This is a preliminary publication.

Burma China Road

The ideas here are those we are working on at this time and are open to change. The idea of travelling from Yangon to Dali and then Dali to Tiger Leaping Gorge are the objectives. If anyone has other ideas to add we would welcome those and see if they would fit into anything that we could arrange.

For instance one person has mentioned that they would be more interested in going north to gansu province beyond he city of Lanzhou. They would like to explore the western end of the Great Wall and that area where there are historical remants of the Silk Route. That wouldn't fit into this plan as is but if others preferred this we could look at that as an alternative.

The trip as it's running  will be flexible. Ideas that may be apparent as we are moving can certainly be heard and if possible we would do what we could to accommodate these. When a trip is running there tend to be follow on effects of a change and this may be the limitation.

 Outline

The trip begins in Bangkok and ends in Kunming. Why ending in kunming? It may be cheaper for you to depart from Hong Kong than returning to Bangkok. If people want to head further into other areas of China say to Beijing or Xi'an or Shanghai, Kunming is a hub airport with good service to most other Chinese cities. If any want to spend time in hong kong there are many ways to get there be it flying or train. Please contact me for any advice or queries on this issue. 

Personally I will head to Shenzhen and catch a flight to Bangkok from there. This is probably a cheaper way for me to return rather than y direct flight Kunming to Bangkok. Of course cheap specials do crop up and on short order.  :)

The trip has been developed for people who want to travel less covered paths. Burma is not so travelled and the road from Rangoon to Lao Shi is part of another time; the times when the British then Japanese ruled this land. It’s a trip for the adventurous spirit not meaning the adrenaline junkie, just those who enjoy feeling that none they know has done it before. 

There are many additional pieces of information included in this site. The purple coloured words and names are all clickable links with info relevant to the name.

We will see the great sights of Yangon including the Shwedagon Pagoda and the legacy of a bygone colonial period within the street scape of this city and probably with the signs of the recent destruction by the typhoon floods. Images that are fresh and strong.

Bagan is an ancient capital of Burma with literally thousands of pagodas dotted on a flat plain,  and will be explored. History I’m sure will be learned and pre-conceptions of SEA conflicts will be challenged. Onto Mandalay a true jewel of the British era. Mandalay will give us time to kick back maybe head out to another ancient city and try and get the feel of the past grandeur and dignity of a now poor country, then country wise. Road! This could be a route to end all desire to take a car again. I doubt that the road infrastructure and quality has been well looked at since the British and Japanese occupation. 

We break the road mode by taking a train through some of the country on a track laid by the British and a famous bridge built by the Pennsylvania Steel Co the Burma-Gorteik Viaduct. We really will be in remote areas now.

(C) Used with the kind permission of  Bernhard  Heiser  www.asiaphoto.de

Accommodation in places in Burma will be in hotels, tourist class. Our food will be predominantly Chinese as Burmese food may not be to our palate with its very high oil content but we can certainly sample the local cuisine.

In the main cities we will feel familiarity and the less familiar while country-wise I suspect that it will be all unfamiliar, that’s the adventure. The people are shy and friendly; they don’t speak English except some in the main cities.

Burma: to go or not to go? 

Burma is a totalitarian state with an oppressive military junta in control. Her previously democratically elected leader, Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi has asked that people do not travel to her country. They are the facts. The argument of whether to travel to Burma is a long on-going debate which I have followed for 9 years. A summary of the debate is well written in a Lonely Planet publication here a "must read". I am sure that there is no conclusion.

 

Trip outline (cont'd)...

The Japanese during the Asian occupation travelled through China into Burma heading for India. They had a few options and this road that we plan to take was one of the major routes. It was also very important for the Japanese to close and destroy this road as it would be the only way that the allied forces, namely the Americans, would route the Japanese out of Burma. The road essentially began in the city of Dali Gucheng. Dali was an ancient capital of the Bai minority of China “A kingdom south of the Clouds”. She has been rebuilt in very recent times and faithfully, a walled city in a breathtaking location with mountains to her west, Cangshan and a huge lake on her eastern side, Erhai lake. She is populated with many villas decorated with artwork depicting gardens and nature, peace and tranquillity and her people are still predominantly the Bai minority. Around Dali are other minorities in the mountains and we will do a small trek to some of these communities. Hopefully we will also have the opportunity to see some local markets in action. This is a real buzz.

Dali to Zhongdian is a bus ride on good roads over mountains and ending on the ascending plateau. Her citizens are significantly Tibetan.Her houses are notably Tibetan and the air is a bit thin here so it may be prudent to take it easy around the city. Zhongdian was where I heard spontaneous Tibetan songs, the staff of the hotel would sing across the quadrangle of the hotel to another staff member for assistance.

We will reduce our altitude the next day to the Naxi sacred site of Bai Shui Tai. This is a tuff waterfall with limestone depositing on the run-overs of the cascades. The site is believed to be where the Dongba religion of the Naxi people originated. The accommodation here is basic but comfortable. We may have the opportunity here of meeting a Naxi Shaman or Dongbi, of which there are approximately 70 in existence. Their religion seems to have elements of the Bon religion but has no monastic tradition. The practitioners are herdsmen and trades people, the tradition is passed from father to son by aprencticeship.

Now we start the two day main trek on foot or if you would like, by donkey, there is also a road option and public or chartered transport can be arranged. Our guide for the next two days is Sean, Xia Shan Quan. The trek doesn't follow the road and is a local path used for centuries by the Naxi. Surprisingly it doesn't appear on any trek maps that I have come across. The route starts at Bai Shui Tai and finishes at Haba, a mixed culture village of the Yi, Naxi and Hui peoples, nestled in the hills not so far from Tiger Leaping Gorge. The trek is moderately difficult and will take about 6 to 8 hours walking and enroute we will pass through some very ancient Naxi villages still with their waterwheels grinding the grain for use. Quite beautiful. The terrain is uphill and down with some level places in between. Accommodation at Haba is basic and possibly shared.

The following day is our walk to Walnut Garden in the Gorge properly and is also moderately difficult. Once again the donkey or the option of catching a vehicle from Haba to Walnut garden is available. The walk should take 6 hours with the final descent from the mountain slopes being quite steep but are grateful that we’re not doing it in the opposite direction. Overall the whole trek is on a downward decline, meaning that we start the trek at a higher altitude than our finish. Sean’s Spring Guesthouse at Walnut Garden is a welcome sight as we come around the second last bend on the road, victory at hand! Beer, western food, ensuite accommodation. It’s all at Sean’s

I’m sure we will feel some sadness leaving the Gorge. We will probably travel out the eastern end to Daju and cross the Yangtze at this point by ferry. From Daju it’s only a few hours to Lijiang where we will stay overnight at a Naxi guesthouse in the ancient city of Dayan now a UNESCO site. The following evening the travel mode all have been waiting for: The sleeper bus to Kunming. Not sure that we will get a sound sleep but some do. We will arrive in Kunming pre-dawn and transfer by cabs to the Camellia Hotel. Too early for room check-in but a place to dump the bags, have some breakfast and relax.

Itinerary: (reviewed and re-published Saturday 13th December 2008)

Please click here for the itinerary.

Google Maps has been placed at the end of this page with placemarkers for this trip added. By clicking on the markers you will be able to see the name of the location. For those not familiar with this facility it's a great resource for finding just about anywhere on a map. You can move the map around either by clicking on the four direction arrows or by Right click & holding the mouse button. Then you can drag the map around or pan it. The other two useful operations are zooming in and out. This is achieved by simply selecting the (+) button for zooming in or the (-) button for zooming out. 

A very good feature is the ability to search for places, including addresses, in some countries.If you're searching for non-Western places you may have to try a couple of spelling choices as there is little standardisation with Asian language-Romanisation. Suggest that you add the country name afer the place name. The successful search will take you to the location on the map. To use this function you need to go in a step deeper. This is effected by clicking "View Larger Map" located outside the light area at the very bottom of the Google Map.  

Costs: (reviewed 12/01/2009)

Currently 5 people have shown significant interest in joining.

4 other people have shown some level of interest.

Please click here for passengers costs.

The above is a summary of costs. It is truly a best estimate and not a guaranteed price. It does however attempt to include things that are shared costs and is why you see a sliding scale. The best way of looking at it for an explanation is with the item list following. 

Please note that the value will almost certainly change as currencies are changing rapidly. The Thai baht at this time is stable but for how long? I have placed a currency converter at the end of this publication and I would suggest that you check your own currency against the Thai Baht costs. I will endeavour to completely review the list weekly. I use this same facility in my calculations. Your own bank may have slightly differing conversion tables.

Click here for all costed items.

This is an Excel sheet of all the identified items and their estimated costs at this time.Prices are documented in their "home" currency and converted to Thai Baht. The Thai Baht is then converted to your currency.

Proposed date:

Arrive Bangkok: Saturday 28th March 2009.

Trip terminates Kunming: Contact me for any advice on departing Kunming. There are many options.

Payment:

Payments will be made locally. There may be a small preliminary payment to be made. This can be arranged through Ian Chatfield. The amount will be notified well in advance.

NB: Burma no longer requires an initial exchange of $200 USD into local currency.

Currencies for local payment:

• Thailand: The Thai baht is used exclusively. ATM's and currency exchange services widely available in Bangkok and at the airport.
  
• Generally the USD is the most convenient currency used for travelling Asian countries. 
  
• Burma: The local currency is Kyat but the USD is used extensively. Good idea to have some smaller USD bills available.
  
• China: The Chinese Yuan, also called Renmimbi is used exclusively. ATM's are now widely available for cash withdrawal by card. Exchange at banks is a fairly slow process and you need to plan any exchange in advance. 
  
• Local currency availability at the Chinese border on our arrival.
  

Health Issues:

The mosquito-borne diseases malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya fever and Japanese encephalitis are endemic in Burma. It is recommended you take prophylaxis against malaria and take measures to avoid mosquito bites, including using insect repellent at all times.

There may not be a "Japanese Encephalitis" vaccine registered for use in your country. However, a non-registered vaccine maybe available for purchase by travellers through their travel clinics under a "Special Access Scheme"  For further details consult your travel health doctor.

Dossier:

This is currently being prepared. It will be published in stages