The Slow Train to Kalaw

28th December - I left the Gypsy Inn hotel at 0630 for a short but chilly 15k ride to the station.  

After following this rickshaw I vowed I'd never again moan about the quality of my bike or the weight of my panniers. 

 

The ticket office - Burma has no computers, all tickets are written out by hand using passport details. Seats are all allocated though. 

 

 

 I travel Upper Class for 70p and the bike goes in a freight car for 30p. 

 

 The locomotive, all 75 tons of it. 

 

Fellow travellers. The daubing of the thanaka paste is quite common, even for adults. It's supposed to preserve the complexion. 

 

Loading 40 kg sacks of cabbages...... hopefully not on top of my bike!

The technology may date from when the colonials left Burma but the train left on time and arrived on time. I'm now breathing clean air at over 4,000' and all for 70p. Bargain!

Inle Lake

The flight was delightful.......I was right at the front and making the most of the leg room. On landing at He Ho I got up to grab my bag from the overhead locker but no one else moved.....so I sat down again. I thought these Burmese are obedient, they're waiting for permission to move. Five minutes later, still no movement...... they must have lost the aircraft steps I thought, still no announcement. Then I noticed ground equipment starting to move away from the aircraft and I suddenly realised  - I must be the only one getting off here! Embarrassing.

A quick pump up of my tyres, closely watched by a circle of airport staff and I was on my way the 30 odd km to Inle Lake. He Ho airport is at 1,186m and it was a hairy twisting descent down to Inle Lake at 800m. The road was rough and narrow and I had to head for the verge several times when faced with overtaking trucks and buses coming towards me.

The descent to Inle. 

Look at any travel site for Myanmar and Inle Lake is on the list 'must see' places. And quite rightly so. I spent  Boxing Day and 27 Dec here. 

The first day was spent fretting over the fact that my bank cards were blocked as soon as I tried to use them at the airport in Myanmar.........I was running out of money fast. I managed to get through to my bank via Skype ,and even more amazing, managed to answer all the security questions which I haven't thought about for years. Memorable date........??....there are several in my life, which one did I choose? "Yes, Mr Wild, it was an automated block.......possible fraudulent use detected".  Ok, thanks for spoiling two days of my trip!

 

These longtail boats are the  only motorised craft you'll see on the lake. My hotel room overlooks the main quay in  Nyaung Shwe. They're fast and noisy..........and start up very early in the morning : /

 

Away from the town it is soooo peaceful! The jetty leads to an overwater village

 

I take a boat across the lake

 

 

The mobile fishmonger barters with the villagers at the back of his oxcart. 

It was a great day out. Tomorrow I'm up early to catch the  slow train to Kalaw, an old colonial hill station.  The train ride is another 'must do' as apart from the scenery it does some weird things to overcome the gradients............

(more info)

 

..........like this

 

..........and this!

Bangkok to the top of Thailand

I decide to fly up north and enter Burma through the Mae Sai/Tachielek crossing. 

I booked a ticket online, and interestingly, was able to pay for it over the counter at the 7Eleven convenience store just down the road.  Just as well, as my debit card was not accepted. Like paying for your Easyjet ticket at Tesco Express I suppose. 

Flying to Chiang Mai

The 21km ride to the airport took a little longer than anticipated when my 'upgraded' rear rack fell apart and dumped all my bags along the hard shoulder of the motorway. I guess the bike shop forgot to tighten a couple of clamp bolts. Then the usual airport conundrum........Terminal 1 or 2? Stress levels are starting to rise but no worries, as promised Nok Air just take your bike as it arrives and stash it on the aircraft, after asking for the tyres to be deflated. 

After landing at Chiang Mai I walked towards the baggage belt and the first thing I noticed was an immaculately dressed 'hostess' waiting by the belt with my bike. Ah, the things you have to do when you work for a budget airline! And for free.....well done Nok Air!

After escaping the air terminal I headed for Decathlon as I was told the weather was a lot colder at altitude in Burma, and planning to camp if possible, I needed a sleeping bag and some socks. So, with 60 odd km to cycle to my campsite it looked like being a late night. 

I gratefully arrived around 8pm at the Mae Takri National Park camp spot and was soon tucked up in my tent. A long day. 

 

On to the border

The next few days were a bit miserable due to a mild but debilitating gastro-enteritis.  Shivering at night, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, no appetite. I managed to keep the wheels turning but  it wasn't fun. I'm still not sure what it was.......an adverse reaction to my weekly malaria tab........ dengue fever? As usual my reaction is to wait and see what happens. The morning of Christmas Eve I was about 10k into my ride and desperately seeking a toilet. I pulled into a glitzy shopping mall (Central Plaza Chiang Rai), not yet open for shoppers but thankfully the immaculate car park toilets were unlocked. Not a moment to soon! As I sat there and let the world drop out of my bottom the piped music system leapt into life with a rousing 'Jingle Bells'.  I just had to laugh at the incongruity of the situation. 

I need a checklist before moving into a room. There are the obvious desirables, comfy mattress, window, fan, shower, hot water, towel but I always fail to make an assessment of how noisy it's going to be during the night, proximity to main roads, karaoke bars and the like. Last night was a classic, traditional teak house on stilts on the edge of fishing pond, but I'd failed to notice the two caged roosters directly underneath my floorboards........cockabloodydoodledoo!

.........and then there's the owner, who lived opposite and liked his Thai whisky, who fell asleep and left his impressive wall of loudspeakers pumping out music all night. 

 

 

The next day it's on to Mae Sai which turned out to be buzzing with cross border trade and Burmese filling their boots with Thai goodies. I bought a big bag of cashews as emergency rations and then eat them all before bedtime. 

 

Travel in this corner of Burma is still severely restricted. I was hoping the situation would have been resolved by now but not so. I could go 200km up the road to Keng Tung but that was it. I would have to fly to a more open area in Burma. I found out that Golden Myanmar Airways had a flight leaving for He Ho (as in Hey ho, off we go!) at 13:30 the next day. 

Christmas Day - Into Myanmar

The two countries are divided by a river, so I checked out with Thai Immigration and rode off across a bridge, suddenly realising from all the oncoming traffic that in Myanmar they drive on the right!  I entered the Immigration Office and answered the questions a little nervously....... "Are you in an organised group?" No. "Where will you be staying?" I don't know, I'm going to find somewhere when I get there. They seemed happy that I was flying to He Ho and I was soon off on the short ride to the airport. 

 The bridge, where at some undetermined point, you start riding on the other side of the road. 

 The check in counter of a very small airline, (2 aircraft) at a very small airport. Lovely staff. 

 

Ground staff offer passengers sun brollies for the stroll to the aircraft (a ATR 72-600 for plane spotters)

Bangkok

Bike repairs in Bangkok

It's Monday 19th December and I'm starting to get excited about my trip through Myanmar. I pick up my passport from the embassy tomorrow, hopefully with a pristine 28 day visa attached.

The worst rim crack I've seen, it ran around 50% of the circumference. Don't buy cheap wheels!

Later today I pick up my bike from Bok Bok Bike, where I´m having the rear rim replaced. Then on Wednesday I cycle to Don Muang airport and catch a short flight north to Chang Mai, from where I head to the frontier crossing at Mae Sai. I'm flying with Nok Air as I've heard you just hand over your bike and they just wheel it out and put it on the plane.....saves all the faff of folding and packing.....oh, and they carry it free too!

Things to do:

1. Pick up laundry

2. Get some new small denomination US dollar bills from the bank. 

It's an annoying quirk of Laos, Cambodia, and apparently Myanmar too, that if you want to exchange dollars for local money or pay for stuff in dollars they will only accept completely clean and unmarked dollar bills......even a staple hole or biro mark causes rejection. The joke is that the local money you get in return is often so old and filthy that it's a job to recognise what it is, especially at night. Often shopkeepers get so fed up with me rummaging in my wallet, trying to identify each note that they just dive in themselves and extract what they want. Always honestly though.......in fact when I've accidentally handed over too much (not unusual!) they always point out my error.

I'll get some local currency too, there are 1,369 Myanmar Kyat to the dollar........this is going to be tricky to work out prices! In Myanmar the maximum an ATM will pay out is the equivalent to 50 dollars but the commission works out at around 10% on this small amount. I have gleaned all this useful trivia from my Thai room-mate Maatoom, who has been around a bit on his bicycle and used to live and work in Bangkok. A goldmine of useful information, he has also been wheeling me around the local eateries. Last night we went to a popular Muslim tea shop for some tasty banana pancakes, all nicely doused with condensed milk. It reminded me of Turkey.

3. Decide what I'm leaving behind until I get back

As usual I seem to acquire 'stuff' in Bangkok. Nothing essential, some of it nonsensical, just irresistible at the price. Example: A USB powered electric fan (two) in case I'm hot in my tent at night. Mmm. As an alternative to the tent in the jungle I now have a hammock with mosquito net attached. I actually plan to use this. Clothes.....a few items to smarten me up for Christmas, wherever I might be for that. It's a lot colder 'up north' so I'm going to pop into Decathlon in Chang Mai and get a skimpy sleeping bag. I'm planning on sleeping in temples where possible.....I chatted to one-time monk Maatoom and he has managed to dispel my reservations about this option....the key word is sharing, I like it. So, I'm leaving about 5kg with the Bean Around Hostel until I get back here on 19th January.

4. Pick up visa

Bangkok is a sprawling city of 8 million people and 4,000 tuk tuk's. It's about 5km to the Embassy and there are several travel options. Usually my preferred option is my bicycle and I must have clocked up around 50km of city travel this past week (front brake only because of the rear rim). I've also used the motorbike taxis, which can be scary if you end up with a young rider high on testosterone, but much quicker and cheaper than a taxi. I must check out the (BTS) Sky train before I leave as well. Like most things, it's easy after the first time.

20th December - A bout of self-doubt

I like to plan ahead a little, I'm not good at just heading off into the blue. This morning I did a bit of research into my proposed route from the border crossing at Tachilek to Mandalay following Highway 4. Everything I read tells me that as a foreigner I can't get through via this crossing, that I need a permit just to get to Keng Tung and then will have to fly from there to Mandalay. Google Maps is trying to route me across the border further west on Highway 45...........as far as I know there isn't even a border crossing there??

Mamoot came by to say goodbye and we chatted about my dilemma. He has used the 45 before and interestingly said that the fighting and travel restrictions tend to be in the monsoon season. Anyway, after talking to him I am sufficiently reassured to press on.  After all, the pace of change in Myanmar is so fast that information gets out of date very rapidly.

Mamoot also gave me some other ideas besides temples for camping overnight. Ask at hospitals, health centres, public buildings, fire stations, forestry workers stations, national park offices, schools.............the list was endless.

Mamoot's list of night stop possibilities - cut and paste the Thai into Google maps