We have already seen many golden temples, but when crossing the bridge of Mandalay they are everywhere we look. We understand why Myanmar is called the land of the golden temples. We go to a football field in the city centre where we will camp for two nights. There is a toilet, but no water...do we need to say more? There are some curious villagers watching us and we start a conversation with them.
The Football Field
In the morning we leave for Bagan. This is a historic city, where more than 2,200 temples and pagodas remain, dating from the 11th until the 13th century. The road takes us to the main highway, and its in a surprisingly good condition without almost any traffic. The highway is quite boring and theres no shade so we are happy to leave the highway, back on the small roads. We pass a group of begging children, who are yelling and pulling our luggage. The worst part is that they are standing on a sandy road, so it takes some time to shake them off.
Before we leave for Inle Lake, Kevin checks the spokes of our rear tire. He notes that there are at least three spokes broken. We have to look for new spokes because we dont carry any spare ones with us. We try to catch up the French truck but we get another flat tyre. This time its caused by a broken spoke, which went right through the tube. It seems were lucky again to have a puncture where there is a mechanic close by.
The next destination is the capital of Myanmar, Naypyidaw. We leave shortly after the French truck and overtake them after a short time. We descend the mountains and go back to the main highway. After months, we can finally speed up to 120km / h. We arrive as first in Naypyidaw, where we are welcomed by the staff of a chic hotel with a drink. We set up our tent in the small garden in front of the hotel. Then we go to the room booked by the tour guide, to take a shower before everyone else arrives. Naypyidaw is the capital city since 2005 and looks very artificial.
Enjoy the video of our journey through Myanmar...
More info on www.wijzijnweg.org
When we started with this trip, we never expected to drive through Myanmar. Apparently, it all depends on who you meet along the way and that it coincidentally fits into your schedule... We were very lucky.
The alarm goes off way too early, but we manage to leave at 6am. No one of the overlanders is yet awake and the streets are still very calm. At a certain point, we have to leave the main road due to road works and drive through a local village by way of diversion. This we find very nice for we had missed such villages during this trip. We have about 20km bad road and after that we go into the mountains. The path through the mountains is very narrow, thats why one day the traffic must drive up to the border and the other day away from the border.
The next morning we get up early to have breakfast with Kevins parents. The buffet is amazing. It must be a funny sight to see us eating so enthusiastic, but we really have been missing out on Western food for a long time now.
Breakfast
In the morning we leave around 7.30am for Khao Lak. Kevins uncle and aunt are there on vacation and we dont mind to drive around a bit so we can meet them (normally we would have gone straight to north Thailand). After a few kilometres we notice something is wrong with the bike, he doesnt go faster than 60km/h. Unfortunately, its Sunday and all the mechanics seem to be closed, so we decide to drive further. We cover about 300km this way until we finally find a mechanic. In the meanwhile Kevin thinks the problem can be caused by the spark plugs, so we will try to replace them.
Around noon we leave Khao Lak. On the way we drive a bit through the Khao Sok National Park which looks amazing. We go to Koh Phangan which is an island so we have to take a ferry to reach it.
On the Ferry to Koh Phangan
In the morning we say goodbye to Max and Alina. We leave with a good spirit on our 'island expedition: walking from beach to beach and eventually arrive back in Than Sadet, after a hike of 70km. We each take a small rucksack with our bare necessities: no tent because almost every beach on Koh Phangan has bungalows and just a few extra clothes because we can wash them almost every day. The first day we encounter some problems: the trails shown on our map are not always marked properly or dont exist anymore. One path isn't possible anymore because of the construction of an airport.
Today we go to Koh Tao. Here we want to do the same as we did in Koh Phangan. This is a smaller island and will therefore take less time to walk around. After 1.5 hours on the boat we arrive and immediately begin our trip.
Arriving in Koh Tao
After the islands we first go to northern Thailand. Along the way, we want to see one of the famous floating markets. We arrive with the ferry in Surat Thani and stop at a big supermarket to buy some things. After that its already a bit later so we start looking for a hotel not long after. We find a hotel without any English writing on their signs. The owner makes us a meal and lets us know its on the house, as well as the drinks. What a hospitality after the many unfriendly hotel personnel on the islands.
When we arrive in Ayutthaya, we already see some of the old temples along the way. Well wait until tomorrow to explore them because its late in the afternoon by now. In the ancient capital its easy to find cheap guesthouses, because they offer many rooms with a shared bathroom. In the evening we go to a small night market and wander along the many shops.
Four-In-A-Row
By nightfall we arrive at Sukothai. This is another ancient temple city and a former capital of Thailand. We start looking for a camping spot, recommended by other travellers. We find it to be a strange place to put up our tent but then we see a Thai family with two tents on a lawn near a few temples. We ask to put our tent next to theirs, and thats no problem. Moments later a couple of big trucks and pickups drive up the lawn and start putting up more tents. We turn out to be ended up with a group of funfair worker.
We are heading to Chiang Mai and along the way we see many signs to waterfalls. We think it would be awesome to camp next to a waterfall. Apparently, the waterfalls are all situated in a national park wherefore you need to pay 5 euro per person entrance fee. We almost give up but then we see a waterfall on the map, which might not be situated in a national park. In the dark we arrive at the Maekampong Waterfall. We put up our tent under a kiosk and cook a meal. On the way here, we already felt that its a lot cooler here, so nice.
In the meanwhile, we have been travelling for over 30 000km!!!
Perfect reason to celebrate. So we buy the ingredients to make our favourite cocktail and look for a nice spot for our subdued party. But of course its Mickey that has brought us so far, so we cant forget about him. We thank him with a carwash and a kiss from Kitty. All these kilometres in sometimes difficult circumstances, must have been hard for our old boy. We hope he keeps up the good work because we still have a long way to go and it wouldnt be the same without him.
After breakfast we go to Chiang Mai. Along the way we are the target of several children celebrating an early Songkran. Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year from the time when Thailand was called Siam. Although Thailand celebrates New Year on January 1 since 1940, they keep celebrating Songkran as well. Modern Songkran is also called "the waterfestival" because everyone is throwing water at each other. Along the way families with buckets of water, garden hoses and water pistols are ready to throw water at anyone who dares to pass by.
Part 1: Mae Hong Son Loop
We leave Chiang Mai at noon. We hear about the Mae Hong Son Loop, which is recommended by bikers. The loop starts in Chiang Mai and makes a circle through the mountains to end up back where it started. We decide to follow half of this loop on our way to Laos. The road offers occasionally a beautiful view and we also stop at a waterfall.
After a slow border crossing in Thailand we are finally driving in Laos. The first thing we notice is that Laos is much less developed than Thailand. Many villages consist only of wooden huts, there is little traffic and no supermarkets. The road is in a good condition, though. We had heard this wouldnt be the case, but we do see that the smaller roads are in worse shape. Along with the pristine jungle its a nice setting to ride in. We stop in Vieng Phoukha to spend the night. We quickly find a bungalow on the river bank, for only 4 euro.