VN + Laos on bike with Song doong cave

I bought a bike in Hanoi and rode down to HCMC, buying it is relatively easy, it's selling it that can get awkward.
Officially you need a licence to be able to buy a bike and get it properly registered but what a lot of people do is just laminate the bike reg form and just pass that on with the sale of the bike. This is your documentation and everyone I've met said if they got stopped by the police they showed them this form and didn't get into any trouble (sometimes they will keep asking you for documents, just keep showing them the form saying THIS is it), I didn't get stopped so I can't confirm that but I didn't meet anyone who actually did get into any problems, so I assume if you behave yourself on the road and wear a helmet no ones going to care.
So you can buy a bike for pretty cheap without the licence because selling it on is a pain, with a licence will cost more but it'll come with some resale value and get you out of any police problems (just don't lose it).
I don't know anything about getting a bike across the border though, I don't know if you'd run into reg problems further down the line....it might be easier to just buy another bike in Laos?
You'll have a great time though, I fucking loved it and every day I'm fighting the urge to go do it again.

I don't mean to hijack the thread but is a 2-week trip somewhere in SEA enough? where would you recommend i go if so?

>>1114642
Is it enough? No. Should you go? Yes.
You won't see everything but that would take a good few months, pick a region (north/south of somewhere) and do that, don't rush it and try to see everything or you'll never really experience it.
My personal recommendation would be north Vietnam, Hanoi City, Ha Long Bay, Sapa, lots of places to explore in 2 weeks and it's not too touristy.

>>1114319

I would advise against going to Hang Song Doong the illegal way. I did some extensive research on it because last year I wanted to do the exact same thing. The military patrols the area. Going there without running into them means you have a good chance of a) getting lost in the jungle, and b) blowing yourself up. The area is still full of what they call uxo, unexploded ordinance the Americans left there.

Personally I decided against taking these risks and went for the less impressive but still very impressive caves in phong nha park.

>>1114649
How would you recommend that i go around? i don't know how to drive a bike, so rent a car?

>>1114663

Bus or taxi

I also have no bike license.
How hard is it to learn how to ride a bike well enough to be able to roam around SEA?
Can a foreigner learn how to ride a bike in SEA?

>>1115064
never needed a licence for riding in thailand/vietnam/malaysia and most of places in taiwan. try riding a scooter in the beginning. it's almost like riding a bicycle, then you can try semi-automatic or manual motorbikes. just be very, very careful.

>>1115398
Legally, you're not required to have a license for bikes under 50cc.
For anything over that, the law states that you require a license, though that doesn't mean you "need".

>>1114319

>I read it's possible to cross border from VN to Laos somewhere in the north.

Not for foreigners, you probably could with a bribe, but it would need to be a big bribe (potentially over the cost of a bike). Also, boarder guards have been known to tip off police that confiscate bikes when you cross the boarder because technically no foreigner can have the proper paperwork (as you need to be a Vietnamese resident).

What you read on the internet is true, there is a small possibility of crossing the boarder from Vietnam to Cambodia via some of the minor crossings (Ha Tien apparently has lax boarder guards), but i think Laos is fairly hard because the requirements are on both sides of the boarder, where as Cambodia will recognize any bike and all you need to do is get past the Vietnamese control.

How stupid is it to rent/buy a cheap 50cc bike to ride along SEA countries (buy and sell in each country to not have to deal with boarder crossing)?
I know 50cc bikes are almost like bycicles with sewing machine engines but if I don't need a license, it could be an interesting option.