Buikema

Hey all,

I've been meaning to post this for a while. In November my girlfriend and I spent two weeks in Myanmar, which was pretty fantastic. We went without a tour group, and mostly winged it for plans. And we got to do a few days of causal biking around.

This included renting cheap chinese bicycles for about $2/day, cruising around temples and lakes and whatnot. The bikes had rod drum brakes that were mostly ineffective, were all sized for people much smaller than me, and tires that didn't hold air. It was sweltering hot, my thighs were killing me due to the extremely short seat post, and we had to pay some guy on the side of the road to patch my flat tire. It was fantastic!

The second place we got bikes was Inle Lake. After my experience with the extra small bikes I asked the proprietor of the bike rental stand if he had a bigger bike. I'd seen a couple of the full sized frames w/ 28" rims, the DL-1 copy that is so popular in Asia. He said that if I came back the next morning he'd have one for me.

And the next day he did, an actual Raleigh DL-1. He was very proud of it and said it was the only one in town, which certainly seemed to be the case. So I rode around a old Raleigh with chinese fenders, a terrible seat and no brakes and had a great time. After getting lost in the country side a guy offered to take us across the lake for $5, and after that made it back to town. Good times, I highly recommend it for any that have the opportunity.

Zieleman

Wow thanks for sharing a great story! Excelent pics as well. There's nothing like riding around such foreign grounds. Did your gf like it as well?

Italuminium

Beautiful. How's the traffic there? Like the rest of SE Asia?

Cache

Nice write up and terrific photos. Thx for posting.

Buikema

She enjoyed it, though more for the view and less for the bikes. Also the bikes were her size, which helps.

Buikema

Traffic in Myanmar, with the exception of the capitol and Mandalay, is very chill. Way lower key than the other parts of Asia I've been too. The rest of SE Asia is dominated by the small motorbike, and its definitely pushed the bike out for locals more.

Laos is probably the next place I'd look at more cycling. Still pretty sleepy there, and the roads are the perfect mix of not being so good as to promote fast driving, but not so bad as to prevent you from attempting to cycle at all.

northbend 

Now that sounds like something to add to my bucket list. Thanks for the post.

Italuminium

I spend the past half year in Jakarta, so I was rather curious if Myanmar is overrun yet with those horrendous m'bikes.

rootboy 

Wonderful place to visit. Can we possibly see more pictures? Thanks.

Buikema

I've got a couple more, though some stray from cycling (gasp!)...




If you, like me, appreciate other more traditional forms of transport you can check out my photos at:
https://andrewmckee.smugmug.com/Other...ransportation/

and for non cycling travel photos of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand you can check out:
https://andrewmckee.smugmug.com

Homebrew01

Inside the country, do they call in Myanmar ? I feel obligated to call it Burma.

Italuminium

Impressive pics, thanks for sharing.

Buikema

They do call it Myanmar, because the government would throw them in prison for dissent. I also prefer Burma, but I was corrected so much that I gave up.

LeicaLad 

Nice photos!

I spent ten+ years living in Yangon, 1994-2005. I traveled to all corners of the country, but was only allowed to bike in the central zone of the country. I can count the number of cyclists I met during that decade on one hand.

When I was there this January, I was amazed by the number of cycle touring groups that I saw, both in & around Yangon, as well as upcountry. Not large groups, but 5 or 6 small groups. The whole security scene didn’t allow much open country road riding before now. It’s remarkable how quickly these changes are opening up the country.

As for the name, one needs a certain agnostic approach that acknowledges the sensibility of your hosts. Mostly it is generational as much as political. The older folk, many educated abroad, speak of Burma as it was in its golden years. The young haven’t known another name rather than Myanmar. Myanmar is the word in the Burmese language, but not used by the many other language groups. Changing it was the reverse of the logic used at independence when the name Burma was chosen over Myanmar as representative of all 136+ ethnicities in the country.

In any event, the history is complex and not easily boiled to the knee jerk reaction. But, what everyone will agree is that it is a remarkable country filled with wonderful people who are warm, friendly and very open to the visiting foreigner. Cycling is great. 700c is still mostly unheard of. The sole advantage of those "horrendous m'bikes" is that they use 26" tires that are widely available. 27" only in Yangon or Mandalay. Just FYI.

It is changing quickly, but the country is still emerging from another era. There is a time difference between Thailand and Burma/Myanmar of 30 minutes. We always said to those flying in, set your watch back 30 minutes. Everything else, 30 years.

Go. It’s a fabulous place.

Buikema

Wow, what an experience. Thanks for that insight, it's a perspective I imagine not many foreigners have.