Myanmar Route Information (März 2016)

Unterwegs in Myanmar

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Check for example http://geo.ebp.ch/gelaendeprofil/ for elevation information. But as this site is based on Google Maps, it doesn’t work in some places (like China) where Google is blocked.
I rated the road sections mostly based on the scenery, where ***** means that it is a must go and no star means „neutral“, i.e. that this part wasn’t spectacular at all for me. this rating depends of course also always on the weather I had during the time I cycled there.

as far as i know (but i never found this information on an official page), camping is forbidden in myanmar. moreover, foreigners usually need to stay in expensive guesthouses and can’t stay in the cheap guesthouses for the locals (like in china). i stayed 27 nights in myanmar, i spend one night in the mahabandoola-guesthouse in yangon, one night in the train from yangon to bagan, one night in the house of a priest in kanpetlet and one night in the house of a priest in kalaymyo, the other 23 nights i camped, very often just next to the road. only when i camped a few kilometers away from saw, the immigration-police came and wanted to bring me to a guesthouse (for 5’000 kyat), but i even could convince them that i could stay in my tent, as i was soo tired.
quite often, i saw hunters in the evening and in the morning and heard shots –> don’t hide in the forest!
in the hills of the chin-state, you have often nice views. unfortunately, the sight was most of the time very hazy. i heard, that in september – january (after the rainy season which is june – august), the views are much clearer than in the hot season (february – may). so the rating for chin state in september – january is probably one * higher.
to cross the border from tamu (myanmar) to moreh (india), which is the only border between those countries that foreigners can cross, you need a permit. it takes 20 days to get the permit. you need to tell the exact date of crossing the border, but in the end, nobody cares. some people got their permit from bagan princess travel for 50$, i didn’t know that and payed bloody 80$ to exotic myanmar. but i heard, that you also need to pay 80$ at bagan princess travel since march 2016. for visiting chin state, there is also a permit required. i got it for 50$ from exotic myanmar, i just told them which roads i wanted to cycle. in the end, i only needed to show the permit once to enter matupi. another cyclist had no permit and was sent back at matupi (100$ bribe din’t work!). i also heard, that somebody cycled in the other direction in chin state without a permit and that she had to take a bus (for 40$) at some point, probably at matupi. even though 50$ is a lot of money, it was worth it, as for example a friend of mine was trailed by the police (on motorbikes) for three days north of yangon, in that case, you have probably no chance to camp and need to spend a lot of money for accomodation.
overstaying the visa costs 3$ per day.

*** Htee Khee – Dawei

dusty road, steep climbs. not many people around. there are some shops, but it’s better to carry an extra bottle of water.
police checkpoint at 14.169712 98.522922. they wanted to know, where i’d stay in dawei. tell them just a hotel (which is allowed to take foreigners).

* Dawei – Yangon

the best thing about this road are the people. you don’t miss much when you decide at one point to skip the rest, it gets more boring and busier the closer you come to yangon. there are a lot of pots filled with water along the way, i drank that water without having any problems.
police checkpoint at 15.060307 97.949171, but i only needed to write my passport details in a book.

** Yangon – Bagan (by train)

taking a train in myanmar is definitely an adventure. the train left at 16:00 (and arrived at 10:30 the next day). i took the cheapest category (4’500 kyat + 1’800 kyat for the bicycle). the locals sleep on the ground, so when you have a (not-inflatable) matress, take it with you, it will also make the wooden seat much more comfortable.
to enter bagan, every tourist should buy a ticket for 25’000 kyat (23$). but in the train, there was nobody selling these tickets. when i cycled from the train station in bagan (where you can charge your phone etc.) to the temples, there was no checkpoint. sometimes, you need to show your ticket in the evening at bigger temples, but i searched for it, couldn’t find it and said that i bought it on the road (for 25’000 kyat) and it was okay like that.
another cyclist told me, that there was no checkpoint coming from the south (chauk), entering new bagan.

** Bagan – Chauk

nice people on the way. water in pots available.

*** Chauk – Saw

nice road, lot of curves, some nice views. bazar (at least in the morning) in saw, on the left after the bridge.

**** Saw – Kanpetlet – Mt. Victoria – Mindat

not much traffic, only some locals on motorbikes. saw – kanpetlet is paved. there is a shelter with pots filled with water half way up (no gps data). last point where you can get internet (i.e. no internet at kanpetlet). fresh vegetables available in kanpetlet. got invited by the priest in kanpetlet to stay for the afternoon and the night. road is unpaved after the last houses (21.202832 94.029478). after that, i couldn’t find water until 21.281267 93.948759 (this was the only time i ran out of water).
at 21.219017 93.940377, there is a road to mt. victoria, which is 6km long (not only 3 miles), the road condition to the top is bad and most of the time it’s very steep, had to push a few times.
river in the valley at 21.354825 93.936369, probably best place to camp.
road is paved again after 21.368353 93.939246.
food (rice, potatoes, vegetables and fruits) available in mindat.

**** Mindat – Matupi – Rezua – Hakha – Falam – Kalaymyo

paved in the beginning, but the quality of the road gets worse on the way to matupi. after matupi, the road is often in bad condition. there was not much traffic between mindat and hakha, but hakha – falam – kalaymyo was relatively busy.
usually, it was not a problem to find water, but i wrote down some locations where i saw water:
houses and water at 21.39945 93.873326 and 21.449355 93.79124.
little village at 21.576279 93.794392.
little village at 21.579097 93.720987, snacks probably available.
river and houses at 21.618467 93.623418, not easy/possible to camp.
water and houses at 21.581972 93.581935.
little stream at 21.566597 93.580328.
village at 21.5756 93.545547.
toll gate (200 kyat for a bicycle) and police checkpoint at 21.610245 93.445532. permit for chin-state is required there. another cyclist failed bribing with 100$!
food (rice, potatoes, vegetables and fruits) available in matupi.
toll gate and probably police checkpoint (both for entering matupi) at 21.630591 93.435443.
little stream at 21.731679 93.415186.
little village at 21.795711 93.439757.
little stream at 21.790866 93.453894.
river at 21.798165 93.476811.
village at 21.90445 93.445999, snacks available, probably even more.
rezua is the biggest village between matupi and hakha. buying food was not as easy as expected.
village at 22.115244 93.498953.
little stream at 22.514079 93.607428.
hakha is the capital of chin-state. food available.
in falam (palan), food is available (avocados for 100 kyat per piece).
after falam, the road goes down to a big river. there are some houses there, but camping shouldn’t be a problem. after the river, i couldn’t find water on the climb until the first village at 22.993749 93.685105 (this is the only time i ran out of water).
little village at 23.091533 93.771324.
the descent to kalaymyo was very dusty.

* Kalaymyo – Tamu

the india-myanmar-friendship-road is in good condition. of course more busy than chin-state. you find again pots filled with water. permit needed to cross to india.