Cambodia → Vietnam · 12 days

Welcome to Cambodia. You can check in at the hotel any time from 2 pm. If you are flying into Phnom Penh today, we will arrange your airport transfer.

The day is yours to explore the city until the group arrives. We meet in the afternoon, around 6 pm, for a quick get-to-know-you chat and a briefing on the ride, and then fit you for your bike.

The evening is free. You can spend it with the rest of the group, or join Hoem and the crew for a local feast.

Hotel: Check Inn (or equivalent)

The day starts at 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. From there we head towards the Russian market and on to Tuol Sleng, also known as the S-21 Genocide Museum. The museum tells a devastating chapter of Khmer Rouge and Cambodian history. It is emotionally challenging, and we strongly recommend it. There is some free time in the afternoon to process the day, and we meet again for a local Khmer BBQ dinner.

Hotel: Check Inn · Meals: B, D

Activities: S-21 Genocide Museum

NGO: Friends International

The ride south of Phnom Penh to Chisaur Mountain Temple, in rural Cambodia, is perfectly flat. At 130 m, the temple is not really much of a mountain. We cycle casually through remote villages and waterways, on narrow dirt tracks, and stop at Chisaur Temple for lunch. There is plenty of time to explore the ruins, which are 200 years older than Angkor Wat. From here the van takes us down to the Cambodian coastal town of Kampot, where there is good food on offer.

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

Activities: Chisaur Temple

The day starts with the optional, mammoth Bokor Mountain cycle challenge. It is 30 km to the top. The first 10 km is flat, then it just 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

In the morning we visit Chumkriel Language School. There are no children at the school 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. In the afternoon there 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

Today we cross the border into Vietnam, but first we discover the province of Kep. Located just before the border, Kep is famous for its fresh seafood, particularly crab. We spend a couple of hours exploring the famous pepper plantations and salt lakes on the way. Navigating the back roads, we go around the National Park to the border crossing into 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

Can Tho is where the Mekong Delta really comes into its own. We cut through the back roads of rice paddies and farmland to get there, arriving in the city 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. Alternatively, you can jump in the van.

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

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

Most of the morning is at the floating markets, where local people trade, sell and buy every day. It is working life for local people. After that we visit the noodle factory, where you can 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

We take 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 pace is easy. To avoid the hordes of tourists in My Tho, we use Ben Tre as a base for the region. 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 get into Ben Tre for 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

We start early to beat the heat and what we can of the traffic. 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.

Ho Chi Minh City is what the world would look like if cars had never been invented. There are whole lanes and roads dedicated to two wheels, so it is the city of the future as the population grows. Cycling the final 15 km or so is 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

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

Use the day to explore at your leisure. There are local markets, shopping centres, museums and other sights in 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 two countries, about 460 km in the saddle. We have a final breakfast together, then take you to the airport and on your way home.

Meals: B