Cambodia → Vietnam · 16 days

We arrive and stay in the heart of Siem Reap, a town that has turned cosmopolitan since the country opened up to the outside world. After we pick you up from the airport and take you to the hotel, you have time to relax or explore the city before we meet for a welcome dinner.

Dinner is at a comfortable NGO-based restaurant. It is a good meal and also a training ground for marginalised youth. The menu is local, with plenty of dishes to share.

Hotel: Bayon Modern · Meals: D

The first ride starts at 4.30 am, in time for sunrise over Angkor Wat. It is worth the early start. For the rest of the morning we ride on to other temples in the area.

In the early afternoon we have the chance to visit our first NGO of the ride, and spend time with people who have dedicated their lives to helping others. You hear their stories and learn what the real issues of the country are.

Cycling: 30 km · Hotel: Bayon Modern · Meals: B

Activities: Angkor Wat

NGO: This Life Cambodia

We ride 20 km out of Siem Reap to the boat port, then cross the wetlands and travel around the Tonle Sap river by boat. The road soon turns to single track as the country gets more remote. We farewell our support van and ride on into the rural, barren lands of Cambodia, where few villages exist and people support themselves through fishing. From the boat it is another 20 to 30 km to Battambang, depending on the river levels.

Battambang is good for shopping, with colonial-style streets and hidden corners where bric-a-brac abounds. Dinner is at Jaan Bai, another social enterprise-based restaurant.

Cycling: 40 to 50 km · Hotel: Cambana La Riviere · Meals: B, L, D

Activities: Boat ride (4hrs)

After an early breakfast we ride the dusty red back roads to the nearby Banan Temple, then cycle back to Battambang to explore a little more and grab lunch at leisure. We reach the town of Pursat by early afternoon. Our hotel there has a swimming pool and an on-site massage spa.

The NGO Sustainable Cambodia is our visit for the day. Its executives give a full presentation in their office, and we tour their facilities, so you see the difference the NGO makes first-hand.

Cycling: 50 km · Hotel: Pursat Riverside Hotel · Meals: B

Activities: Banan Temple

NGO: Sustainable Cambodia

The ride starts 75 km out from Phnom Penh and goes all the way to the front door of the hotel. Back roads lead through villages on Tonle Sap lake. There are coffee stops, plenty of photo chances and a couple of ferries. The evening is at your leisure.

Cycling: 75 km · Hotel: Check Inn · Meals: B, L

First comes Friends International, where we meet the people there and learn about their work in the community. It is a good look at real, everyday local issues. Next is the Russian market, then Tuol Sleng, also known as the S-21 Genocide Museum. It records a devastating chapter of Khmer Rouge and Cambodian history. The visit is emotionally challenging, but we strongly recommend it. There is some free time in the afternoon to process the day, and then we meet again for a local Khmer BBQ dinner.

Hotel: Check Inn · Meals: B, D

Activities: S-21 Genocide Museum

NGO: Friends International

Chisaur Mountain Temple is south of Phnom Penh in rural Cambodia, and we cycle there. It is not really much of a mountain at 130 m, and the route is perfectly flat. We ride casually through remote villages and waterways on narrow dirt tracks. Lunch is at Chisaur Temple, with plenty of time to explore the ancient ruins, which are 200 years older than Angkor Wat. Then we take the van down to the Cambodian coastal town of Kampot, to enjoy the good food on offer.

Cycling: 65 km · Hotel: JBreak · Meals: B

Activities: Chisaur Temple

The day opens with the optional, mammoth Bokor Mountain cycle challenge. The climb is 30 km to the top, and the first 10 km is flat. After that it keeps going up, and up, and up. If hill climbing isn't for you, we can bring your bike in the van and you can cycle down. If you would rather take time off the bike, Kampot is a great town to caffeinate, people-watch and relax.

Cycling: 60 km · Hotel: JBreak

Activities: Bokor Mountain

The morning is at Chumkriel Language School, where there are no children at the time of our visit. Mr Suthy set this grassroots local school up as an NGO, to give children of the salt field community access to education. The afternoon is a cooking class, where we learn the best of Khmer cuisine.

Cycling: 10 km · Hotel: JBreak · Meals: D

Activities: Cooking class

NGO: Chumkriel Language School

Vietnam is across the border today, but the province of Kep comes first. It sits just before the border and is famous for its fresh seafood, particularly crab. We spend a couple of hours exploring the pepper plantations and salt lakes on the way. Back roads take us around the National Park to the border crossing at Ha Tien, Vietnam. From Ha Tien we jump in the van and head to Rach Gia for a feast of local seafood and Banh Xeo.

Cycling: 65 km · Hotel: Dai Luong Hotel · Meals: D

Activities: Pepper farm tour

Back roads through rice paddies and farmland lead to Can Tho, where the Mekong Delta really comes into its own. We arrive by late afternoon. The ride finishes about 20 km out of the city. If your legs and the daylight permit, you can continue all the way in, or you can jump in the van.

Can Tho has a population of over a million and a thriving tourist trade. The city is yours to explore. For dinner we pull up a patch of grass at the night market, and you can treat yourself to a degustation of street food.

Cycling: 80 to 100 km · Hotel: Ninh Kieu Hotel · Meals: B

The floating markets are working life for local people, who trade, sell and buy here every day. We spend most of the morning there. Then we visit the noodle factory, where you have the chance to make your own noodles, and the cocoa farms, just before lunch. The rest of the afternoon is yours to rest or get a massage.

Hotel: Ninh Kieu Hotel · Meals: B

Activities: Cocoa farm, rice noodle factory, floating market boat ride

This is a day to explore the Mekong Delta casually, from the coconut candy factories of Ben Tre to the canals and floating markets of My Tho. The region is a place to relax and unwind. Ben Tre is our base, which keeps us away from the hordes of tourists in My Tho. It is still a full day of cycling from Can Tho, and we enjoy getting amongst the maze that is the Mekong Delta.

We should reach Ben Tre by 5 pm and relax with a local family in their home (private rooms). You also have the chance to have an impromptu cooking class for great local food.

Cycling: 85 to 100 km · Hotel: Local family homestay (private rooms) · Meals: B, D

An early start beats the heat and what we can of the traffic. The first stop is a coconut candy factory, by van or by bike, to learn more about this local delicacy. It is the last cycling day of the ride, and it ends in Saigon.

Ho Chi Minh City is what the world would look like if cars had never been invented. With whole lanes and roads dedicated to two wheels, it is the city of the future as the population grows. The final 15 km or so are completely optional if you are not comfortable in the traffic. Usually about half the riders choose to take the van.

Our hotel is in the heart of the city, a short stroll from the Street Food Market for dinner and a live band.

Cycling: 80 to 100 km · Hotel: Prague Hotel, Saigon · Meals: B

Our final NGO visit of the ride is to Mekong Plus, which works in both Cambodia and Vietnam. It is a grassroots local NGO with a hand-up, not hand-out, policy. Its social enterprise side trains beneficiaries to make quilts, handicrafts and bamboo bicycles. The holistic approach also includes education scholarships, vocational training, microfinance programs and social enterprise businesses.

Use the day to explore at your leisure, with local markets, shopping centres, museums and other sights across Ho Chi Minh City. In the evening we meet for dinner, swap stories and photos, and decide where you would like the donation money to go.

Hotel: Prague Hotel · Meals: B, D

NGO: Mekong Plus

You have cycled across a couple of countries, almost 700 km in the saddle. We enjoy a final breakfast together before you set off to the airport or your next adventure.

Meals: B