Journey To The West

Journey To The West

Route

This January 2014 I took a 5 day motorcycle trip with my father, who is here from the States for the winter, to the west of Myanmar on Honda XR125L Motorcycles. Last time he was out here in 2012 we rode for over 2 weeks around Myanmar on small Chinese copies of the Honda Wave (blog) so we wanted an upgrade. We drove about 1100km from Mandalay, to Gangaw, Hakha, Kalemyo, Monywa, and back to Mandalay.

Day 1: Mandalay to Gangaw. 345Km 

I had a British couple, Nick and Ellie, arrange to rent an Xr125L from me in the morning and ride with Dad and I to Monywa. Nick and Ellie arrived on time at 8am and it took a about an hour to get on the road. We drove strait from Mandalay, across the Ayeyarwaddy and to the massive Buddhist statues at Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung. Since I have been to this place many times,and Dad doesn't care much for this kind of thing, we stopped for a quick photo with Nick and Ellie before moving along. They stayed to explore the complex and then drive onto Shwebo.
We soon got to Monywa, we boarded a boat to cross the Chindwin river. I felt like we were being overcharged for the boat just to cross the river but when we drove onto the next available boat it took off with just the 2 of us as passengers.My Burmese is quite limited so I guess I had inadvertently arranged a private trip across the river for 3900 Kyat. Not a bad price for that but I would gladly ride in a full boat.


Just after crossing the Chindwin we passed many copper mines which have been the focus of many protests in the area. The amount of work they are doing there is amazing. It looks as though they will completely level the scenic mountains which are visible from Monywa.

We took the road west to Yinmabin and had a quick stop for lunch around 1pm. We were in cultivated flat lands for about another hour before traversing a mountain range. We passed through the southern tip of Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park just before dark and arrived in Gangaw a hour after sunset at 6:30pm.

We were only able to find one hotel that could accept foreigners but it was fully booked for a wedding party. They put us in the manager's room in a building in the back. The room was very simple but they had electricity. We had a shared bathroom with hot water that was cooked over an open fire outside. We had to bucket the hot water to a basin on the floor and mix it with cold water. It sounds bad but it was a great after a long dusty ride.


We ate BBQ at a local Beer station and turned in early for the night.


Day 2: Gangaw to Hakha 155km

We woke to the crows of the roosters hanging around the house at the back of the hotel. We got of the hotel quickly and went to the Emperor Green Cafe for some shan noodles and instant coffee. There aren't any gas stations in Gangaw so we had to buy gas out of jug at the cafe. We just got a few liters n hopes that we would find a proper station on the way to Hakha.

Gangaw is located on the Myit Thar river. The city doesn't seem to appreciate the spectacular river and landscape as we had to drive down small side streets to get the best views. We drove north for a ways and crossed the Myit Thar river on our way to Chin State. The road was in good shape for Myanmar. The road about half paved and half gravel between Gangaw and Hakha. We passed through young forests that were in full autumn colors. There was very little traffic on these roads and we just passed the occasional motorbike or minibus.
We slowly began our ascent up into Chin State passing small villages along the way. We met a few preachers and local guys that spoke English quite well. We met a preacher and basket weaver basket weaver in ZoKhua 23 miles before Hakha that told us we could stay in their village after I asked for a guesthouse. They said every house in a Chin village is a guesthouse and that foreigners are welcome in all of Chin State. We were happy to hear that the locals were so happy to have foreigners visiting and were willing to put us up for the night. We declined his offer but the preacher told us he had a brother in Hakha that ran Grace guesthouse and that we should stay there.

Roadside Memorial Plaque 

We rode along twisting roads and down into the city of Hakha (1800m) before nightfall. We took our preacher's advice and stayed in Grace Hotel but only after looking around town first. There was one other guesthouse accepting foreigners and another very nice looking hotel at the bottom of the hill that was only for government employees. We also were able to get gas at the local station. They didn't have pumps but they carried 92 Octane( Just Ahhhk-Dane in Myanmar) so we filled up our 12 Liter tanks knowing that we would be good for over 300km the next day.

Dad's XR was having trouble with the steering lock so we had to push his bike up the front 4 steps of the hotel and keep in a locked walkway until morning. I left my XR, locked, out front. The owner/ manager/preacher told us that Hakha was a Christian town so we don't have to worry about anyone stealing the bikes. However he did say that alcohol abuse is a problem in the city and when the drunks go home at night they are known to hop on any unlocked bikes and ride them down the hillside on their way home. He said that if the bikes were missing we would just have to go to the bottom of the hill to find our bike abandoned at the bottom.




We were first asked to share a bed but when we refused the manager gave us each a room for 15,000 kyat. This was the same price as if we shared a room, When we inquired, he told us that the 15,000 kyat rate is per foreigner not per room so we are happy that we each got our own room and bed for the night. The Manager gave us each 2 thermoses of hot water to mix in a tub in our bathroom for a hot shower.

After a hot shower we ate at a Chinese place across from Grace Hotel. The air was getting cold (about 5 degrees) so we went to bed early again in preparation for the ride to Tedim the next day.


Day 3. Hakha to Tedim Kalemyo 203km

We woke early again and were pleased to see out bikes still at the hotel. The hotel didn't provide any breakfast so we drove down the mountain to a tea shop about 1km away. We ate noodles, tea shop pastries and drank hot coffee. We were quite cold but the morning sun on our back was quickly heating us up. We were joined by a man Named Ronnie who works for the YMCA and a young Doctor. They informed us that Aung San Suu Kyi was traveling in Chin State
that day and she would be in Tedim for the night. We realized we would have to change our plans to avoid the crowds. Since Tedim is such a small town we decided that we ought to stay in Falam, just 40 miles from Hakha, or push all the way to Kalay. Ronnie treated us to breakfast and wished us a safe journey. We were very fortunate to meet such genuine and compassionate people like him on our trip. We put on our gloves and head off to Falam at 8:20am.

 The road to Falam was very scenic as we hovered around 2000m. The road followed the contour lines around the mountains in a twisty, turny road that made for some very fun riding. We passed many small villages and made it to Falam by noon. We took a look around town for about 30 minutes and talked with a few locals.

There were many NLD flags and banners around as ASSK was scheduled to arrive the next day. We had rode just a short distance so we decided to push on to Kalemyo. We were having too much fun on these roads and took the occasion piss/water/photo break. At one such break, we met up with a young expectant mother with her mother after they had just climbed up from their mountainside farm. Their farm was out of the village and they rode bicycles to tend to their crops everyday. The girl used to work as a main in Singapore so she spoke English quite well. She said she was happy to be back in her village with her mother and new husband. We talked about her life and the prices of feed, livestock and vegetables. The prices are quite high in the village. They pay about 150 Kyat per egg( normally around 100), 80,000 kyat for a piglet (200,000 kyat for a grown pig) and 200,000 kyat for a grown cow.

We drove down into a valley where we stopped again for a quick snack of hard boiled eggs and crackers at 1pm before crossing the river and riding back up the valley on the other side. We skipped the turn off to Tedim and drove back down more winding sealed roads to Kalemyo. Kalemyo is bustling town that thrives in trade with India. You can see a lot of Indian bikes for sale there as well as other Indian branded products.
We made it into town before 5 and found a clean hotel, Hong Shin, before nightfall. This hotel had just hosted ASSK and would have a room for her in a few days when she came back down the mountains. We ate at a nice Chinese across from the hotel and found out it was owned by the same, extended, family as a restaurant i frequent in Mandalay. We had a big meal and enjoyed the free internet connection and hot showers that Hong Shin had to offer.


Day 4. Kalemyo to Monywa 260km

The room in Hong Shin was a luxury after the hotel we had been staying in and the milder weather was a nice change too. Breakfast as provided by the hotel but we just ate a few things as low to mid range hotels in Myanmar can never get breakfast right. We would have been better off eating out at a local place but we ate to save time and get on the road as quick as possible. We drove around Kalemyo for a while in the morning looking at motorcycles. I have been searching for a Hero Impluse to buy and rent out from my shop in Mandalay but I had no luck. Driving out of Kalemyo we passed streams and rice paddies in the morning mist. It really was a beautiful morning with long-legged birds hunting for prey alongside farmers working in the fields.

This 40km road to Kalewa from Kalemyo is one of the most beautiful roads in Myanmar. The road was constructed and is being upgraded by the Indian government, There is still a lot of work to be done on this road as many of the bridges are not sturdy and wooden and about 30% is still unpaved. The road cuts through mountains as it follows the Myittha River, the same river that passes Gangaw, on its way to Kalewa where it meets the Chindwin River. We drove into Kalewa to see the Chindwin and the waterfront scenery. We made it to the waterfront and had the option of either taking a ferry across the Chindwin and driving out to Shwebo or crossing the Myittha River and heading south to Monywa. I have had customers take the Shwebo- Kalewa route before and tell me it is a dusty mess. Dad is not a fan of dust so we had a quick cup of coffee and Baozi before heading south.

We started on the Kalewa- Monywa road it was nice for a mile but soon turned into a crumbled, dusty road and stayed that way for most of the ride. I think the first 20 miles was probably the worst with deep dust and loose rocks about the size of softballs. All the bumping and jarring made my insides feel like mush but we pushed through. The scenery was beautiful as we drove between 2 mountain ranges. We have a few spots where the road would be paved for a few miles and we had nice gravel riding. After a couple hours from Kalewa we started getting into some hilly terrain. The roads were dirt and wavy which was a relief after the jarring road before but the roads on this section are impassable to anything other than a 4x4 or enduro in the rainy season. We crossed more jarring roads as we passed through the forests in the northern extension of Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park.

Dad had a bit of a wipe out in the deep dust, the bike slipped out from under him when we were riding along a road that was under construction. He slid into my path, I was riding about 10 feet back and 5 feet to the left, and I slightly hit him when he fell in front of me. Dad hurt his knee and had the wind knocked out of him but was up and moved the bike to the side of the road in no time. The bike had minor damages to the instrument panel and and plastic shield.


When we got out of the park and into the dry highlands the roads were smooth and paved as we worked our way down to Monywa.

Just outside Monywa we decided to see the blue green Algae craters outside monywa. We drove off the main road fora few km and came to the first crater with a small lake inside that didn't seem to be used for harvesting the blue-green algae. We stopped for a photo from the rim when my helmet, which was dangling off the handlebars, fell down and slowly rolled over the edge. The helmet bounced down about 300 feet down loose gravel into the crater. I had to slowly hike down and crawl back out using any dry vegetation to grasp onto. My helmet had a few scratches and I was relieved that the Gopro camera survived such a brutal fall. I was so exhausted from my “hike”that we skipped going to the bigger algae lake and drove back into Monywa.

Before the Drop

After the Drop: GoPro survived

We stayed in the new, biker friendly, Chindwin Hotel for the night. The room was perfect and the shower was hot. We ate at the Pleasant Island restaurant and had an early night.




Day 5. Monywa to Mandalay 141km

This day was a straight shot from Mandalay to Monywa. I had a couple rentals and a tour scheduled for mid morning. We thought we might go to Shwebo and then onto Mandalay but with Dad's knee was sore so we took the most direct route home. We got an early start from Monywa and made it to Mandalay by 11am. Easy ride on nice roads.