Cycling in Myanmar 1998
In November 1998 we cycled around Central Myanmar; including highlights as Bagan, Mandalay and Pindaya in our itinerary. On this page you will find a description of the route we followed and all practical info (accommodation, maps, food etc.) regarding this trip.
Maps; getting around
Along all main roads and in major town you’ll find white on green road signs in both Burmese and roman script. In between towns road signs are mostly in Burmese only. Almost every village will have a small black in yellow signpost giving the names of the previous and next village on the road; often with distances.
We used the Nelles Verlag map of Myanmar; scale 1 : 1.500.000. This map gives the correct names of towns but unfortunately doesn’t give any distances.
As you’ll find out on these ‘Cycling in Myanmar’ pages main roads displayed on this map are not always main roads. They can be unsurfaced oxcart-tracks.
Most road signs will be in Burmese only!
Asking directions can be a another challenge. Burmese is a tonal language. So when asking directions to a certain town we always had to repeat it several times before somebody got an idea where we wanted to go. As in many other Asian countries, do not rely on one single person. Always check and double-check. The people in Myanmar are very friendly and may give any answer to please you. Ask ‘Where is to road to Kyaukse..?’ rather than ‘Is this the road to Kyaukse..?’.
Very useful free maps of Yangon, Bagan and Mandaly are available at the airport. All distances are measured in miles.
Books and other info
We used the well-known Lonely Planet guide. The Lonely Planet Burmese Phrase Book is another useful addition to your travel-library. We found it very essential when communicating with the locals. English is certainly not widely spoken. A picture-dictionary, like ‘Point It’, was also very useful in those situations.
To get an good impression of colonial Burma; read George Orwell’s ‘Burmese Days’. It’s widely available in Myanmar and can be bought in many souvenir shops for under U$ 2,-.
Check out this collection of links on the Visit Mekong website
Roads and Traffic
Be prepared for narrow and bumpy roads. Only on the main north-south highway cars can pass without getting of the road. Drivers are very considerate with cyclists. It almost never happened that we were pushed of the road. Unsurfaced roads can be in an extreme state of disrepair; making cycling almost impossible and at its best very slow.
Traffic is on the right hand side of the road.
The main road to Bagan; narrow, bumpy and never busy Larger version
Your bicycle – preparation – spare parts
Bring all you can need. Plenty of bike shops in every village but they only can handle heavy one-speed bikes. The rough roads can be very hard on your bike so check everything before leaving.
Just before Kalaw the freewheel in one of our bikes broke. A small bike shop in Kalaw managed to repair for it 100 Kyat but it only did hold for another 35 km!
Secondary roads can be bunpy and rough
Food and drinks
Every town and village has small restaurants. Burmese and Chinese food is widely available.
Purified drinking water in 1 litre bottles is available along all main roads and in all towns. One bottle will cost approx. 50 Kyat (0,10 U$ nov 98). Soft drinks, locally and imported are available; often cool or even cold. Soft drinks in cans is about 5 times more expensive than drinks in bottles (0,25 cc)
Climate
It’s always hot and humid. Follow this link for the current weather at Mandalay.
Where to stay
Licensed (hotels that have a permit to accept foreigners)
In most of the towns we stayed were licensed hotels and guesthouses. These have to be paid in US dollars or FEC’s. Many hotels will offer airco-rooms.
Although this can be very pleasant after a hot day of cycling, power-supply in Myanmar is extremely unstable. Most hotels will have generators but these will not power any ac’s in periods of power-failure. The only exceptions we found were the Thante Hotel in Bagan and the Bagan Inn in Yagon.
Unlicensed
As a cyclist you will have to stay in towns were foreigners mostly do not stop or stay. There may be hotels or guesthouses in these town but they can be reluctant to let you stay. In those cases we went to the police (or the police came to visit us) to obtain permission for a one night stay.
In fact it is the local immigration officer rather than the police who can give this kind of permissions. Local authorities may be inwilling to let you stay. Just stay calm, always smile and tell them that you are very very tired 😉
Monasteries
Every town and village in Myanmar will have a monastery. It’s possible to sleep there. We did it at three occasions and enjoyed it.
Camping
Sleeping in a tent is not permitted. We heard from one cyclist whose tent was confiscated while camping in Myanmar. We carried two lightweight RidgeRest mattresses and a mosquito-net. This proved to be very useful when staying at cheap guesthouses and monasteries.
Dealing with local police and officials
We traveled totally independent and passed through numerous towns and villages. We never stopped by police or other officials. The only moments we met these guys was when we tried to stay in a town without hotels with a proper tourist license or in towns without any accommodation where we spent the night in monasteries.
Sometimes (but not always) the owner of the guesthouse sent us to the local police station to get permission to spent a night in that town. Usually we would sit and wait for an hour or so while the police was trying to put us on a bus to the next town where there were hotels. We just politely refused that offer and said we were to tired 😉 to travel any further. After some talking the always gave permission to stay one !! night. Just be patient and keep smiling.
A few times policemen came to the monastery or guesthouse to write down our names and ask where we would be going next. One night a police officer even offered to put a armed guard in front of our hotel room…
When you have problems to stay in a town or village is seems to be the local immigration officer, rather then the police who can give final permission to stay.
Other ways of getting around
Of course cycling is the best way to get around but Myanmar is a very large country so you may want to consider one or more of these alternatives:
Taxis, hired car
In Yangon we hired an car to bring us to the starting point of our trip. For this full-day ride with almost no stops we paid U$ 70,- (about twice the price of two train-tickets). The advantage was that we had door-to-door transportation and more important we were able to travel during the daytime (busses going north leave in evening from Yangon) thus seeing something of the countryside.
Bus
For longer distances luxury air-con busses are a good option. The problem is that these buses have limited cargo-space. We discovered that it was difficult to fit in a full-sized touring bike without really taking it apart. When traveling from Inle Lake to Yangon we solved this problem by buying the 5 backseats of the bus and placing the bikes on those seats.
Train
In Yangon we were being told that taking our bikes in the train to Mandalay would cost only K 60 each and we would have to box them. The tickets itself had to be paid in dollars of course.
Trucks
We found it very easy to flag down a truck when one of the bikes broke down on two consecutive days. Drivers expect some payment though. Trucks in Myanmar tend to be very slow; speeds of just 30 km/h are not uncommon.
Questions
Have a look at the Myanmar section of our FAQ pages for questions other visitors site asked us. If you still have some questions left, do not hesitate to send us an e-mail.