---＜not only to OP but also to other travelers who go to W.Sichuan＞---

As for ≪Sichuan Map≫---
https://www.chinatrekking.com/maps/sichuan-maps/west-sichuan-travel-circuit-map
--this is web map, not paper map

I have many Sichuan Maps(paper maps) which i bought in China---Chengdu, Shanghai=my entrance gate into China every time(15 times continuosly in 2010～2015) etc but the best Sichuan Map which was really useful and helpful for my travelings to W.Sichuan was one Sichuan Map only from my experiences below.
＜image photos of my Sichuan Map＞--6 photo images(A4x6)=one big map which i sanned by scanner and uploaed=posted here as my Flickr photos.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/165013564@N08/albums/72157708747572027
---my flickr photos of Sichuan Map(one map=6 parts)
①Left side/upper part---including Dege,Ganzi etc
②Left side/middle part---including Kangding,Xindugiao,Tagong. Danba,Litang,Daocheng etc
③Left side/lower part---including Yading,Lugu lake (Shangri-La, Lijiang) etc
④Right side/upper part---including Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong etc
⑤Right side/middle part---including Chengdu,Kangding,Xindugiao,Tagong,Danba,Mt.Gongga(7,566m) etc
⑥Right side/Lower part---including Xichang(→Kunming by train/→Lugu lake→Lijiang by bus) etc

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It's the best Sichuan Map we could get in China created then sold by Sim & Maki=a couple of Singaporean(man) & Japanese(woman) who owned and managed "Sim's & Cozy Guesthouse" in Chengdu till 2010 which had been greatly supported by many western travelers who traveled W.Sichuan and Tibet.

They were real expats of Tibet and W.Sichuan so their maps really helped many travelers who traveled W.Sichan and Tibet but they closed(=sold to others) their guesthouse in 2010 then moved(retern) to Japan with their children and then newly opened their guesthouse="Guesthouse Soi" in Kyoto, Japan(near Kiyomizu-dera temple) several years after.

As for their Sichuan Map & me ---
I bought their Sichuan Map 5 pieces in all at different places---at Chengdu=2 pcs and Lijiang=3 pcs(because when i went to Lijiang, i by happen met a Japanese stuff who worked at a Gh in "Lijiang old town" and heard from him that he worked at Sim's & Cozy Guesthouse in Chengdu till 2010 before coming to Lijiang and sold Sim & Maki's Sichuan Maps at the receiption so i bought 3 of them for my W.Sichuan trips(i traveled W.Sichuan 7 times in all continuosly).

But 2 of 5 were torn in my trips so abondoned, 1 0f 5 was presented to other person(Taiwanese Gh owner's wife at Baisha near Lijiang), １of 5(not used yet) is missing in my house now so one Sichuan Map i used for sanning & uploading=posting here (6 image photos)only remains now so it's a very precious Sichuan Map for me , at least, till yesturday(5/25＊).

Well, their Sichuan Map is superior to any other Sichuan Maps we can get and i thought it's impossible to get their maps at any place in China till yesturday=5/25(＊) so i scaned for uploading=posting its image photos for your use(print them out, if possible, use water resistant paper then paste A4x6 sheets with glue to make one big map).

But the situation has changed---

Because, yesterday(5/25＊), i had a contact to Mrs.Maki in Kyoto directly("Guesthouse Soi") using telephone for getting the approval of O.K to scan=copy their Sichuan Map and posting its image photos into Lonely Planet Forum here because i'm not a person of "Kingdom of Copy Goods"--like China, Vietnam etc.

Mrs.Maki told me that it's O.K and added that we can get their Sichuan Map in Chengdu now and she kindly tought me the places(2 guesthouses in Chengdu) sold their maps under their approval(but 50%?! because no one can stop Chinese' activiities of copying but it shows how wonderful and useful their Sichuan Map is, i think).

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≪Sim & Maki's Sichuan Map≫ sold at 2 hostels in Chengdu----
①"Xishu Garden Inn"（YHA) 探索西部青年旅舎https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/chengdu/hotels/xishu-garden-inn/a/lod/c75265ce-c7d9-4a53-8983-ca59c94c9f87/356085
---a stuff who worked at Sim's & Cozy Guesthouse till 2010 is working here now as a manager and this hostel is graetly supported by western travelers and also reccommended by Lonely Planet .
---you can get Sim & Maki's Sichuan Map here(surely)

②"Mrs Panda Hostel" in a big hotel"Traffic Hotel"(交通飯店)
https://www.nihaosichuan.com/
---you can also get Sim & Maki's Sichuan Map here(maybe)
(＊交通=traffic, ＊飯店=restaurant in Chinese but "交通飯店" is a name of hotel)
Address: No.6, Lin Jiang Middle Road, Wuhou, 610041, Chengdu, China
(it locates near "Xinnanmen Bus Terminal"(新南門汽車駅）---(＊汽車=bus, ＊駅=station or terminal in Chinese)

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Of course, travelers who go to Chengdu before heading to W.Sichuan or Tibet can buy Sim & Maki' Sichuan map in Chengdu but travelers who go to Yunan etc then enter into W.Sichuan from differeny directions cannot get this map but they(you) can used my 6 image photos by printing out somewhere and paste with glue into one sheet(one map) for their(your) temporary use, i think.

Now is the age of anything "by Internet" but pappr maps are still very useful for our travelings.

Good luck in W.Sichuan trips!

(jp_geckozy 5/26)

In South Africa some the busy main highways that lack a shoulder are not advised for cycling, but in general South Africa is a popular country for bicycle touring and on smaller roads (or on the main highways with a shoulder) it is not particularly stressful to cycle. My wife and crossed a good part of the country by bike a few years ago and we would not rank South Africa among countries that are hostile to cyclists.

Hi everyone, thank you very much for the advises and tips, it is being very helpful on the trip planning.

I'm planning a route on where I'd like to go on these 4 countries, but don't want to be held by previous hotels or transport reservations.

I've already an idea on how the trip is going to be but I think that maybe it will be too rush the way that I'm planning. Can you guys help me with your great wisdom to understand, if makes sense the script that I designed?

Flight Sydney X Hanoi
3 nights - Hanoi
2 nights - Ha long Bai
2 nights - Ninh Bihn
3 nights - Hue
5 nights - Hoi An
3 nights - Ho Chi Min City (Phnon Phem by train/bus)
4 nights - Phnon Phem
13 nights - Siemp Reap (Flight Phuket)
11 nights - Phuket / Islands / Krabi / Gulf(Flight to Chiang Mai)
6 nights - Chiang Mai
1 night - Ayutthaya
3 nights - Bangkok (Flight to Bali)
11 nights - Bali
Bali x Australia

Ow, my god!!! I don't think 3 months is enough hehehe...

Can you guys help me here?

Many Thanks
Kim Jansen

obs: We are going to a school in Siemp Riep for two weeks, that's the why so many days over there

I traveled the whole of Laos many times and when i traveled towns and villages along Nam Ou in the past many years ago, public bus between Nong Khiaw and Oudomxay was a "songtheaw"(big sized 4 wheel tuk-tuk) but it changed to a minivan(or minibus) so "11:00am minivan to Oudomxay " you refered to in your original comment is "public bus" and you cannot pre-book it through a travel agency or hotel(guesthouse) because they don't deal with pre-booking for public bus so you have to go to the bus station by walk on foot --about 1 km-- from bridge-end on Nam Ou(=Ou river).
.

sel ing

The last time I made this trip, there were direct buses (two a day I think) taking you straight from one of Chiang Rai's main bus stations (I can't remember which one) to Huai Xai. They weren't particularly expensive, and were comfortable, Thai buses. I got information on the buses by enquiring at the central Chiang Rai bus station, in the middle of town (though I don't remember if that's the bus station that the buses left from).

It's been a few years, so things might have changed, but I imagine there's still a direct bus service. Note that Laos has an issue with building bus stations far from town centers, so the bus will probably drop you off a fair distance from the middle of Huai Xai. I'm not aware of current details though.

If you don't have asthma, you should be fine. I found air pollution in November in Chiang Mai not so good for me but I was okay. I also dealt with rain. I would still take the chance and go in Feb. At my age, I can't see more than a mile anyway. I also found air travel is more expensive in Feb but not by much.

Thanks, we do not have Asthma and are generally healthy and young(ish) so i think Feb might be the ticket especially if November could be a gamble anyway!

Flights are a bit more but it is manageable.

Thanks everyone, this has been very illuminating.

There are four levels of "beaches"
- The foreign tourists beaches (not hidden, everyone knows about it)
- The Thai tourists beaches (not hidden, Most thais knows about it)
- The beach next door that is near a tourist center but no one go there for some reason (just need to walk around to find them)
- Hidden beaches (as said, often remote, or not a nice access; the beaches are in their natural states, which for many tourists, is not considered as a "nice beach"=> no 7-11, rural restaurants and if the place is inhabited, likely not a clean environment; bugs, seaweed, etc. :D)

Songkhla & Satun are probably the only provinces where you are going to find 'hidden beaches'.

Inland however, in Lanna, and even more in Isaan, there are plenty of truly hidden gems, known from local people, but too far from the main tourist trail (Islands-Bangkok-Chiang Mai).

It's not even a matter of finding them because they are not hard to find, but more to take the decision to go in areas where people speak little English (or even little Thai ;) and where you definitely won't be able to eat anything but local food.