Mae Ngao National Park to Chiang Mai

Posted by Vince on November 16, 2015
Posted in: Thailand.

16th November. 200km approx.

Sleep was a bit difficult last night, with tiny little ants walking over us in the tent and the hot night air refusing to circulate, even though I’d pulled back half the tent fly to open up the tent a bit, so when six am came around and it started getting light enough to see the trees outside it was a pleasure to wake up and greet the day.

Karen whipped up a pot full of instant oats which we flavoured with honey, cooled with UHT milk and shared with Aad and Mike, and also a plate of fried tomatoes and baked beans, whilst on Aad’s Coleman cooker we boiled the water for teas and coffees.

Bikes packed – we were the last to get ready as I’d spent 10 minutes or so getting out my 12v compressor and bringing the rear tyre pressure up to the required 42psi – we left the campground in the early morning heat. The road out didn’t look half as challenging or as impressive as it did last night when we rode in under cover of darkness, and it wasn’t too long before we stopped at the junction with the main road and waited briefly for Aad and Mike to join us, as they were a bit behind having stopped along the way to take some photos.

We turned north and followed the 105 up to Mae Sariang. Conscious that we had about 200km to ride today and had no more gear to repair any new punctures with we took it easy on the ride, trying to dodge the few potholes we saw on the road. At Mae Sariang we turned right – east – and joined the southern section of the famed ‘Mae Hong Son Loop’. The road condition was perfect for riding – beautifully cambered corners, smooth consistent surface, and a bright yellow centre line that was easily visible, and with minimal traffic we had a blast on it.

Aad had given me the route to load into my GPS, but some glitch had caused the map layer containing the road network to disappear so all I could see was a pink line that I needed to follow and the blue triangle that represented the bike’s current location. In discussion later Aad recommended unloading the Open Street Maps of Australia and India and reloading SE Asia, and that solution worked.

Despite the need to protect the rear tyre I couldn’t resist the temptation to change the ride mode to ‘dynamic’ as the twisty road just beckoned to be ridden fast, but today I tried to be a little more subtle with the throttle, and I must of at least partially succeeded as Karen didn’t pick up immediately on the change in behaviour, but gradually it became apparent to her that we were on a charge. To Mike, who was riding behind us, the up-shift to dynamic was blatantly obvious – a flick of the switch and two gear changes later and we’d disappeared from his sight. I do love our bike!!!

We stopped at a small servo to refuel – the first petrol station we’ve encountered in ages that included a little shop selling drinks and snacks, so we all enjoyed an almond Magnum ice cream and some Pringles, washed down with some Coke.

Back on the road it was twisty curvy riding again, up and down along the mountains. Aad had said at the refuelling stop that he was hanging back as he wasn’t riding at his optimum today, but when I got delayed by a cement mixer truck at some roadworks and Aad snuck ahead on the inside he just bolted away, enjoying the road that now followed the contours of the brown river flowing on our left. The road rose and fell and cambered left and right through the myriad of curves like a roller coaster, water on one side and cliff edge on the other.

Eventually our riding playground gave way to some light industrial plants, signalling the start of the commute into Chiang Mai. The traffic became denser and slower, and soon we were passing through built up commercial areas, squeezing our wide bikes through the narrow gaps near the curb reserved for scooters. Entering the city of Chiang Mai we saw quickly how the city is laid out in a square shape surrounded by a water filled moat. I pulled back so Mike could lead us to our destination – Panda House Guest House – as my GPS wasn’t showing me enough detail to navigate by.

A few twists and turns along the one-way streets that ran adjacent to the moat and before long we snuck down a side street and arrived at Panda House. I was particularly elated as we’d succeeded in making it to Chiang Mai without any further tyre problems. We unpacked the bikes, carried our gear to our second floor rooms, and enjoyed the air-conditioned coolness that welcomed us as we opened the door.

After a bit of a rest we went for a walk to the Piston Shop – they’ll be fitting the new Karoo 3 tyres to our GSA tomorrow, and Aad arranged with Nat – manager of the shop – to bring in his bikes tomorrow so they can fit the new rear Avons that have been sent from the UK to Chiang Mai in four days for them, and also so he can service the bikes. Nat was very helpful and he offered Aad every assistance he required.

From the Piston Shop Aad and Mike went straight back to the Panda House to meet their contact who had received the Avon tyres for them, whilst Karen and I stopped at a hotel we walked past and had dinner there. We did pass on a message for Aad and Mike to join us for dinner if they wished, and they did start walking to meet us but as we found out later they discovered a cheap street restaurant and ate there – 190 baht for the two of them, drinks included.

Back at the Panda House we said goodnight to Aad & Mike and retired early to bed – we hadn’t slept well the previous night in the tent and we were both quite tired. Tomorrow I need to take the bike into Barcelona Motors for the service and then Piston Shop for tyres – so another busy day ahead of us!

Mae Sot to Mae Ngao National Park

Posted by Vince on November 15, 2015
Posted in: Thailand.

Sun 15th November. 200km approx.

The plan today was to get off our collective backsides and ride approx half the distance between Mae Sot and Chiang Mai, aiming to camp overnight in the Mae Ngao National Park, just 20km south of where Route 105 runs through Mae Sariang and then becomes a 200km section of the Mae Hong Son Loop – the magical 2-3 day loop to the west of Chiang Mai that is famous for its 1,864 corners.

We – Karen & I, and Aad & Mike needed to get off our backsides as we had settled in at the Hop Inn Hotel in Mae Sot, which had allowed us to recover both from the exhaustion of the past 10 weeks or so, and also a short bout of illness that I’d succumbed to – first a fever that just came out of nowhere and hit quite hard, followed by stomach cramps that lasted a day or so. Yesterday had been an improvement for me over the previous two days, and today I was good to ride.

We also needed to get going as whilst we’d had the chance to rest, relax and recuperate in Mae Sot, our allotted 15 day visa allowance was being rapidly chewed through and we weren’t making any forwards progress. Not only did we need to get to Chiang Mai to kick off our Mae Hong Son Loop ride, but there were things we needed to do in Chiang Mai that would take some time (bike service and new tyres), and there are many other famous & scenic rides radiating out of Chiang Mai that we wanted to experience.

The route we’d selected to take us from Mae Sot to Chiang Mai wasn’t the quickest as we wished to avoid the main highway as much as possible, but it promised to be more scenic as it ran straight north up from Mae Sot, hugging the border with Myanmar in many places as it entered Thailand’s western mountains.

After packing the bikes and having a light breakfast featuring the nice hot chocolate drink, we were all ready to go. The first section of the road was commercial in nature, but quickly the built-up area started to start away and be replaced by cultivated lots of land, which themselves soon gave way to the jungle bush.

The road was good, the sky was blue, the temperature a pleasant 25 degrees C – and we had an awesome ride. I switched the bike across to ‘dynamic’ mode – something I haven’t made much use of to date – and instantly it felt as if we were rising a different machine – no longer the tame, well-behaved animal that we’ve grown accustomed to, but an absolute beast that reacted instantly to throttle and brake commands, snapping out of corners as the power came on and braking sharply at the lightest touch on the front brake lever. I was loving the responsiveness and unbridled power of the machine but Karen was somewhat less than impressed as she could sense the rear end sliding through some of the perfectly crafted corners we were shooting through.

We had a few short stops in the morning – a police check post that just wanted to see our passports (most checkpoints have either been unmanned or they have made no effort to stop us as we’ve approached so we’ve just ridden through slowly), a fuel stop, and just a short while later we stopped at a tyre repair place so Mike could pump up his tyres as they were a bit low.

The countryside was lush, green, serene, and beautiful to ride through. We pushed on steadily, enjoying the road that in most places was smooth and well-formed, easily coping with some older sections of road surface that were showing signs of age and repairs. Out in the lead at one stage I created a hill to see a family of six cows lined up across the road, so I stopped quickly and put the hazard lights on, with Aad and Mike a few seconds behind and giving them enough advance warning to just avoid the hazard – the 1200 can pull up very quickly when called upon.

Around midday we came to a long section of rough unsealed road that twisted and climbed up the mountainside but even that was blissful to ride – standing up on the pegs and leaning the bike in, body out in the curves that dipped and snaked. A short section of tarmac appeared but this quickly showed major signs of determination with large potholes in it, and this was more demanding to ride across than the unsealed section.

Out in front I crested another hill and slowed to assess a very steep downhill section when the tyre pressure alarms started to freak out on the dashboard – the red warning light wasn’t inviting and I could see that the pressure in the rear tyre was plummeting towards zero in the space of a few seconds. I stopped completely and flagged down Mike to tell him we had a puncture, and Karen alighted so I could get the bike down to the bottom of the steep hill and onto some flat ground where we could take a look at the problem.

The downhill section was quite rutted and covered in gravel, and I walked the bike down with a combination of clutch and brake, Aad & Mike walking alongside ready to catch any slips as the bike squirmed around with a completely deflated rear tyre, but the front braking action was just superb, never once invoking a slide on the steep, loose surface.

Down on flat ground I rolled to a halt, and Aad slipped a plank of wood he’d found under the centre stand before we all helped to get the bike up onto its stand. The damage to the tyre was easy to see – a slash between the blocks. We were carrying our spare (but very well used) front and rear tyres – though the spare rear still had a puncture in it that we’d picked up at the temple of 8,000 Buddha statues in Myanmar and hadn’t repaired.

We’d stopped in a small valley, a rice paddy field on one side and lush jungle with the sounds of a waterfall on the other side. The road level was a few metres above the paddy field, and a small hut made from concrete blessed blocks stood a short distance away, adjacent to the small river that flowed under the road and which fed the waterfall on the other side.

I lifted out our puncture repair kit and 12 volt compressor and set about repairing the puncture, with Aad looking on closely as he’s never used one of these kits to repair a tubeless tyre – and then he laughed when I told him I’d never used this before either. The kit is simple to use – ream out the hole using the reaming tool, lather up one of the worms with rubber cement and then use the insertion tool to drive the worm into the hole. Let the glue dry, trim off the excess worm ends that protrude from the hole and then reinflate tyre via compressor.

And so our repairs would have been simple except for the fact that rather than a small puncture the tyre had been slashed – probably by one of the last potholes we’d encountered just at the top of the steep hill – and one worm wasn’t sufficient to fill the hole. Neither was two worms, and neither was three worms, and this was starting to look problematic as my repair kit only had five worms to start off with, and had also found another puncture near the slash and repaired that with a worm, so we had one worm left and diminishing confidence that we could repair the tyre.

By this stage Karen and Mike had settled into their chairs, sitting under the shade of a nearby tree that rose up from the field below us – and were quite enjoying watching Aad and I work on the tyre. We had a look at the spare tyre I was carrying – whilst the block had been slashed by the shard of glass we’d picked up at the Buddha temple from inside the tyre we could see that just a small puncture had actually pierced the tyre, so we reamed that from the inside and plugged that with the last worm we had, and then Aad removed the rear wheel from the bike and set to work swapping the tyres over.

Mike got some detergent from his pannier and we used that to get the repaired the onto the rim, and then we hit problems as we couldn’t get the bead to reseat. My little 12v compressor couldn’t generate enough pressure to reseat the tyre, so we ended up removing the wheel from the bike and trying a few tricks – like winding a strap around the circumference of the tyre and compressing the strap, but all of our attempts were fruitless, and we couldn’t reseat the tyre and inflate it.

From our GPS and trip meters we knew that the tyre repair shop that had helped Mike in the morning was 84km south, and Mae Sariang was about 50-70km north. Cars and light trucks were passing us reasonably frequently as we worked on the side of the road – covering us in dust as they drove past and providing entertainment as many of them struggled to climb the steep hill we’d come down a few hours earlier, but assistance came in the form of a young man on a scooter, who had stopped to watch us briefly a while earlier and had then disappeared, unbeknownst to us, into the besser block shack in the paddy field we were stuck next to.

With few words of English but clearly obvious hand signals – I was summoned to his scooter, along with the uncooperative tyre and rim, which he placed in front of him on the scooter. I grabbed my helmet, climbed on the back of the Honda Wave 100cc scooter, and we attacked the steep hill, bouncing and skating up the rough rocky section.

Half way up the hill my right foot slipped off the footpeg and the footpeg retracted, so I had to stick my leg out straight to avoid having it driven into the ground, and it was a very precarious and action-packed ride, but the rider seemed to know where the smoothest line to take was, and we continued to make forwards progress up to the crest of the hill where I tapped him on the shoulder and got him to stop so I could find the footpeg again. He passed me the wheel and I held that between us as we started the descent on the other side, negotiating the ruts and bumps as we headed down.

We bounced and bumped along the off-road section for a few km til we came back to tarmac, and around the next corner we pulled off the road into a little scooter workshop. The mechanic there only had an ancient foot pump to offer and whilst we tried that it still couldn’t pop the bead back on the tyre, so he instructed my helper to take the wheel further down the road – either 10 km or 10 minutes or 10 hours (I couldn’t understand what the unit of ’10’ was), whilst I was given a chair to sit and watch the mechanic at work on the steady stream of machines arriving at his rural workshop. I was a bit concerned at sending off my wheel in the hands of someone I didn’t know, but two-up plus wheel on the 100cc scooter was making it almost impossible to climb the steep mountain hills, and it made more sense to lighten the load on the little machine.

In the hour or so that it took my helper to return with the wheel successfully fitted with the reinflated and seated tyre I watched the mechanic work quickly and efficiently work on his scooters, and grabbed a refreshing Coke from the store adjacent to the workshop. Tarpaulins laid out in the yard were covered in rice and nuts, and as the sun started to drop ladies gathered up the dried produce and filled up sacks with them.

When my helper returned I grabbed him a beer and paid his fuel cost as he refilled, and then gave him a small gift of appreciation. He arranged for me to return to our stranded bike in a dual cab ute along with the wheel and some cold drinks I’d bought for Karen, Aad and Mike, and he followed behind on his scooter.

The sun was almost gone by the time we got back to the bike, and Aad quickly refitted the wheel to the bike whilst Karen snapped a couple of quick photos of our helper and his scooter. Bike reassembled and repacked, we headed off towards the campground in the Mae Ngao National Park, about 20km north of our location.

The tyre pressure alarm went off again – the recommended pressure is 42psi and it had only been inflated to 29psi, but at least the worm repair was holding and we weren’t loosing any air. The bike was squirming on the soft tyre so we just rode along at a slow pace, trying to protect the tyre.

Darkness fell quickly and the lights on the bike lit up the road extremely well, highlighting the curves and twists in the jungle road. We turned off the main road and headed down the track toward the campground, a further 5km of riding. Riding into the camp a man jumped onto a scooter and led us to a spot where we could pitch our tents next to the river.

In the darkness we pitched our tents and then went up to the nearby shelter and started cooking dinner. Karen had bought some steak in Mae Sot and she cooked that to perfection, whipping up some mashed potato and carrots and and a pepper gravy. Meanwhile Aad and Mike shared hotdog sausages and baked beans in their one-pot dinner. A hungry dog came by and Karen gave her some steak.

The air was very still and hot, and Mike and I grabbed some cokes and water from the campground store. Dinner over and pots washed and dried up we retired to our tent, struggling to get to sleep in the heat but weary from our long day. It had taken five hours from puncture to getting back on the road, but we had dealt with the situation as best we could and we’re happy to have arrived at our intended destination. Part-way through the night I got up and pulled back half the fly, uncovering the tent and trying to get a bit of cooler air into the tent. Sleep finally came, brought on by the relaxing sound of the river water rushing by. A great day’s riding – despite our puncture and unintended halt along the way.

Mae Sot Rest Days

Posted by Vince on November 13, 2015
Posted in: Thailand.

10th, 11th, 12th and now 13th November

I think the original plan was two nights in Mae Sot, but that was extended to three nights and then four as last night I was sick with a fever and Aad was very tired, so we’re staying put here in Mae Sot again today and will head upcountry tomorrow.

Karen has located some accommodation in Chiang Mai, and we’ll camp for a couple of nights on our way there. In Chiang Mai I’ve got a service arranged for our bike as there’s a BMW Motorrad shop in town, and I’ll get new tyres to replace our worn TKC80’s. Unable to locate any Continental tyres we’ll be switching across to Metzeler Karoo 3’s – an unknown quantity for me but hopefully they’ll do a good job. I do like the TKC80’s as they are very confidence-inspiring – very predictable and forgiving.

Karen has also tracked down an Olympus store who has been able to source a new digital camera for her – a TG4 – the model we’ve been trying to get our hands on since her old TG3 died somewhere in India. The Nikon AW130 we bought as an interim solution just doesn’t cut the mustard – it’s slower shutter speed and darker lens doesn’t capture sharp images from the back of the bike as we’re riding along, and our photos are our only souvenirs as we don’t buy any momentos along the way, so we’d like to get some reasonable photos at least.

The past few days have been relaxing, off-bike stuff. Karen has caught up with her 31-day backlog of uploading photos and attaching them to old posts, and that’s been a massive job – taking two days and evenings to complete. I’ve been trying to track down tyres and doing some forwards-planning for the next parts of our trip – Laos, Cambodia, and back to Thailand again. We’ve also started to look into the logistics of flying the bike back into Australia, and Ivan from Bikes Abroad is helping us with that.

Breakfast is included at our nice little Hop Inn Hotel – an egg on toast, with a few tinned sausages on the side and some salad. There’s a coffee machine in the breakfast area that also makes nice hot chocolates, and they go down very well.

We had planned to go see 007 last night but I was feeling exhausted – I didn’t realise it at that stage but I was just starting to get sick – so we all ordered pizza except for Karen who had mushroom pasta, and we all ate our dinner in our room, watching the last Moto GP of the season on tv, as Mike had been able to download it a few days ago.

We had gone to Tesco’s around midday yesterday – we caught a taxi there and a three-wheeled trolley-motorcycle contraption back to our hotel as the sun was blistering. Lunch was KFC and then – to Karen’s absolute delight – desert was an ice cream sundae at Swevenson’s (or something like that). We did a bit more shopping for our upcoming camping trip, but it’s that hot here that it’s perhaps unlikely we’ll be camping out too much.

So in a nutshell all four of us – Aad & Mike, Karen and I – are relaxing and recovering from the hectic riding schedule we’ve endured over the past month or two. It’s been great to not have to pack up the bike every morning and move on every day. With that said I’m sure we’ll be looking forwards to exploring the back roads of NW Thailand from tomorrow onwards, once we are all a bit more rested.

Hpaan (Myanmar) to Mae Sot (Thailand)

Posted by Vince on November 10, 2015
Posted in: Myanmar, Thailand.

180km approx.

All of us – Karen & myself, Aad & Mike – were a bit sad at the thought of leaving Myanmar today, but our fourteen day tour of this beautiful country has come to an end and it’s time for us to move into Thailand for the next part of our adventures.

Up around 6:00am, we wandered around the corner and collected our bikes from the courtyard of the concierge’s home and packed them before quickly dispensing with another uninspiring breakfast. We were ready to ride at 8:00am as planned, already sweltering inside our riding gear.

We had another rider with us this morning – a man from Portugal riding his GS650 to East Timor. He was riding to a very tight timeframe – he had left Portugal two months ago and needed to arrive in East Timor on 28th November as part of some anniversary celebrations. He had crossed India in five days and Myanmar in four days.

We refuelled on the outskirts of Hpaan and hooked up with the four wheel drives again as we were supposed to travel in convoy today, but it wasn’t long before our tour leader waved us ahead and we opened up a lot of road between us and the cars, trailing far behind us as they struggled with the congestion in some of the villages we passed through, and the bumpy conditions on the open road.

Just out of Hpaan we turned east and could see the steep limestone karsts rising up from the paddy fields, wrapped in low-level clouds whilst their peaks poked out above. The road condition deteriorated and it became quite a bumpy ride, and as the road narrowed in width it became more challenging as we tried to overtake slow cars and trucks whilst also dodging the oncoming traffic.

The riders stopped for a cold Coke at a small shop along the way, before heading off and catching up again to the tour bus that saw us quickly through a ‘Tourist Police’ checkpoint on the road before again waving at us to go on ahead.

About 20km west of Myawaddy the crappy road gave way to a beautifully designed and constructed highway – smooth and perfectly cambered as it climbed from the plain up into the hills. After the bouncing and jostling we’d experienced all morning this road was an absolute blast to ride. We switched the ride mode to ‘dynamic’ and played a bit on the twisty road, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Too quickly however the highway ran out as we started to enter Myawaddy, grinding to a halt a bit back from the Myanmar border control post.

A helmeted policeman waved us forwards, around the line of stationary cars queuing to be processed, and then gave us a big thumbs up and a hand-shake as we jumped the queue and rode up past the front of the line. We quickly filled out a departure questionnaire, had our passports stamped and photos taken, retrieved our spare tyres from the back of the tour bus, and changed the last of our local currency into Thai baht. All up exiting Myanmar took us about 30 – 45 minutes.

We rode across the Friendship Bridge, switching back to the left-hand side of the road, and descended into the confusing quagmire of the Thai border control area. A policeman waved our three bikes forward and we parked on the wrong side of the road then crossed back over the road and front up at one of the booths to wait for an immigration officer to issue our Visas On Arrival. We quickly completed the arrival cards we were given, and advanced one by one, handing over our passports and then forlornly looking at the 15-day visa stamp when they were handed back – we had heard rumours that we could be issued with 30-day visas.

We were getting ready to ride away when a uniformed customs officer wearing a surgical mask over his mouth and nose told us that we needed to go see the people at the customs office, along with passports and vehicle registration papers. The clerk behind the window was struggling to locate key information on our BMW rego papers, and through an interpreter we pointed out the parts she needed to see – model of motorcycle and colour, for example. Eventually she printed off in triplicate our ‘Simplified Customs Declaration Form’, and then stamped it in red with a big warning that I’d be fined 1,000THB/day if I didn’t return the form or export the motorcycle by the required date.

Aad had two bikes to have processed by the customs people – his and Mike’s – and he got bogged down so badly in the process he was getting ready to explode. Meanwhile – I’d been alerted to the fact that we had inadvertently skipped an interim process when the customs officer called us forwards, and now I had to go back and complete and register our ‘Information of Conveyance’ form. The form itself was better suited to aircraft or boats as it requested crew and passenger details, and the process to have it completed was quite madcap. One officer handed out the blank forms – in between dealing with a constant stream of local people crossing the border and submitting another form – and then when the form had been completed she would stamp every page, then leave her booth – cross the road in front of all the traffic to the other side and enter another office where she would photocopy the original form, then return to her booth, stamp the photocopy, and then return the original form and the passport. Paperwork madness !!!

Karen – angel that she is – skipped across the border to a shop and bought four cokes and then waltzed back to us and gave us all a cold drink as we continued to deal with the various bits of paperwork and bureaucracy before us.

When we all finally had our papers sorted we were still unsure if we were really free to go, so Aad collared a senior officer – waved his sheaf of papers in front of him and got the ‘OK’ for us to leave. Without waiting for anyone to change their minds – we’d already been told that we needed insurance but then subsequently this requirement had wavered and then vanished – we were back into our hot riding gear and squeezing between the lines of incoming and outgoing traffic filtering slowly through the control point. The last we saw of the three 4×4’s we’d travelled through Myanmar with was of the cars still stuck in the line as they waited to be processed.

In to Thailand and out on the road we had a short ride to the hotel we had booked for the night – the Hop Inn in Mae Sot, about 5km from the border post. The distance was short but the degree of change from Myanmar, India and beyond was huge. A lot of the cars looked very new – a lot of them single or dual cab SUV’s. We passed the equivalent of a Bunnings hardware superstore, and then passed a Tesco’s store that was advertising KFC and The Pizza Company, along with ‘Spectre’ – the latest James Bond movie, just released last week.

We checked into our hotel – new, fresh, clean, Spartan but practical and comfortable, and then after a shower we walked the two km’s back to Tesco’s for a pizza dinner at The Pizza Company, stopping enroute for Karen to throw a leg over the first motorbike she’s been easily able to reach the ground on – a GO-125 by NKT (see http://www.nakornthaimotor.co.th/). Much discussion ensued about buying this little pearler – about AU$2,000 – for Karen – so she could live the dream to the max and ride along with us, but comfort prevailed and she opted to stay on the back of our GS Adventure.

Pizza for dinner was great, and afterwards we almost bought tickets to see 007 in ‘Spectre’ – but the English version wasn’t on til 8:30pm and we were all knackered after a long day so it was a hot and humid walk back to the Hop Inn where we said goodnight to Aad and Mike and then worked on our computers til about midnight, enjoying the first high-speed internet we’ve had in ages 🙂

 

FOOTNOTE: Karen has now added and/or updated the photo galleries from Shillong – Darjeeling all the way through to Inle Lake, Myanmar – so feel free to go back and check those posts again to see her photographs !!!  Fingers crossed she will add the remaining galleries tomorrow so then we’ll be all caught up with ourselves. And I take my hat off to her as it’s a big chore, made much harder when the internet is slow (which is almost all the time….) … plus the power cuts etc etc etc 🙂

Mawlamyine to Hpaan

Posted by Vince on November 9, 2015
Posted in: Myanmar.

9th November. 100-odd km via a southerly sightseeing diversion.

Bit hard getting up this morning at 06:20am as our bed was so comfortable and we’re both a bit weary from moving on every day after weeks on the go, but nevertheless we got up and got sorted, meeting Aad & Mike for a lacklustre breakfast at 07:00am in the restaurant – the one saving grace for me was the percolated coffee. Karen spoke to a lady who said she was Yangoon and that whilst the official result of the general election was going to be announced at 3:00pm today, social media reports suggested that the opposition had secured the win. Let’s see what happens this afternoon.

Aad and Mike said that today’s itinerary called for local sightseeing on foot so after breakfast Karen and I changed out of our riding gear into casual clothes as we were already sweltering, but when we saw Win at 8:00am he said that first we had a 30km ride south to the sightseeing place, so it was back into our sticky gear and a quick pack of the bikes before we were all ready to leave at 8:20am, twenty minutes later than planned but no one had told us that the plan had changed so you get that on big jobs.

The 3 x four wheel drives departed about 10 minutes before the 3 x bikes and the tour bus, but somehow we managed to pass them and arrive at the sighting destination first, 30 minutes before the fourbies arrived.

An archway over the entrance road leading off the main road gave way to a long line of tall statues of monks – perhaps a hundred or more statues of monks – walking down the side of the road, before the statues walked over a footbridge that cross the road, and disappeared down a long gravel track. It was an amazing display that heralded our arrival at a hilly area festooned with gigantic statues of Buddha – standing statues, a huge reclining statue, another huge statue still under construction – the head completed and the core of the body assembled – perhaps three or four stories high of poured concrete floors and pillars. We rode around this Disneyland of statues for a while, before stopping at a small stall and sitting down to a cold Coke and stale potato crisps – surrounded by a dozen or more playful kittens that had been rescued by the shop owner, some as young as just four days old.

We back-tracked north in the direction of Maylamyine, then turned NE to bypass the town and head in a bit of a curve towards Hpaan, 73km or so north of the sighting place (name to be discovered when I can check with Win).

The road crossed two large bridges spanning the rivers below – the road surface was made from metal slats running lengthways with a 2-inch gap between each slat – wide enough to catch your front tyre and spit you off the bike. A narrow track on either side of the bridge was fully-surfaced with the metal slats – the track wide enough for the small scooters that pedal these roads, but it took all of my concentration to ride carefully over the bridge without clipping the bridge railings or weaving into the gap at the edge of the track.

The road veered NW and the countryside was beautiful to ride through – jagged limestone karsts on our right rose up vertically from the green fields under cultivation. Once again the roadway was shielded in most places from the sun by an avenue of trees on either side of us – this is a common feature of the country roads here in Myanmar and is always welcome as the shade from the trees helps keep us cool from the harsh sun overhead.

Aad had been having big troubles with his Garmin 62 GPS last night, and the route he’d imported into our GPS wasn’t working properly either – just 5km out of Hpaan it wanted us to turn around and return to Hpaan via Mawlamyine – a detour of about 99km – but we ignored the GPS and followed Mike to the Hotel Angels Land – our last hotel on our tour through Myanmar. The concierge pointed to the concrete apron out the front of the hotel as the ‘secure bike parking’ location but Aad and Karen pounced on him and he instead arranged for us to park the bikes at his house nearby where they will safer inside a secure compound, so we unloaded the bikes at the hotel and then moved them to his house.

After a cooling shower – I was melting inside my riding gear – the tour bus picked us up and drove us into town to a lacklustre restaurant for lunch. Karen & I and Aad & Mike sat down to dubious chicken curry, with an assortment of accompanying dishes of indeterminable origin. Lunch finished with, and after collecting cameras from our hotel rooms, we again boarded the tour bus – this time for a short trip to the number #1 sightseeing venue in this area – the Kaw Goon Cave.

The Kaw Goon Cave dates back to the seventh century and is a above-ground cave nestled in the side of a limestone karst that has been decorated with over 10,000 images of Buddha, ranging in size from minute to massive. Our guide explained that many of the images had been carved into the rock wall – but to Aad and myself it looked more like they had applied a plaster to the rock wall and then carved or moulded the plaster. Either way the cave – both the high rock wall approaching the cave mouth and the cave itself was covered in images of Buddha. The cave mouth faced east so our visit was made cooler in the afternoon shade, and the whole place had a very tranquil and serene feeling to it.

We returned to the hotel – Karen went for a shower and Aad & I went in search for some cold Coke and crisps. I took the opportunity to recover the 1/2 bottle of red wine from my pannier that Karen hadn’t finished off last night at dinner – she deserves a celebratory drink this evening to mark our last night in Myanmar.

Whilst our first two days in Myanmar were quite frenetic with long distances and night-time riding that was both dangerous and fraying upon nerves, our remaining journey through this beautiful country has been very enjoyable and insightful. The people are very shy and reserved, but also hardworking and always keen to render assistance to travellers. The countryside is picturesque – though we would have liked to have explored the north-west where we entered Myanmar from India even more as that mountainous area was especially breathtaking.

Myanmar is a country undergoing change – a quick check of the ABC news website this afternoon suggests that the opposition party has indeed secured a historical win in the general election. Hopefully future change won’t be achieved at the cost of the balanced and gentle way of life we’ve come to observe and appreciate over the past two weeks.

Kyaiktiyo to Mawlamyine…To the Golden Rock and Beyond!

Posted by Karen on November 8, 2015
Posted in: Myanmar.

We had a very basic breakfast at 6.00am ….one single egg on bread (you couldn’t really call it toast) with only coffee (no tea) which I don’t drink.

At around 7.00am we had a walk to the local “Truck Bus” Station….it was basically a tipper truck fitted out with 7 rows of narrow benches, 5 or 6 people per row. It cost 5000 Kyet each return. The driver was like a madman ascending the 15km track up the mountain and it was sometimes more like a roller coaster ride. It made me feel a bit woozy in the stomach and I was glad to see the end of it….Vince loved it…in fact it was the highlight for him.

At the top of Mount Kkyaiktiyo there were people with bamboo carry chairs who offered to carry us the rest of the way (for a fee of course)….Vince and I decided we must look really old and decrepit, as several times we were offered a ride…. but refused.

At a certain point we had to remove our shoes….and whilst I have no wish to be disrespectful….I am getting sick of having to walk along dirty areas in my bare feet….not hygienic to say the least….and my injured toe (from the Inle Lake Sinking Incident) just starts to heal up and when I have to walk around without shoes it flares up and pains me again! We passed by where the Foreigners have to pay and get a pass….6000 Kyet each….it sounds a lot but is really only about US$6

The Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Myanmar (Burma). It is a small pagoda built on the top of a granite boulder which is covered with 24ct gold leaf pasted on by devotees. The “Golden Rock” itself was pretty impressive… some say just a glimpse is enough of an inspiration for any person to become Buddhist….hmmmm…no change yet! I really liked the bells pilgrims attach to the fences around it….it reminded me of the locks on the bridges in Paris, France. I am unable to read Burmese so I don’t know what the inscriptions said….I am assuming prayers or mantras of some kind. There were also little alcoves with candles being lit….very beautiful and tranquil. Women are not allowed in certain areas….only men….this has been a recurrent theme at several of the Pagodas we have visited in Myanmar…..where men are the only ones who can get close to things and apply the gold leaf….not sure why? According to legend, the Golden Rock is precariously perched on a strand of Buddha’s hair, and it does appear to defy gravity by not rolling down the mountain. It is the third most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in Myanmar (Burma) after the Shwedagon Pagoda (Golden Pagoda) in Yangon and the Maharani Buddha Pagoda south west of Mandalay.

On the walk back down to where we needed to catch the Truck Bus we passed many interesting stalls….one of which was selling some kind of apothecary medications……there was a bowl out front with a brown disgusting looking liquid and at the top all sorts of animal parts….including a foreleg and hoof of what I think was a goat or deer, a hedgehog of sorts, a heart shaped headed snake, centipedes and bugs of all shapes, colours and sizes….along with roots of plants….I would not be game to drink it!

After and equally hair raising descent in the Truck Bus we were soon back to our hotel and changing into our riding gear. A quick stop at the little place where we had dinner last night, but for lunch this time….again delicious…..and we were ready to tackle the 142Km ride to Mawlamyine. We arrived at the Attran Hotel around 3.45pm, an hour ahead of the 4×4’s. We were shown to our river view bungalow…that the staff told us had twin beds….but it fact I got a nice surprise….a double bed for a change…..to my mind there is something wrong with being on your honeymoon and sleeping in single beds! Anyway, not tonight Josephine……we can snuggle up together in one bed for a change. The bungalow was just gorgeous….we even had a lounge room….huge bedroom and a magnificent bathroom…..I never wanted to leave!

After doing some washing….we are just so sweaty in this tropical heat…….we went to the decking of the outdoor restaurant where we sat and had a drink and some food and watched the magnificent sunset. I didn’t have my glasses with me so when I ordered what I though was a glass of red wine at 1500 Kyet…..I was surprised to be given a bottle of french merlot, and a bill of 15,000 Kyet….luckily my husband loves me…..and in reality its only around US15…..not a big deal! Aad (Art) and Mike joined us for dinner and we had an early night….we had been hoping to watch the Moto GP on the Sky Channel tonight ….but this hotel doesn’t have it! Bugger!

7th Nov Bago to Kyaiktiyo

Posted by Karen on November 7, 2015
Posted in: Myanmar.

We were supposed to have a later start, up at 6.00am, breakfast (absolutely uninspiring) at 7.00am and sightseeing at 8.00am….but when we discovered that we had to go in our bike gear and ride slowly through the congestion of town just to see another Pagoda and Buddha Images…..we decided to give it a miss and stay at the hotel for the 2 and a half hours catching up on some housekeeping chores (photos, blogs, emails, maps etc).

We eventually headed off around 11.00am for the 100k trip to Kyaikto…..the bikes were allowed to go on ahead but instructed to stop at the “big junction” ….which never came! We did stop just outside of Kyaikto….and were joined after about half an hour by the Mercedes Sprinter…..they had been in last position and didn’t know where the others were……we were confused as there is really only one major road……after about another half an hour the tour bus and two other 4×4’s eventually arrived….they had gotten lost somehow…..it was all a bit of a fiasco….especially in the searing heat as the riders sweated it out in our adventure riding gear and helmets.

In Kyaikto we were directed down an alleyway to park in an unfinished underground car park….with a mud floor and we were worried the ANIMAL would sink! Back up on the street we were shown to a “restaurant”….I use the term loosely as it was nothing more than a big room, clearly unfinished with a few chairs and tables and no resemblance of a kitchen……I didn’t want to eat there. After some discussion we moved across the road to something that at least looked a little more decent…..but sad to say the food was inedible! The boys moved the bikes from the underground area to out the front of the restaurant. Lunch cost 5500 Kyet for Vince and I and it was crap!

We moved onto our hotel just a few minutes down the road…..the Shwe Hirthar Hotel…..again single beds…..again basic….but at least it had toilet paper! Again no food available at the hotel….we had a shower and did some washing….our clothes were so sweaty! After a little afternoon nap we went for a walk to find a local place to eat….not easy as many places are not very hygienic. We did eventually find a place with limited offerings but the food was really good….5500 Kyet for Vince and I. Mike is feeling better, still has a temp, but keen to go on an “ice cream” hunt! Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful finding ice cream or chocolate….but Vince and I did buy a small papier mache Brahman Bull….whom we have named “Marmalade” who will now be our trip mascot (Vince has been wanting a mascot since London)…Vince and the boys are still going on about this Ox Cart thing…..I really, really hope they are just winding me up!

6th Nov Pyay to Bago …..Mission Rescue Mike and “Talking” to Bugs

Posted by Karen on November 6, 2015
Posted in: Myanmar.

The day started off early…..bike packed, breakfast and ready to go by 7.00am. Mike was not feeling too well… so it was touch and go if he could ride today….after he couldn’t eat breakfast and vomited in the hotel garden. He thought he was up to it….and when the tour guides arrived around 7.15am the bikes were ready to go!

We followed Mike….but his GPS took us on an off road, ox cart track …..that miraculously took us past the World Heritage Ancient Pyu City Sri Ksetra …..so that was an unexpected benefit. The track was a bit hairy in places, with lots of deep sand to negotiate…..but Vince took it in his stride and the ANIMAL did what she was built for. It was only 13 km before we joined the bitumen again…..but believe me it seemed much longer!

Most of the riding was in the country side with the usual array of people working in the fields and the oxen and carts everywhere. Along the way we passed numerous temples and stupas. We stopped at a roadside stall for a drink and some dry biscuits and the local children were quite fascinated with the strangely dressed westerners. Back on the road we stopped after a few minutes as Mike had to throw up. This happened a couple more times……and eventually he agreed to let me give him some medication (Ondansetron) to help.

Further along, about 24km north of Taikkyi, we had to stop as Mike was so ill, he was loosing feeling in his arms and legs. We laid him down and set to work cooling him down with cool cloths, as he was tachycardic and running a temperature. I gave him some analgesia with a muscle relaxant to stop the cramping in his stomach. Before too long he said he felt more comfortable ….and wanted to ride. But we all agreed that was not a good idea. The local shop owner and people from homes nearby were all eager to help…..bringing him some tablets and a mat to lay on……but there was little anyone could really do.

We spent about 3 hours there in total…..the decision was made that Mike could not ride, so I called our tour guide, Win, to get the tour van to come back for Mike and take us to a nearby town to see a doctor. A local woman (wearing a helmet that she never removed the whole time) came with us to show us where the Dr was…..it was a strange, dingy little place, at the back of a small roadside shop. The Dr spoke limited English but he seemed to know what he was talking about and checked Mike pretty out thoroughly. He said that he had gastro and a common cold…..Mike said he was hoping for something more exotic as he felt like crap!. The Dr gave him the all clear to ride. After some further medication we went back to where Vince and Aad (Art) were guarding the bikes and we got ready to ride again….with Aad (Art) in the lead and Vince and I shadowing Mike from behind. We arrived in Bago around 5.30pm, just as the sun had gone down…..our hotel, the Shwe War Tun,
was supposed to be 4 star…..but it was very basic to say the least…..twenty million bugs of all shapes, sizes and descriptions in our room…..I spent most of the night killing them with my shoe as the crawled and flew onto my sheets and into my bed…very annoying…..single beds ….seems no one in Myanmar wants to share a bed….there is a distinct lack of double beds……..we had to carry our gear for miles and up three flights of stairs…..why do they alway give bikers the rooms furthest away?

There was nowhere to get any food in the hotel… so we went for a walk to find a local place. Vince said it reminded him of the red light district in Kalgoorlie with the seedy lighting and dinginess. The atmosphere and surroundings have definitely changed over the past few days……the noise and bustle has returned, the crazy driving on the roads and the lack of sanitation we saw in India is evident for the first time in Myanmar. Our guide tells us we are passing through mostly Hindu areas rather than Buddist areas…..HMMMMMMM…interesting observation….do’t know if there is any direct correlation between the two.

5th Nov Magway to Pyay

Posted by Karen on November 5, 2015
Posted in: Myanmar.

After breakfast we headed off to get some fuel before tackling the day’s ride to Pyay. We soon found ourselves back in the beautiful countryside, with shady tree lined roads for our riding pleasure. We saw workers in the fields and the multitude of oxen and carts we passed was inspiring for Vince, (already smitten with “Marmalade” (his pet name) the Brahman Bull we met yesterday at the Palm Oil place) who has now decided it would be a good idea to buy 3……Barry, Bruce and Bob….and maybe a baby one…..so we can travel by Ox and Cart and see more……..this was quickly taken on board by Aad (Art) and Mike….who kept feeding ideas to help the dream grow……give me strength…..I really hope he is just joking!

Along the way Aad (Art) and Mike stopped for a drink and we passed them….thinking they would catch us up…..but after a while we stopped when they had not done so…..only to discover we had missed a turn some 10km back…..so we turned back and caught them up…..they were stopped at a local shop for a drink. The locals spoke no English but were very friendly.

Our hotel was lovely, the Manglar Resort Hotel, set around a lake filled with large fish. After a delicious lunch, I asked at reception if there was anyone who could mend my boot (my attempt with superglue last night proved unsuccessful today)….and they organised a local “Taxi” (really just a tray back ute with a cover and two bench seats) for 6000 Kyet return to take me to a bootmaker. One of the staff came with us to interpret….we tipped her 1000 Kyet which she tried not to take. The bookmaker indicted that my boot was beyond glue but he could sew it…..in about half an hour…..so we watched him do it and it only cost us 3000 Kyet. Whilst we were waiting we saw a parade come along….we are not sure what they were celebrating but it did not appear to be political….Vince counted 45 girls all dressed up and carrying money……and I saw a buddah statue on one of the trucks.

Back at the resort we had single beds ….which we tried to push together and found some money under my bed and a whole load of termites under Vince’s. At 5.00pm we all piled into the Tour Bus (11 of us squashed in like sardines) to got to see the sunset by the river and taste some local food. After that we walked to the Night Market, and on the way we were invited into a wedding…. we were asked to stay and eat, but be politely declined…..not wanting to intrude. The Night Market was interesting with all sorts of foods available….we tried something that was a bit light a muffin/donut ….delicious. After that we went to see a Pagoda…..but I can’t remember the name of it.

It was a relatively early night …..we are just so very very tired! We think we need to find a nice place and spend a week or so down time to recharge….we have been on the go really since the middle of India….and as wonderful as it is to be travelling…..it is really hard work at times.

4th Nov Bagan to Magway

Posted by Karen on November 4, 2015
Posted in: Myanmar.

We set off around 7.30pm, after breakfast. Along the way we stopped off at a palm oil and sugar production area. It was very interesting watching how they collect the palm sap, which they do twice a day (sweet in the morning na detour in the evening). We got to taste some fresh sap along with the cane sugar and a special sweet treat that I can’t remember the name off…..it was all delicious! Some brave souls also tried the alcohol they produce but it was way too early in the morning for me.

We also saw how they apply the traditional make-up/sunscreen and the young girl beckoned me to come and try it…..I was a bit reluctant as I never know how my skin will react to things (I have chronic dermatitis) and I didn’t want to mess up my helmet….but the boys encouraged me to give it a go….so I did…..she drew some leaf shapes on my cheeks…..so it’s official….Karen has finally gone beyond feral now …..she’s gone Tribal!

We also met a friendly Brahman Bull ….who mills the peanuts (I never knew they grew underground….very cool!) into peanut oil. He played the show pony for photos, let us pat him and gave Vince and I a rasping lick each with his tongue….he even took Aad (Art) for a ride on the mill wheel!

It wasn’t long before we were back on the road and headed for Mt Popa. This is an extinct volcano 1518 metres above sea level, and located in central Burma about 50 km southeast of Bagan in the Pegu Range. At the top is the Monestary known as Taung Kalat with its shrines dedicated to spirits known as “Nats”. We climbed up the 777 (actually 914 counted by Mike) steps to the shrine at the top of the volcanic plug……it was so not worth the climb and having to complete most of it in bare feet (shoes not allowed) surrounded by monkey poo everywhere from the thousands of monkeys who guard the temple, was really not much fun!

It was a pleasant drive through agricultural land towards our destination of Magway, around 170km in total.

We arrived at the Nan Htike Thu Hotel around 4.30pm and after freshening up and having a bit of a relax watching “What Women Want” (the only English program on TV)….we went for a walk with Aad (Art) and Mike, around 6.30pm to find a waterside restaurant and enjoy the lovely colours of the Myanmar sunset. Unfortunately, the food was pretty inedible ….maybe the worst we have had in Myanmar so far….so we basically only ate steamed rice! We were again tired so we’re in bed by 9.00pm……you just can’t hold these Aussies back!!!!