Introduction—The “Impossible Dream”

THE THOUGHT
Cycling across Myanmar between India and Thailand had long seemed an impossible dream. In 1984 I flew into Rangoon for my first visit to Burma, but back then tourists could stay only one week and I couldn’t take my bicycle out of the airport! In the winter of 1998-99 the country allowed a 28-day visit (same as now) and I flew in from Thailand and made a grand tour of the major sights and many smaller places, traveling by bus, taxi, and riverboat.

Two years ago in Thailand I met a cyclist who had joined an organized group of vehicles that drove across from India to Thailand. Daily distances were too far for him to cycle all the way, but he was happy just to have made the journey overland. He thought Myanmar would open up more soon, and so it has. In the past year cyclists have been able to do this journey independently, and I started to think of doing so. I had already planned a cycle ride in northeastern India and my next destination would be Thailand, so the idea of pedaling there seemed perfect.

THE VISA
The first hurdle would be getting a visa, and my only option was in New Delhi. However the Punctures and Panniers cyclists (see website below) who tried to get one here found the embassy impossible. I made the trek over to the embassy and found the fellow at reception friendly and helpful. All I had to do was write a letter explaining what I wished to do and provide photocopies of my passport and Indian visa. No need to supply an itinerary, hotel bookings, or flight tickets. I had the visa in hand the next day after applying and the cost was just $20 (paid in rupees).

THE PERMIT
The second hurdle would be the mysterious permission letter to cross the border at Moreh-Tamu, the only one from India that’s open to travelers. The Punctures and Panniers cyclists were very skeptical about the need for this letter, but I didn’t wish to take a chance showing up at the border, then be turned away. Most cyclists over the past year have used Seven Diamond Express Travels Company, paying $100 to a person who shows up at the border to smooth the crossing. The other agency, Exotic Myanmar Travels and Tours Company www.exoticmyanmartour.com was charging just half that and e-mailing a permission letter. I first tried contacting Exotic Myanmar, filling in the inquiry form on its website, but got no response. When I used the e-mail addresses for Exotic Myanmar, I did get a reply that the permission letter is required, that the specific date of crossing must be specified, and that the process would take 20 days. The payment of $80 plus a service fee of $4.08 by credit card to a website process went smoothly, and a letter came as an e-mail attachment about 20 days later as promised. However the attachment was very poor quality and dark—just barely readable. I requested a better scan and got one a day later. I needed to provide one copy of the permit at the Myanmar border post, but nowhere else did anyone ask to see it.

The three cyclists I met in Imphal who planned to ride to Thailand had first tried Seven Diamond Express Travels Company with a promise of a border permit, but the agency later told them that it no longer does the border permits. The cyclists then contacted Exotic Myanmar and requested a rush service of 15 days, but this put them two weeks behind schedule. So the moral of all this is to start the permit process a minimum of one month beforehand; more would be safer. Perhaps first check online to find out what other cyclists are doing for a permit; www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree is a good place to look. Hopefully the silly permit requirement will be dropped soon, but who knows when?

STAYING IN MONASTERIES, PRIVATE HOMES, OR CAMPING
In the early days of cyclists riding across Myanmar, some reported being followed by police ‘spies’! Now the police and local people have become more accustomed to cyclists roaming across the countryside. Us foreigners should stay every night in an approved accommodation, but that’s just not possible in the northern part of this ride where accommodations are too far apart for a day’s ride. Fortunately the authorities seem to have relaxed, at least in the north. I had good luck staying in monasteries, sometimes bedding down in a hall, other times setting my tent up somewhere. Once I stayed on a raised platform in a village roadside rest area, a bit noisy. Another time a fellow invited me to stay in his home after we obtained permission from the village headman. So I always had a place to wash the dust and sweat off at the end of the day. Sometimes local authorities checked in on me, but I was never turned away.

GUESTHOUSES AND HOTELS
Prices have leveled off from the high levels of a year or two ago, and I never had to pay anything exorbitant. Costs do tend on average to be a bit more than those of India or Thailand. You can save money by shopping around and asking for discounts. Sometimes the price in kyat worked out lower than the dollar rate, so it’s worth asking for it. For Yangon I found an online deal of a basic guesthouse room for just $12/night, the only time I made an advance reservation.

OVERSTAY
The 28 days of a tourist visa is very tight for this ride, especially if you wish to do sightseeing. I stayed six days beyond the visa expiry, which did cause refusals at a couple guesthouses, but I always found a place to stay where this wasn’t a problem. On leaving the country I paid $3/day for the overstay as a sort of visa extension.

GUIDEBOOKS AND TRAVELOGUES
The free e-Book Burma by Bike—A Short Guide to Bicycle Touring in Myanmar by Amaya Williams at www.worldbiking.info has lots of good information along with great photos. Also have a look at cyclist’s reports such as www.puncturesandpanniers.com/cycling-burma-what-you-need-to-know/ and recent travelogues for advice and ideas. A guidebook is worth having, I think, even if much information goes out of date quickly. I have the Lonely Planet Myanmar-Burma e-book published in 2014 on my phone, Kindle, and netbook. (Next edition is planned for July 2017.) This guide lacks anything about the Indian border crossing or this region of Myanmar, so I read recent cyclists’ travelogues for route information.

MAPS
I relied entirely on Google maps for navigation, which worked well. The satellite and terrain views are fun and informative as well. Villages, sights, and hotels aren’t always marked on the maps, and such information seems sparse. Beware that signs at most highway junctions will be in the Burmese language only, so having a GPS is most handy! Also getting reliable directions in English from villagers can be a challenge. A printed map would have been good to have as well, but I didn’t have time to search one out in New Delhi and I doubt that shops in northeastern India would have one. Travelers coming from the Thailand would find a good selection in Bangkok bookstores. Maps purchased in Myanmar will likely have Burmese script.

CELL PHONE, INTERNET, and ELECTRONICS
I used a small Samsung smartphone for Google maps, GPS, and Internet. A SIM card was cheap and easy to get in the border town of Tamu; I went with telenor. Coverage turned out to be very good except for the middle two days between Tamu and Monywa. Hotels often have wi-fi, though the speed always turned out to be slow. The telenor Internet was more reliable and often faster, so I sometimes tethered my computer to the smartphone. My old Toshiba netbook computer came in handy for writing this journal, sorting and sizing photos, Internet, and finances. Electrical outlets are the same as in Thailand and accept both American-style flat prongs and European/Indian round pins. (The Lonely Planet guidebook got this wrong.)

MONEY
Hotels and admission fees are often quoted in US dollars, but it’s worth asking the price in kyat as it may be lower! I recommend bringing sufficient funds in US dollars in case there’s a problem with your ATM cards, BUT the bills MUST be in new condition! A little smudge or nick renders a bill worthless. ATM machines are widespread in cities and even the little border town of Tamu has one. I think that for ATM cash withdrawals, there is a 5,000 kyat transaction fee and a withdrawal limit of 300,000 kyat per transaction.

Some advice from Exotic Myanmar agency:
1. Best to cross early in the day
2. No tourist visa extensions are available, but it’s possible to overstay up to 7 days, then pay $3 per day for overstay on leaving the country
3. ATMs provide Myanmar kyat (pronounced ‘chat’) or you can use a money changer
4. Bring photocopies of passport & visa as well as the border permission letter

• Page: Impressions of Myanmar: after 28 days, in journal "Racpat RTW" by Patrick Hugens and Rachel Hugens (Completed Dec 2017)