Discovering Northwest Myanmar 7: Rihkawdar to Kalaymyo

I could’ve spent more time up there in Chin State. I mean, I really liked it there. The people, the towns, and most of all, the weather were wonderful. Remember, April is the hottest month of the year in Myanmar, and down in the valleys, the 100-degree, 60% humildity days were sweltering. The clean, crisp air of Chin was quite a relief. 

Sunrise in Chin State

 

As a place to ride a motorcycle, providing you have an enduro-bike with a good suspension, Chin State had been like a dream. The mountain vistas mesmerized me and the roads were in decent condition. The dream soured a bit on the road from Rihkandar to Tedim. On a lesser bike, it would have been a nightmare. 

Fortunately, the CRF250 I’d rented from mandalaymotorbike.com handled to rocky, bumpy roads without much trouble. After Tedim, the road to Kalaymyo was quite smooth. 

 

In Tedim, everyone was going to church. Well, not everyone.

Down from the hills into a valley, the heat was back. However, instant relief was available in the form of Thingyan, the water festival.  Just outside my hotel door, a stage had been set up.

They let me run the hose for a bit.

Hoses busily sprayed truckload after truckload of people out celebrating. A few dozen local youth danced up a storm in front of loudspeakers. I joined in, recording it with my waterproof camera.  When the organizers noticed me, they asked if I would like to record a traditional Thingyan dance. Of course! I’m  sure the dance was planned for later, but they moved it up just for me.

This first video shows the trip out of Chin to Kalymyo.

The second video is just the Thingyan dance and the goings on around it.  

Myanmar Motorcycle Journey 10 - Pyay to Ngapali

The big skies of Rakhine State

I woke up in Pyay feeling good. I'd traveled further on my motorbike in the previous two days than during any two days in my long relationship with the iron horse. A bit sore, but all in all, my fat old body was holding up well.

It was time to cross the mighty Irrawaddy River and head towards Rakhine State and the coast. Two problems cropped up on the ride out of town. First off, finding the bridge entrance was harder than I'd thought. This whole trip would have been impossible without GPS and Google Maps on my phone.

There's the bridge!

The second problem was my mild gephyrophobia, a fear of bridges. Small bridges don't bother me. Walking over a bridge doesn't concern me. I'm not afraid it's going to collapse, and I'm okay with heights in general. Instead, it's driving on a tall, high bridge that scares the crap out of me. I have a bit of a panic attack in these circumstances. I have to stare at the pavement, slow down and focus. My arms and legs get weak. I want to close my eyes, but of course, I can't. As you'll hear in the video, singing helps too.

Just past the river, the Rakhine Hills cropped up right away. Scenic as the previous two ridges I had crossed, the hills presented little challenge as I had become adept at handling my little motorbike on these windy roads. As I've noted in previous blogs, the people I passed on the road were astounded to see a foreigner out in the countryside; few westerners come through here outside the confines of a tour bus or hired car.

The Arakenese, the people of Rakhine State

Passport, please.

I got stopped by the authorities for the first time on the journey. This was the first opportunity I had to test what I'd been told: by having a Myanmar Drivers License, I didn't need any special papers or permissions to travel throughout Myanmar. I was confident, but whenever you're stopped by the police in the developing world, you really can't be sure what's going to happen.

Turns out they were very nice. The served me a cup of coffee while they recorded my paperwork.

I made such good time on the road, I had reached my proposed destination of Toungup by 1:30. Although tired, I was really looking forward to reaching the beach and lounging on the warm, white sands of a tropical beach. Plus, if I got to Ngapali that day, I could spend two nights there and not have to travel at all the next day.  So I pushed on!

It was the night before New Years Eve, and I didn't have a room reservation. I knew there were lots of hotels in Ngapali, so I wasn't too worried. I knew that accommodation was expensive in Ngapali, but I was willing to pay $60-75/night, about twice what I'd been paying per night on the trip thus far, so I wasn't too worried.

Yeah, no worries. I got the beach by sunset, and the only room I could find was twice the price I was hoping to spend.

I made it! Sunset over the Bay of Bengal

Enjoy the video!



Trip Report:
Distance: 250 km
Time: 7 hours
Road conditions: Excellent 2%; Good 30%; Fair 60%; Bad 8%