Gotta love India

The longer I traveled the more I realized that following the tourist path was not something that intrigued me. Obviously, some spots are still worth seeing regardless of the traffic flow (Angkor Wat), but I also felt that it wasn't what I was looking for. If you are looking for least touristy places, I would definitely recommend Philippines. Burma as well, although that is changing at a rapid pace. Because of the oppressive government, you are only allowed to travel to certain destinations, and stay in certain guesthouses. Because of that, you are destined to be around a lot of tourists. With that said, if you wander a bit outside of that area, you will most likely be alone.

One of my favorite experiences was taking the train from Mandalay, Burma as high up NE as I could go (i think the name was Lashio). I wandered for an hour or so looking for a place that they would allow tourists. I wasn't even sure there were places, but fortunately one of the owners was nice enough to sneak me in. I didn't see a westerner for a 4 or 5 days.

All of these countries are highly visited, but if you just go a tad off the beaten path, it will pay dividends to the experience (if you like being away from toursits). Northern Cambodia was also great for that reason. I'd try to find a decent balance between interacting with locals and other travelers. Couple days around westerners, then a couple days without them seemed to be just right for me.

As for the touts, I rarely ran into many of them. Even in India where I expected there to be a ton of hassling. Like walking into the Taj I think only 2 people wanted to sell us something. I was expecting hundreds....

I bought my motorcycle in Laos from an Irish guy leaving SE Asia, and took it across the border into Vietnam, where I drove it all the way down south, and over to Phnom Penh Cambodia. I ended up actualyl giving it away to some NGO, because I couldn't find anyone to buy it and I wanted to move onward without it (I was with my sister at that time, couldnt fit us both). The border crossing into Vietnam was a bit hectic, as the guards were slightly intimidating, and I felt unsure as to if this was even allowed. I had no registartion or papers, but the bike itself was a Vietnamese plate. After pleading with them that I meant no harm, they let me go. I did a little dance as soon as I got to the other side and was out of their sight. It felt pretty damn good. (especially given the route to the border. A couple river crossings, fell down twice from mud. The first day was the hardest, and I almost thought better to do it. But fortunately I kept going with it)


Thanks about the movie! Glad you liked it!

Good questions.

I always leaned towards time wiht locals. Sometimes locals would approach me and want to hang out, often I had to make some sort of initiative. But other travelers are a great resource while traveling. You learn so much about others homes, even if its europe, or Australia, or wherever it may be. Not to mention I found most travelers extremely down to earth and friendly.

I found Laos nearly impossible to meet locals. I think the culture is just a lot different there, especially after Thailand where the locals are extremely extroverted and open. Vietnam was also quite hard, but mainly because of the language barrier. I was quite a bit off the common path to be traveled, and many of my stops were just based on what time of the day it was and I had to stop. With that said they smiled a lot, and I had 1 hand off the bike because I was waving a majority of the time.

As for travelers, a lot of Germans, a lot of French and British. Some from US but not many. Quite a few from the Scandinavian states. South Africa wasn't entirely uncommon. Australians are prevalent in Indonesia/Thailand, but most of them love the beaches/to party.

Saigon, Vietnam was a pretty big mess, and one of the more enthralling/horrific driving experiences I've had in my life. The road conditions in most of these countries are surprisingly good. Although in Burma it took forever to get like 200 kms.

Nothing paralleled India though when it came to sheer madness on the road. There were some pretty close calls up North on one lane roads going through the Himalayas. Mumbai is also pretty mad.

Interesting, I had had some good times with the locals in Laos, I found them pretty welcoming tbh.

I went out of the beers twice with a few local lads I got to know out there. They didn't expect anything from me as you often find in Thailand and other places, they just paid their fair share.

I also got dragged into a random local house when passing one night and ended doing karaoke with them.

Also spent about 5 or 6 days with a nice bird who took me out to her village for a couple of days too, that was pretty cool.

Awesome vid. I'm very jealous of your trip.

What countries do you still want to go to that you have yet to check out? Any plans for future traveling?

Yeah while I had a difficult time meeting people from Laos, that does not mean in any way that they are unfriendly, nor should this deter you from going. Like I said, there are so many variables that make up what country one might enjoy the most. Don't take my word on it. Only way to find out is to go find out for yourself

Glad you enjoyed the vid thebaker Oh man there are so many places to see. I'd love to go back to India, buy a motorcycle, and see the south. Start in Mumbai, do a U shape over to Calcutta. Other then that, Africa is definitely on the to go list.

Definitely enjoyed the video too

India is as authentic as it gets, that's what I love about it.... but every famous place is full of touts and unscrupulous hustlers and that's what I hate about it. In contrast, Thailand is too developed and not very authentic any more, but they have hardly any scammers/hustlers/touts (comparatively speaking)

I didn't really mean for my statement to come out so negative.

Any famous Indian site will be full of touts, hustlers, and bullsht, but if you have your own transportation and don't follow the tourist trail, you will love it. No matter what, make sure your schedule includes Ladakh.

Oh gotya, I misunderstood your post. Tbh, I found that I absolutely hated those "famous tourist sites" anyhow, so for me it's perfectly fine)

I like to meet the people (learn and understand) more than anything and not just see sights. For this reason I prefer to move to one location for some time rather than traveling constantly. (For example move to one location for 2-3 months. In one city even)

I found the buses were quite good in India. Took a couple of 18hr rides and this is what i would do in the future. (Just bring your own toilet paper!!!)

I spent some time in Mumbai, Goa (South and not in tourist season, though it was somewhat not "authentic") and also Bangalore.

My friend lives in Kerala and I will probably live with him next summer in his village.

One thing I def. noticed especially in Mumbai is that the level of English isn't great, so it is tough to have many interesting convos. (Or even basic ones)

The Southern portions of India are better as i understood and experienced. The farther north, the less english.

As far as authentic goes, I would suggest Central Asia and also Russia can be quite Authentic. For example, Mongolia, (All former Soviet Central Asian Republics), Siberia (all are authentic places)

Have you spent any time traveling in China? Which of the two did you prefer between China in India? Which has nicer/friendlier/more hospitable people?

weever,

it sounds like you traveled pretty extensively on the bike, yet you must have taken enough things for months. was it not a pain in the ass to lug around all the stuff on a rather small bike? can you detail which things you brought with? which things did you bring and wish you hadn't, and which things you wish you didn't bring and wish you did?

scariest experience/closest call? any moments where if one thing goes a little different you'd have been completely ****ed?

The problem with today's world is that by the time you see Taj Mahal in real life, you will have seen 1000s of professionally taken and professionally retouched pics of it that make the place look better than real life. By the time I saw Taj Mahal in real life, it seemed.... underwhelming. It's a big white building in a decently nice but very plain garden and it looks nice and that's about it. The whole complex is on heavy lockdown so people are herded around like cattle inside and can't really go anywhere like to the top of the minarets or something. I can appreciate the history for about 5 minutes and then I've had enough of it. I thought I would go there twice, during the day and for the sunset, but I didn't bother going back there for the sunset.

My next motorcycle trip will likely be Pakistan and/or some Central Asian countries. It seems like a great mix of natural beauty, non-touristy, and a bit of an adventure.

Never been to China. China is one of the hardest countries in the world to travel by motorcycle. They don't recognize IDP, it's hard/expensive to get a higher quality moto there, it's very expensive to even transit through China ($200/day just to ride through it!). Plus, it seems like all the best areas require special permits and even if you have your permits you may be turned back. (Tibet, Xinjiang, remote border areas)

Some people do it on the down low, but it's unclear whether that is practical, or a pretty bad idea. In a lot of these places, it may seem like they are lawless and easy going but there are plenty of people looking to get some of that foreigner money. Right now on Advrider you can read a story of a guy riding around China who was extorted for X,XXX dollars after a minor accident where no one got hurt and no property was damaged and he had all the papers and he was a seasoned traveler. Just because you are 'right' doesn't mean that you won't sit in jail XX-XXX days before their legal process works itself out, and if you don't have your papers in order you are doubly-screwed. Listen to Act One of this This American Life... A lot of these countries work in mysterious ways...

I traveled 50 days or so in total on the bike. I traveled with one backpacking backpack (a 70L bag I think), and a smaller pack for the more important things (my camera, passport etc...). The bike itself had a metal frame welded to the back of it that was perfect for laying a backpack on. I had these bungee cords taht I wrapped pretty tightly so it wouldn't move. It all worked out pretty well.

There was one point in Cambodia where I had difficulty finding where to take a barge across the Mekong. The roads were awful, with pot holes the size of my wheels. (This was a rare instance with bad road conditions) After driving continuously for 2-3 hours looking for where to cross, the frame that was holding my bag snapped. Of course this was right in the center of some village I was passing through so I acquired a large crowd of witnessers, mainly kids who were laughing. They pointed me in the direction of a welder where he was able to put the frame back on and send me on my way. This was one of the most insane coincedences of my life. As I was about to head out after the welding, some man passed by on his bike who said, "hello, where are you going?". This came as quite the suprise as I hadn't come across someone speaking english the entire day. Especially where I was at that moment, I didn't expect to be able to communicate. I told him I was looking for where I could take the boat across to get to Kratie. He looks behind backward and says right there. There was a dirt road no more than 5 feet across that I had no chance of assuming that was route. As all of these villages had side roads that split to connect to other bamboo huts.

I thanked him over and over again and headed down the dirt path. Sure enough, there was an opening in the trees leading to the river. Waited 15 minutes for the barge with some other locals and I was on my way.

As for a close call, I surprisingly was devoid of these for the most part. I had a close call in central Vietnam, where I was almost crushed by a semi head on, both of us going 60 kph, but that is to be expected.

Forgot to add, what I did/didn't bring. I brought a water filter I didn't use enough. In some of the heat, cold water is just what you want, and you are willing to pay for that. I probably wouldnt bring that next time. I also brougth a waterproof jacket that I would ditch for a pancho, or something very lightweight. It rarely rained, and when it did, it was heavy, and over relatively soon. Besides that, I am pretty happy with everything else I brought. I lost clothes on the way and would replace them easily, I brought a netbook (200$) that I left at a bus stop in Burma (whole nother story).

Echoing everyone else, awesome video.

Uh oh. I'll be in Vietnam next month and have about five days to kill around Ho Chi Minh City - I was thinking of doing a short motorcycle tour, would you still recommend it? I've heard others say it's quite dangerous to ride there as well. And do you have any suggestions for a route? At first I was planning on riding up to Hue / Da Nang, but I'm thinking that might be a little rushed. Vung Tau or Phan Tiet worth checking out, or anything farther south?

Mekong Delta just South of Ho Chi Minh is pretty amazing, it's close and well worth seeing