You are reading a single comment by @ad441 and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@ad441
Hired a car from one of the places in Chaing Mai (could look it up if you're interested) - was great, much better experience than hiring a car in UK and the driving was only stressful when I accidentally drove through the middle of Chinatown in Chaing Mai...
Wasn't very expensive and they didn't try and scam us on insurance or anything.
However this was only for 10 days of touring through the mountains near the Burmese border (which was amazing, aside from Pai, which was horrendous).
Personally I'd always opt for trains in SE Asia over any other form of transport (aside from cycling) if available. They're almost always great, particularly sleeper trains. However they tend not to be an option in mountainous areas.
Having your own transport does help a lot when it comes to finding accommodation and just generally freeing you up from some of the backpacker circuit stuff. Obviously travelling by bike's even better, but you tend to need a lot more time for that.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adownie/4411174689/in/set-72157623416107743
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adownie/4409385576/in/set-72157623416107743