Myanmar/Thailand 2018

1. Off to Myanmar After a long flight via Bangkok and a night largely lost due to a 6.5 hour time difference we were met by our guide Tun (call me Tom) and were driven into the ex capital city of Myanmar, Yangon. The capricious military government here has done some odd things such as suddenly changing which side of the road the country drives on when 99% of the cars have the steering wheel on the wrong side, the logic of the change being that the right side is lucky. Similarly the capital has been moved many times, most recently to Naypyidaw in 2005, apparently on the advice of an astrologer and changing the name of the country seems similarly random. Anyway the locals seem to ignore it and still refer to “ Burma” and “Rangoon” and so shall we in this, our 7th trip Blog. Rangoon The capital, well, at least the modern capital is very forgettable and with appalling traffic,  despite the fact that motorbikes and bicycles are banned from the central area.    We stayed at

After  a very early start ( the first of many), off to the airport for our flight to Bagan. Most touring here is done by flying, there are few roads and some restricted areas particularly in Shan state. The prop engine plane was like a bus, stopping off at a number of towns to allow people on and off. To the hotel to change and pick up our bikes for our first cycle across the esoteric Bagan plain littered with over two thousand temples, pagodas and stupas of every size and degree of complexity, and dating back to the 10th century. Once upon a time they were part of a thriving community but the wooden buildings are long gone leaving only the stone built religious edifices. Hanging puppets and puppet shows are a big thing here. It’s a great site to cycle around and to get off the beaten track ( often in quite deep sand to Carolyn’s discomfort), not that there were many Western tourists around. Chan, our guide for the next 10 days, thankfully with good Engl

3. To Heho and Lake Inle Another short flight this time North from Bagan to the rolling hills of Shan state. We picked up our new bikes at Heho airport and set off again. We had  a great ride through the countryside on minor roads mainly enjoying the interaction with the locals with them apparently as interested in us as we in them. Cabbages! We cycled to the town of Pindaya where the main attraction is a cave complex, Shwe Oo Min, above the town which contains over 9,000 Bhuddas of all shapes and sizes. An extraordinary sight. The next day after a short road transfer we had our most challenging day cycling; some steep climbs and sharp descents on rutted gravelly tracks, finishing with a long 11k descent to Lake Inle. Carolyn was relieved that the support vehicle was available for the toughest stretch! Along the ride we had a stream of waves, hellos and grins from the locals; families would literally pour out of their

4. To Mandalay A 45 minute transfer to Heho airport for our 30 minute flight to Mandalay. New bikes again, and we cycled along the long straight airport approach road to Inwa, the country’s capital for a few years from 1364 and again from 1599 to 1752 and again in the 1800s until the town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1838. Hard to imagine as it is now a sleepy dusty village! We cycled to the Shwedagon  pagoda, the Bagaya Kayaung, an atmospheric teak monastery built in 1834 and the ‘leaning tower of Inwa’, the only remaining structure following the earthquake. sadly more damage from a recent quake meant we couldn’t climb up and enjoy the view. After lunch overlooking the Ayeryawady river we crossed it by ferry boat and cycled on to another erstwhile capital, Amarapura, to join hundreds of others to watch sunset at or on the 1.2 km long teak U Bein bridge. As Chan hails from Mandalay we ate well on our nights there, in a beer and BB