Should I bring a map?
LONG ANSWER: You should get yourself a good map. In Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, maps may seem a bit redundant as there are so few roads, but there is always a time when you need to consult a map. Usually, even in rural Cambodia, there are good signs. However, at sometimes the signage is missing or inadequate (or not in English). I have used my map, and a compass, on each time I have toured. Often I have changed direction, taken a new route or just gone without and agenda. My map has always been useful.
I have taken a variety of maps, but the one I find most useful for the region is the map I bought recently for Laos and Cambodia. I have a few larger maps which show the elevation in the region. These always prove useful for planning and also for consulting on the ride when I want to know what mountains are coming my way. I find my maps at Stanfords or Amazon. Some of the maps I have used (or still us) are here:
I also have a road atlas dated 2001 from Lonely Planet. A lot of cyclists have given this atlas a bad review. Personally I always take it and use it. It is out of date, some of the distances are bad, but it does give you a good indication of things and is more durable than the other maps I have. It does get frustrating with its missing roads and missing villages (and plain wrong spelling), but to me it is a good resource, even if I don't trust it 100%.
Maps and local citizens is another area of caution when cycling in SEA. Locals usually do not know how to read a map. It is useless getting out your map in a village and asking for directions, even if the map has the local language on it. Locals will tell you all sorts of rubbish to 'big' themselves up (face) in front of their peers. Avoid this. Only get your maps out as an amusement for the local population. The best people to read maps in SEA, in my experience, are the de-mining units in Cambodian towns (for obvious reasons). Pretty much every other local cannot read them, they have never had the opportunity. People in cities may help you more, but don't bother with the countryside dwellers.
On a final note, there is a great deal of road building, major projects and renewals of existing infrastructure which affect the existing maps. I find that there are differences in road surfaces (dust to tarmac and back again), new roads and upgrades in every trip I make. I have been cycling the region for 10 years now and there are so many differences you wouldn't believe the rate of change. My advice is to get an up-to-date map, and then even don't trust that 100%.
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