for this length of trip. We know this sounds like a first world complaint, but the minibuses in Thailand were comfortable, and the bus used for short trips around Phnom Penh was huge and comfortable, so why the small cramped bus (with some bags having to be stored in the cabin) for the longest journey we did?
