Burma Travel Forum

Hi!
I'm travelling next week for a cycling tour on my own in Myanmar (Burma) for a 13days trip.
Do you have any special tips, in particular as regards places to visit?.
Many thanks!
Juan

Hi,
Which city are you going to go ? Rangoon ? Mandalay ?
I was born in Mandalay, but I live in Canada now. I will be able to give you some tips, if you explain about your trip a bit more.

I certainly hope you do come prepared. It is high summer here and that means around 40 degrees celsius (in the shade!). Besides, 13 days doesn't give you much time. I'm betting it'll take you that long to cycle from Yangon to any of the places of interest (Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake). The roads here are bad enough for the cars, let alone a bicycle. Some people do it but only for a short stretch (and for obvious reasons). make sure you have all the necessary stuff for your bike since you won't be able to get it here (though they'll be able to fix your bike temporarily for sure).

As the previous poster mentioned, let us know what your plans are. And do some reading up on the Burma-pages here on VT. You'll find that there are many good tips on Burma.

I reiterate all of that. Be well planned, with a realistic itinerary of how much you expect to cover, where you want to focus your time, and what sort of things you like to see. We spent about 10 days in Myanmar, and took internal flights for most shifts, just to make sure we covered the things we most wanted to see.

Highlights for me were Mandalay and Bagan. But, look at people's pages, and see what appeals to you. I know temples are not for everyone!

I also reinforce the advice just given about preparation, including carrying cash cash cash - as there are no or limited ATMs in Myanmar, and changing money is very expensive. The climatic factors and time of year are also very relevant - but guessing you are a very experienced 2 wheeler to take on this trip!

There are NO ATM's in Burma. Just to make sure there is no confusion on that ;-)

If you are arriving next week, I assume you have researched the logistics of biking in and around Myanmar. As others have noted; it will be VERY, VERY HOT nearly everywhere you travel, with the possible exception of Shan State areas around Inle Lake, as well us up in the hill station of Pyin U Lwin, and further north in Hsipaw. Some areas of the country are restricted to cyclists, so ask around before hitting the highway. Worse case scenerio; you get stopped by the authorities and sent (or escorted!) back to where you started.

I asked Kyaw Kyaw and he thinks it should be doable to go from Yangon to e.g. Inle lake by bus (or drop of earlier at e.g. Kalaw. Then cycle to Mandalay and via Monywa-Pakkoku to Bagan and either cycle form there back to Yangon. Or take the boat from Mandalay to Bagan (which i personally didn't like at all). Make sure that no matter how you plan your trip, that you have plenty of time to reach your next destination. Not every town has a hotel/guesthouse that is allowed to take in foreigners. And they can get into a lot of trouble if they do.

In the very worst case scenario you could probably stay a night at a monastery. This has been done before by people who got stuck along the way. But it is a lot more difficult (for them) since last year's trouble.

If we can help more, drop me a line and i can see what Kyaw Kyaw comes up with.

For that limited time, recommend to bus or train your bikes up to the Mandalay/Inle/Bagan area and start riding from up there. The ride up there north from Yangon is flat and mostly rice fields: hot, boring, and time-consuming by many accounts of those who've done it.