The second Tour de Bintan, an endurance cycling event, will take place from 11 to 13 November 2011 on the Indonesia island of Bintan – just south of Singapore.

Set in the backdrop of picturesque Bintan, Indonesia, the Tour de Bintan is set to test the mettle of participants with challenging routes over three gruelling stages in two days covering a total distance of 265km.

800 cyclists are expected to take part this year against 500 last year. One of the most hotly contested categories will be Category 1, which will see the most serious and experienced teams from Singapore and all around the region vying for the total prize purse of Sin$10,000. The largest participation will be in Category 2 and Category 3 which are meant for competitive and passionate cyclists who are a level below Category 1. The competitive women cyclists will have their own category.

In addition, the event offers more seasonal and less advanced cyclists the opportunity to experience the Tour as part of the “Challenger” category, where it is all about completing each stage within set time limits. Cycling enthusiasts who just want a taste of the action can also decide to register for one stage only.

If you fancy taking part as a component of a longer visit to Indonesia, contact Symbiosis to start planning your trip today.

Cyclists and adventure holiday seekers from all over the world are being invited to sign up to the Angkor Wat Bike Race & Ride presented by CIMB Bank.

The event, organised by Village Focus International, will take place on Saturday 3rd December, and allows travellers to experience Siem Reap’s magical temple complex at a unique time when the Angkor roads are closed off to traffic.

The Bike Race & Ride encourages participants of all ages and fitness levels to cycle through the beautiful temples of the UNESCO World Heritage Angkor Wat temple complex to help raise funds for Village Focus International’s life changing work supporting vulnerable children and sex trafficked victims.

Since the event began in 2006, it has grown each year and raised a total of US$100,000 towards empowering young people and communities break out of poverty.

Village Focus International and CIMB Bank are hoping to raise over US$50,000 (net proceeds) this year and beat previous participation figures.

The Angkor Wat Bike Race & Ride is entering its sixth year this year. Last year 400 participants took part and organisers are expecting 600 this year. In 2010 participants from over 25 different nationalities took part.

For more information on how to plan a visit to Cambodia timed to participate in this fun event, contact us now at Symbiosis Custom Travel.

Last chance to join a great 10 day mountain bike adventure, starting in Vietnam’s northern capital, Hanoi, passing through the spectacular, mountainous border region with China, and ending in Luang Prabang, the ancient World Heritage city in Northern Laos.

The ride starts in Hanoi on 05 June and culminates in Luang Prabang on 14 June. Guaranteed to depart, we still have room for a few more people to join.

Full details here.

Nice appraisal from this French family from Japan who undertook a Mekong River Explorer trip, finishing this week:

From: Marie-Cécile Conilh de Beysac
Subject: thank you
Date: 6 March 2011 20:02:48 GMT+07:00
To: Christopher Gow
We have only have one word : wonderful ! One of our best trip.
Thank you for having allowed us to make this trip. You really deserve your ad : off the beaten tracks !!!
It was exactly corresponding to our expectations!
Our kid did every thing without any problem. He learned so much !!!
Your organization is excellent and very reliable, we will recommend it to our friends…
We are back in Tokyo with more than 1500 photos and the head full of images, emotions, flavors…
Thank you

Bernard, Cecile and Jean

And…. no!… I did not write this myself! However I am not surprised as that part of the Mekong River from Southern Laos into northern Cambodia is exceptional for anyone looking for a real, off the beaten track adventure. Time has left this part of Indochina behind. The bird life is fantastic, and village life is much as it has been since before the Khmer Rouge destroyed so much of the rest of the country. However development is threatening, with new roads being built between Stung Treng and T’beng Meanchey to the west, and the road from the Laos border to Phnom Penh is already complete. News today talks about rubber plantations encroaching into the biodiversely important Virachey National Park on the Cambodia/Lao border.

See yesterday’s Guardian newspaper in the UK…

As I kayaked down the Mekong river, a couple of humps slunk out of the water about 10 metres ahead. Then a couple more to the left, and more to the right, before I finally realised that I was at the centre of a pod of Irrawaddy river dolphins, one of the rarest species on the planet.

Read Andrew Spooner’s full article on the Guardian website here

We have added some scheduled, join-in departures for this great mountain bike ride through the volcanic island of Flores, eastern Indonesia.  We have also managed to keep the costs down so no change from last year.

See here for update, or here for some pics from Tim Peterson & Louise Nielsen from California who completed the ride late last year.

By THOMAS FULLER

Published in The New York Times: January 18, 2010

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA — Bullet by bullet, workers removed the detritus of Cambodia’s past. They pulled 300 land mines and 30,000 rounds of ammunition from the red dirt and then laid down a thick layer of asphalt. Today, what would pass for a very ordinary road in wealthier parts of the world is precious pavement for a country motoring toward prosperity and trying to leave its bloody past behind.

Read on…

This was the original route for Symbiosis Expedition Planning’s Bangkok to Saigon Cycle Challenge which first took place in 2000.  Each year we have to resurvey to find new trails that keep us away from the main roads which, even if they are not busy, are hot and dull to cycle.

This year’s Bangkok to Saigon Cycle Challenge will be the 10th and last – fortunately there are still a few routes that show you the rural beauty of Cambodia. Dates: 6-23 November 2010.

Cambodia is amazing for exploring on a mountain bike, whether you are an experienced biker or not.  This is mainly because it is still very underdeveloped with few black-top roads… extremely rural in a way that makes Thailand look like a shopping mall. And… flat!  But it is changing quickly as the country races to catch up with with its more affluent neighbours.

The Mekong River trail from the Laos border to Phnom Penh and then on down into Vietnam’s Mekong Delta area is perhaps one of my favourite routes – numerous simple villages, wonderful river views. sandy tracks and trails… Amazing!

Once you get into the Delta, navigation becomes a challenge as you search for bridges and ferry crossings to leap the latticework of waterways.  Again, narrow trails winding through rural villages (many still without electricity), rice paddies and fruit orchards, using monkey bridges and mini ferry boats to hop over canals. Brilliant!