Anybody done a tour in Myanmar?
07-10-16, 06:37 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Anybody done a tour in Myanmar?
I'm heading over there for a four week tour at the end of the month. Interested in any information on:
1. Things to see / skip.
2. Safety
3. Status of land borders with Thailand
4. Road conditions
5. Anything else you have to share.
Thanks.
1. Things to see / skip.
2. Safety
3. Status of land borders with Thailand
4. Road conditions
5. Anything else you have to share.
Thanks.
07-10-16, 08:30 PM
#3
Senior Member
greetings from thailand! yes, i toured in myanmar a few years ago.
many recent changes, so much of my information will be out of date.
i suggest going to the "on your bike" section of lonely planet's thorntree
forum, as well as their specific southeast asia - myanmar subforum.
i'm away from my home computer, so can't access my records or
photos.....but will give it a shot.
safety not a problem. be aware of pickpockets. don't leave valuables
in hotel rooms. most hotels will have a safe in room or at front desk.
use it.
flying in/out of yangon i assume? book first and last night.....don't
remember the name, google it....."mother's hostel" or similar.
they do airport pickup/dropoff in a huge old beater 19-pax bus,
plenty of room for bike boxes, will store your box and other
luggage during the tour. they also have a safe at the front desk,
you can leave extra cash and valuables during the tour.
huge influx of tourists recently, prices going up and lodging
can be hard to find. maybe more guesthouses now? still
no camping permitted as far as i know.
not to miss? bagan. huge area full of temples and stupas.
in a desert-ish region, so still dry when other parts hit by
monsoon rains. complete with mesquite and tumbleweeds.
that means many punctures. don't even think of riding
around the temples without flat repair.
monsoons are not 24-hour deluges. expect a heavy
downpour daily around 2pm, lasting 1-2 hours.
north of yangon, from thazi, you head uphill, steep in places,
to the big lake. i've heard it's nice, but i skipped the lake.
you can return by train from the top.
east of mandalay, good riding almost to the chinese border.
also has train service if you don't want to ride both ways.
don't miss the ride up/down the ravine near the old
british bridge. won't be close enough from the road,
take the train one way to see the bridge up close.
mandalay could be skipped. the u-bein bridge as well.
looks great on postcards, but if you've ever been fishing
on a wooden dock.....well, you get the idea.
roads were mostly good to very good condition. traffic
fairly light. you may find some truck/bus traffic coming
from china via border crossing at ruili.
trains are inexpensive, will carry bikes in baggage car.
railbed condition is poor, don't expect to sleep on the
sleeper, in fact, can expect to be thrown out of the
bunk on some of the rougher sections.
there are now some land crossing options for bikes.
thorntree will have the most up-to-date info. but
i beleive crossing at mae sai still limited to kengtung.
would have to fly from there to yangon.
don't know if there is visa on arrival at land crossing
yet. may need to get visa from embassy.
i believe there is a newly opened crossing further south,
directly west of bangkok. if open, the road takes you
to kanchaniburi, bridge on the river kwai. from there
train to bangkok.
many recent changes, so much of my information will be out of date.
i suggest going to the "on your bike" section of lonely planet's thorntree
forum, as well as their specific southeast asia - myanmar subforum.
i'm away from my home computer, so can't access my records or
photos.....but will give it a shot.
safety not a problem. be aware of pickpockets. don't leave valuables
in hotel rooms. most hotels will have a safe in room or at front desk.
use it.
flying in/out of yangon i assume? book first and last night.....don't
remember the name, google it....."mother's hostel" or similar.
they do airport pickup/dropoff in a huge old beater 19-pax bus,
plenty of room for bike boxes, will store your box and other
luggage during the tour. they also have a safe at the front desk,
you can leave extra cash and valuables during the tour.
huge influx of tourists recently, prices going up and lodging
can be hard to find. maybe more guesthouses now? still
no camping permitted as far as i know.
not to miss? bagan. huge area full of temples and stupas.
in a desert-ish region, so still dry when other parts hit by
monsoon rains. complete with mesquite and tumbleweeds.
that means many punctures. don't even think of riding
around the temples without flat repair.
monsoons are not 24-hour deluges. expect a heavy
downpour daily around 2pm, lasting 1-2 hours.
north of yangon, from thazi, you head uphill, steep in places,
to the big lake. i've heard it's nice, but i skipped the lake.
you can return by train from the top.
east of mandalay, good riding almost to the chinese border.
also has train service if you don't want to ride both ways.
don't miss the ride up/down the ravine near the old
british bridge. won't be close enough from the road,
take the train one way to see the bridge up close.
mandalay could be skipped. the u-bein bridge as well.
looks great on postcards, but if you've ever been fishing
on a wooden dock.....well, you get the idea.
roads were mostly good to very good condition. traffic
fairly light. you may find some truck/bus traffic coming
from china via border crossing at ruili.
trains are inexpensive, will carry bikes in baggage car.
railbed condition is poor, don't expect to sleep on the
sleeper, in fact, can expect to be thrown out of the
bunk on some of the rougher sections.
there are now some land crossing options for bikes.
thorntree will have the most up-to-date info. but
i beleive crossing at mae sai still limited to kengtung.
would have to fly from there to yangon.
don't know if there is visa on arrival at land crossing
yet. may need to get visa from embassy.
i believe there is a newly opened crossing further south,
directly west of bangkok. if open, the road takes you
to kanchaniburi, bridge on the river kwai. from there
train to bangkok.
07-12-16, 10:15 PM
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the great information! We are actually flying into Bangkok for logistical reasons. We are hoping to cross into Myanmar by land, but will fly to Yangon if that is not possible. We will be in Bangkok on July 28th. If you are there, maybe we could meet up?
07-13-16, 07:10 AM
#5
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Haven't been there, or intend to, but currently reading a book by a couple from England that traveled the world, including Myanmar. Can't remember the author's name but the book is titled "Four Cheeks to the Wind". I can't tell you about Myanmar since I honestly only started that chapter last night, but there is a chapter in there and the authors due a good job explaining the joys and downfalls along this whole trip.
I think they did this in 2003-04 so may be a bit dated for what you need, but some good info.
I think they did this in 2003-04 so may be a bit dated for what you need, but some good info.
07-13-16, 08:07 AM
#6
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Always wanted to go there on some sort of two-wheeled tour. Enjoy the trip, be sure to post pictures to make me jealous!
07-13-16, 08:29 AM
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07-13-16, 08:34 AM
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