CROSSING MYANMAR IN 9 DAYS

Over the last few days in Thailand I left Chiang Mai and rode the smooth, ‘racetrack like’ roads through the mountains to the border town, Mae Sot. Along the way there were stunning views although bad air quality. The dry heat was stifling... like opening a fan forced oven and sticking your face in front of it, I didn’t mind though... I was too eager for the next part of the trip!

Mae Sot temple, hundreds of monk statues

Throwing away my Thai 'cheat sheet'... I never really got the hang of this language, 2 weeks here was not enough!

Along the way I received many ‘thumbs-up’ from monks, travelers and the general public. As I arrived in Mae Sot the hotel I was looking for did not exist and I ended up at a guest house instead, here I had 2 days to kill before the crossing into Myanmar. I finally found cereal again, cornflakes had run out weeks ago... this time it was Milo!

Backstreets of Mae Sot

I used my time here to check the bike, install a new sprocket, pop my counter-shaft seal back in, and drain a bit of oil... In general I just made a mess! But now I was totally ready. Over the following days I met each of the members in the group for the crossing (we had to have a guide so we shared the cost). Everyone’s plans were similar, i.e. get to Europe!

Replacing the old with the new

The bottle was a poor attempt at catching all the oil!

There’s always mixed emotions when leaving a country behind. However the excitement for the next country was difficult to contain... at the same time nerves kick in about getting all the border stamps and then frustration at the many hours that it usually took to get past all the officials. We arrived at the border at 8 AM for the rendezvous with our guides and from here the crossing took 2 hours – relatively fast. It wasn't difficult though, just busy.

The crew. Some amazing adventure travel stories from these guys!

We all received new number plates and left in the intense heat through some amazing mountain roads with our first taste of the water festival to come over the following days. My number plate fell off within the first hour, surprise surprise... A4 page sticky taped to the side of a dirty bike didn't last?!! Ben took my tires and Steve my camping gear, allowing for some fun through the mountain roads!

Fitting my new paper number plate at the border

Beautiful mountain roads, open only one way... hence the even / odd border entry dates!

Chris, Leandro and myself enjoying the views whilst waiting for the cars!

The first day was very interesting with a film crew shooting footage for the government, Ben received more than he bargained for with a granny flashing him and a long day riding into the sunset before arriving at our hotel near the Golden Rock. The countryside showed undeveloped bamboo houses with a ‘back-in-time’ feel, it was getting interesting.

Huge trucks always overladen, just like every other vehicle in Asia!

"How many distance you come?" ... "Just ticked over 20 thousand bro"

Food or money please...

Apparently we will premier on Myanmar TV in a months' time!

The roller-coaster ride up to the rock was insane, crammed into a truck like cattle flying up and around the steep, windy roads with no barriers and huge drops at each hair pin. Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as the Golden Rock is the third most important religious site in Myanmar. It has a small pagoda built on the top of a boulder covered with gold leaves pressed on by visitors of the site- I pasted a ‘gold’ leaf on as well although I wasn't convinced it was real gold...

Pose for the Golden rock!

I told her I don't know how to hold a child... but she insisted!

Tasty snacks

Riding through a town I have forgotten the name of...

The following day we rode to Yangon, the former capital city with over 5 million inhabitants. We arrived at the outskirts in the evening and left our motorbikes locked up at a police station... This city has a total ban on bikes, that’s sacrilege surely! Anyway that night we celebrated Leandro’s birthday with a tower of beer or 5.

We passed through 100's of military checkpoints, each time documents were shown to allow passage

Upgrade to a police bike anyone?

Blocking Leandro in his room, our birthday present to him!

WATER FESTIVAL! Those 2 words alone describe this day, with a few sights in-between the music, dancing and insanely friendly locals partying their hearts out for the New Year celebration. The 40° C heat was perfect for the soaking... it’s indescribable in words how incredible the celebration was here.

A minute before my phone broke, should've probably seen that coming...

Find the problem with this picture, hint: Tiger

A ridiculous amount of gold and jewels, I also got to try some traditional clothes

Back to the party!

I'm surprised the suspension didn't break, the dance move was JUMP JUMP JUMP

Exhausted from the previous day’s celebrations we made the 630 KM journey to Old Bagan, totaling 1200 KM through Myanmar so far. It was a long, dry, hot, wet and insane day. The bikes got soaked through every town, village and city for the entire day... with a few drunken accidents and general craziness thrown in for good measure. That night we were rewarded with a pool in our hotel, HELL YEAH!

Total road block, absolute insanity ensued with the water canons!

Drunk riding... hope he was OK - they ride with reckless abandon here

Absolute bliss, relaxing with a Myanmar beer!

530 AM sunrise over old Bagan, over 2200 Pagodas still stand to this day!

Doing mainsies with the gang!

Off road to see more Pagodas

The locals can wheelie anything!

Riding past some other tourists... trying not the spray them too much

Back for the sunset!

Bagan to Mandalay was a grueling day with 42° C temperatures and slow going with road blocks for the water festival every few kilometers. One day of festival was amazing, two days was fun, three days was getting a bit much and the fourth day was absolutely exhausting! Arriving at the hotel was a relief for sure.

Good use of a scooter, too bad it was bloody annoying by now!

Yo, hey man.. long days on the road..

The crowds got pretty intense at times, made for an interesting ride!

Crossing a bad-ass bridge that I don't know the name of...

Every 5 minutes, absolutely soaked to the bone!

In Mandalay we had 2 nights, with a whole day sight seeing... it was quite relaxed with most of us glad to just enjoy a bit of sleep. As we leave this city today some of the route has changed for the last part due to road works, but hopefully it should all go smoothly and we slip into India with no dramas.

The heat has been relentless, bring on the Indian mountains!

Longest wooden bridge in the world!

The route past Kale has slightly changed, but not by much... it's been an amazing 1800 K's

Tomorrow we all cross into India, the Eastern sliver containing disrupted tribal communities, far less traveled lands and the hottest chilies in the world! The group has really bonded over the course of this crossing and I hope to cross Pakistan with most of them in a months’ time, it’s been amazing. From here I will make my way to the base of the Himalayas and then continue across the Northern part of the country, camping may be back on the agenda... but I honestly have no idea what to expect. Bring it on!!!

Fist bumping on the highway, adios Myanmar!

PS: A huge thanks to Leandro, Fernanda, Stevo, Tobias and Chris for sharing their photos... it's a total mix in this blog!

MALAYSIA & THAILAND - PREPARING FOR A 20,000 KM SPARE PARTS DROUGHT

Farewell Indonesia... I will always remember you for your burning rubbish, insane driving, beautiful mountains and friendly people (and a lot more). But it was time to move on!

My bike being unloaded from the onion boat that carried it from Indonesia to Malaysia

Upon arrival in Malaysia I was picked up by two mates, Keith and Rowan. That night was a late one talking bikes, gear and planned routes (Keith being a local rider and Rowan doing a similar route to me also from AUS). Penang was a time for relaxation, motorcycle repairs and spare part sourcing as well as emailing back and forth trying to sort out my faulty camera, yes my new camera now displays an error message! Hangovers, sleeping, biking... Penang had been sweet but my time here was too short.

I went to Guan Cycles to prepare my bike for the next HUGE leg which would have to last until Europe, this meant tires, drive train and anything else needed to make it roughly 20,000 KM before I would be able to get replacements. So here the bike was cleaned (for the first time), oil and filter changed, brake pads replaced with genuine ones (bye bye car pads!), air filter cleaned and lots of cables and joints lubed. I also stocked up on spare brake pads, chain and 2 spare tires... she's a heavy mule now!

Guan Cycles has the best man cave in the world! When every other shop said they couldn't help me... he had everything I needed!

On the 28^th of March I left Malaysia and rediscovered 5^th gear on my bike, beautiful flat, smooth, fast highway... I love you! After enduring the customs officer’s spiel “What are you looking for on this trip?”... “Why are you travelling?”... “You cannot find God at home?” and SWOOSH, I was riding in the Kingdom of Thailand! Roughly 400 KM later I was in Surat Thani. Blue skies, stormy nights... an incredible start in this country!

Crossing the longest bridge in SE Asia, leaving Penang!

Hello Thailand, wonder what happened to the other 2 destinations!

My first impressions felt that Malaysia and Thailand were far cleaner, had less traffic, were less chaotic and leagues ahead of Indonesia in terms of services, road conditions and general infrastructure. Why was I surprised? Also my GPS actually worked here!

Pretzel roads everywhere, GPS I love you!

Over the following days I passed through smaller towns and the Kings palace in Hua Hin but it all fell away in comparison to Bangkok! Seriously this city is so diverse, quirky and interesting... absolutely tremendous. On my way in I stopped at a petrol station, after a few minutes a whole band of Harley’s pulled in... It’s difficult to put the sound of 30 Harleys into words, like a symphony of drums! It was the Thai Bandidos, and they were quite interested in my trip... TBH I was scared shitless and bailed pretty quickly, onwards to my hostel!

*TBH - To be honest.

Entering Bangkok traffic, bad... but nothing like Jakarta!

I kept seeing these signs... no idea what they meant, but I have a feeling bikes aren't allowed?

My holy parking spot in Bangkok, haha...

The abandoned building I climbed had some interesting facts... in 2014 a Swedish backpacker  was allegedly found dead on 43^rd floor... The building is 49 stories high and started getting built in 1990... abandoned in 1997 during the Asian financial crisis. There were no railings and the structure seemed pretty fragile in areas, definitely worth the visit!

Stunning views atop the city of angels!

The same day I visited the world's largest massive gold seated Buddha. Weighing 5.5 tonnes.  In the past, artisans crafted the Buddhas in gold and disguised them from invading armies by covering them in plaster, this one was accidentally discovered whilst trying to move it and it fell... having the solid gold behemoth break free from its plaster casing. In weight alone it is worth more than $275 million US - and priceless as it sits.

Solid gold Buddha!

Before leaving Bangkok I organised my Myanmar visa, success – crossing on the 10^th of April! I also downloaded the GPS maps I needed for the next part and started the bureaucratic process of applying for my Iranian visa, which will continue in New Delhi.

Deciding which blocks I need next for the GPS... not sure what coverage will be like!

The temple of dawn at sunset, stunning!

The same temple at night... just as spectacular. Will be even better once the scaffolding is removed!

The ~750 KM ride to Chiang Mai I split into 2 days which consisted of a brutal dry heat... it felt like home!

This is the quirkiest guesthouse I have stayed in to date, really awesome atmosphere!

Giant statues line the roads and mountains in Thailand, if anyone knows the meaning behind them I'd love to know!

I just got used to Bahasa Indonesian, now I'm back in the deep end ordering food!

As I explored Chiang Mai I was informed via email that the Myanmar government had decided to not let tourists enter on EVEN days anymore, only ODD days (At the land border)... this meant that the date for entering the country has been pushed back to the 11^th of April. Not sure what brought about this change but I guess I’ll just roll with it! Anyway... Chiang Mai is a diverse city filled with temples, extreme sports and a nightlife. I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Forest trails everywhere in the mountains, a riding dream... especially without all the luggage!

A nice secluded area for lunch!

Another dirt road, having some fun!

My GPS thought this was a road... I didn't mind but I'm not sure a car would have fit.

Whilst exploring these mountain trails I all of a sudden popped out in the back of a military base... before I realised I was riding past marching soldiers, shooting practice and general military activities. I put my visor down to hide my face and casually rode out through the front gate hoping no one would notice...

Leaving the military base... act like you belong!

'Sticky' waterfalls, about 150m of waterfalls that you can climb up. One of the coolest experiences I've had!

Another day, another lunch break!

Whilst here I also visited the Tiger Kingdom, a tourist attraction where you get the chance to get very close to tigers... I had heard mixed opinions about their treatment, potential drugging and the whole idea of breeding them and never releasing. As I laid eyes on them I immediately felt sorry for these tigers, majestic animals in small cages... here is what I saw.

Poke it in the eye and it might growl... making for a better tourist photo... shame!

A stream of people coming past for photos, all day, every day!

It wasn't all bad though and I absolutely loved Thailand for many other reasons - you'll just have to visit and make up your own mind!

Back down the road from the falls, loving these relaxing days!

There was controlled burning being conducted whilst I was here, made for some amazing sunset colours in the smog!

It is now day 88 and I’m all packed and prepped, ready to enter Myanmar and then continue on into Eastern India, I have no idea what to expect... but I have a feeling this is where the real adventure begins! Malaysia and Thailand have each been spectacular in their own right, but I’m really looking forward to the unknown!

My track through Malaysia and Thailand over the past few weeks - border crossing at Myawaddy coming in the next few days

The blog says I'm, doing it on 1 wheel right? Here I come Myanmar!!!