We would really like to be able to do this in about a month and a half's time, in our tuk tuk. Does anyone have any information about whether or not it is possible, and if so where is the best place for us to pick up a special permit for it?

Thanks,

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/newsletter/2013-04
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(http://2livethedream.com/?lang=en)

Heike Fania, Switzerland and Filippo Fania, Germany, Europe to Australia and beyond, in Myanmar

"For us a dream has come true: we have travelled on our motorcycles through Myanmar (or maybe to some it is more familiar as Burma). Until now, it was not possible to enter the country officially with a foreign motorcycle. Together with three other motorcyclists we were now the first group that was officially allowed to travel this beautiful country.

Unfortunately, it is still not possible to travel individually and on your own. We were accompanied by a car with driver and two guides; one of them was from the government. Without them we would not have got the permission to travel through Myanmar. But both guides were actually quite relaxed, and during the tour the control eased, so they even let us go on our own. However, we had to stay on the planned route, and we had to stay at hotels that were arranged in advance.

Preparations, negotiation with the officials in Myanmar and the paperwork took four months in total. Our friend Joerg from Bangkok did a tremendous job and has invested a lot of time to make this trip possible – all in his free time! And from what we heard afterwards, the trip was discussed and approved even by the ministry of Myanmar.

But still, only one week before we left it still looked like it was not going to happen. Then we suddenly got the OK from the officials, and only a few days later we were standing at the border to Myanmar. In the meantime, we had to hurry to get everything ready, to sort our equipment and to get the visas from the Myanmar embassy.


Myanmar border post

In total we were seven days / six nights in the country. We crossed the border at Mae Sot in Thailand, both on the way in and on the way out. In between lay more than 2300 kilometres through Myanmar.

And the whole trip was not cheap. We had to pay for permissions, bribes, visas, guides, sometimes police escort, the car, and hotels, which were not the cheapest. But it was definitely worth everything! We had the chance to visit Myanmar at a stage where in most areas it is still not influenced by tourism.


Five motorcycles parked in front of the parliament in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar.

Maybe, it will soon also be possible to cross the country from India to Thailand, or vice versa; but probably only with guides and a pre-planned route as well. However, a dream for many overlanders would come true – and it would not be necessary anymore to ship the bikes from Kathmandu to Bangkok, which also costs a lot of money.

If you are interested in further details, and you want to travel Myanmar by motorcycle as well, then you can contact our friend Joerg Waldmann in Bangkok by e-mail: djos...@gmail.com"

Groups on bikes allowed entry is definitely a change. What I'm personally a little sceptic about, is the government allowing groups to proceed all the way thru the country, as they have some areas, particularly ones close to India, where they have their hands full with some minorities. They're not allowing tourists to go to those areas. But who knows, maybe there's a way around it, sure you're free to give it a try.

I think you can count with fingers on one hand the number of people, who have succeeded in doing what you want to do in the past decade. So never assume it'll be easy, or cheap for that matter!

Hi

Wheels on the World
https://www.facebook.com/WheelsOnTheWorld?fref=ts


I've been following this couple on Facebook - they recently (this year) also have ridden through Myanmar - from India to Thailand.

You have to go back a bit in their history on the FB page to see the Myanmar bit.

It seemed like it also took them a long time to organise the paperwork etc but I'm not sure if they had to have an escort?

I asked them on FB how they managed to do it and this was their reply...

'When we got the letter drom Myanmar, allowing us to enter from Tamu and exiting into Thailand we were also flubbergusted. Yes, they said we were the first bikers to cross Myanmar, but they also granted previously to people to cross by bycicle and few days before us, they allowed about 20 trucks, mainly Germans to cross as well. Infact we met them in Myanmar.
We wrote a letter to the Myanmar Embassy in Rome, requesting, as politely as posible, the permission to cross the country. After about two months, they called us from the embassy and requested a detailed itinerary. We submitted the itinerary. They responded that we had to make a slight change, because in the area of tandwe, there is some insurgency and they do not allow foreigner to go there. Also motorcycle are not allowed in Yangoon.
We modified the itinerary and after a week we got the letter from the myanmaris fovernment, written in myanmaris. It seems that they are opening up and truly hope so, because the country is fantastic!Cheers!'

Hope this is useful

Gemma

Thanks for all the replies. We haven't had any real success. Myaman embassy in London and Rome don't seem interested...I think we will look into it when we get to India. We will keep trying!!

Yesterday been informed by a Turkish friend who is hiking in the area on the way to Katmandu for mountaineering purposes that:

-Myanmar-India bordergate is closed for all foreigners even for hikers ..
So he has just bought a flight ticket from Thailand to Calcutta for 90 USD..Train and bus for the rest of the destination....

-Other option to reach Katmandu is through China and Tibet but Tibet is also closed..

Here is his face page to get in touch if more information needed..
https://www.facebook.com/evgind?fref=ts

""Myanmar- Hindistan siniri yabancilara kapali.Nepal e ulasmanin alternatif yolu Cin uzerinden gitmek ama bu seferde Tibet engeline takiliyorsunuz.Tayland dan Hindistan Kolkata ya 90$ a ucak buldum.Kolkata dan Nepal e tahmini 3 gunluk tren yolculu ardindan 1 gunluk Kathmandu yolculugunun toplam maliyeti 120$ civar ki bu paraya toplamda 4500 km yol gecmis oluyorsunuz ""

Seems things began changing so fast there same as in middleeast...

All the best..

__________________
Mehmet Zeki Avar
''Borderlines divide countries,HU friendship finds a way to reunited"
https://www.facebook.com/mehmet.avar.12?ref=tn_tnmn