Your man in Rangoon...

[Hassman]

In my job I get sent around many places in Asia and this time it was to Burma, I have of course been in and out of Mae Sai/Tachilek and some other places a few times but this trip was to Rangoon so obviously I got thrilled, especially as I was going to get 3-4 days “standing by” in the hotel = paid vacation.

Visa is required and for that it is needed to show up in person to the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, there used to be some travel agents in Chiang Mai that could do it but it seems to be stricter now so a trip to the capital is needed. For the visa you need a photocopy of your passport and two photos of your physiognomy on white background –bad news for those who are albino.

The visa fee I honestly don’t know, for a work visa which I got it was 2’150 Baht but I think the tourist visa is cheaper.

I was warned that there are no ATM’s in Myanmar and credit cards are not widely accepted so one needs to bring cash to last the entire trip.

I arrived on Myanmar airs flight from Bangkok in the evening, the Rangoon airport is almost new and seems quite large –maybe it was because of the fact that there was only one flight landing at that time and the flight was neither full or an especially large plane, my guess is that there were only 4-5 foreigners on the flight.

Having arrived late and not able to change from USD to Kyat at the hotel I was forced to stay in for the evening, the hotel I stay at has a bar/karaoke lounge and I had a “Myanmar” beer there –allegedly brewed from sticky rice it is a very nice beer, a lot sweeter and easier on the palate than Singha or even Heineken.

The hotel I stay at is called Chatrium hotel http://www.chatriumhotelyangon.com and is situated close to the Shwedagon pagoda, rate is between 100 and 350 USD per night, obviously there are lots of cheaper hotels, this is a 5 star place and the bill is being picked up by the company, if it was my hard earned cash being spent I would choose a cheaper place.

The view from the hotel window is not that breathtaking though….

Today I went to the famous Shwedagon pagoda, the national museum and Bogyoke market for some local flavor.

No cameras are allowed in the museum which is a shame as there are some very interesting items there.

The locals are very friendly but the “fixers” and money changers can be a bit of a handful at times, exchange rate is officially at 800 Kyats per 1 USD, the hotel gives 770 and guys on the street will give up to 830, not a big difference in my opinion and not worth the risk of getting collared for as street exchange is actually illegal.

I saw no bikes at all, I expected scooters and crappy old bikes but none at all are around, not a single bike which I found quite disappointing, there are quite a few cars around, some of them being locally produced jeeps, some based on the UK land rovers and other based on the US Willys jeeps.

The only type of “bike” I saw around…

Close to the hotel I found this driving school –basically a bunch of jeeps and mock up roads and junctions in a waste land area, will make a decent go-kart track one day..

So far for today, I hope that I get another 3 days here and more stuff to report.

 

[KTMphil]

Great report Mr. H

I was told that motorbikes were BANNED from the city of Rangoon - will be interesting to see if that's true. I've found that most countries like where you are will happily accept USD$ for payment, is it the case there?

Interested to hear about food - restaurants & what is available in the supermarkets, if they have such a thing.

Great report - Thankyou


(is there a porn channel on the TV in the room?)

 

[Steve Canyon]

Very interesting indeed.............

Looking forward to more.... :RO

 

[KTMphil]

OK, come one Hass - you've had a night on the town in Rangoon - we need a report.

 

[DrGMIA]

I was in Rangoon (Yangon) in 2007. At that time motorcycles were prohibited in the “Restricted Area” of Rangoon. Except for a few around the police station and one owned by a cop that was leaned-up against a well in the central market, there were none being driven by private citizens.

Rangoon had some other odd laws, like the fine for honking a horn in the city was $50.00 USd and bicycles could only be used by government employees like postman. The “No motorcycle” law was to keep gun guys from shooting from the pillion position. The same law applies in the new capital: no motorcycles except for the cops or certain government employees, like escort cops.

In Rangoon I stayed at the Central Hotel Yangon ( http://www.myanmars.net/central ) It was clean and centrally located, 2-3 minutes walking distance to the central market. I asked for and received their advertised “Discount Rate” of $35.00 USD per night. Their published “Public Rate” was $96.00 USD. No credit cards, but US dollars worked fine, were actually preferred. The room was clean, and the TV had four stations, but none in English and no porn. I remember one station being some kind of fashion channel, maybe out of China. Another was government news. A Coke Cola from the mini-bar was $1.25 USD. Room rate included a breakfast buffet.

I never saw an ATM machine and did most of my money changing with money changers in places like a gem shop. Once a money changer hustled me into a back alley where we did a deal at a pretty good exchange rate. His “overhead” was low, so better able to give me a good rate. I did not do “big” money deals with these guys, usually what I needed for the next day or two. The exchange rate then was 1250 Kyat for $1.00 USD.

Rangoon was dead like a graveyard after 10:00 PM. Except for a few three wheeled bicycles like Mr. H posted a picture of above not much moved on the streets after 10:00 PM. There may have been a rule about cars being off the road in the center of the city after 10:00 PM.

The food around town was OK. I found a knock-off McDonald’s selling burgers (not good), and ate some soup that turned out to be chicken head soup, not good either. Nor were the eels offered up at another restaurant. They tasted like mud.

Internet was slow in the few cyber cafes I found, and news services like the BBC were blocked by the government. Yahoo and Hotmail accounts could be accessed but it was old systems with no pictures or news. Some of the cyber gurus in the Internet cafes could work around the government filters but it was a hassle. I gave up on the Internet and traveled pretty much cyber free.

In Rangoon I rented a 250 cc Honda XR, a leg-busting kick starter. I had to write my own rental agreement to include a $3,000.00 USD replacement fee if the motorcycle was stolen or confiscated. $35.00 USD per day and a $1,000.00 USD deposit in fresh $100.00 USD bills found me and the motorcycle being trucked about 25 Ks outside the center of the city. The truck fee was $25.00 USD. Once they dropped me off outside the Restricted Zone I was free to roam, which I did until I hit an closed area going north.

There were no gas stations inside the central area of the city. On the outskirts were gas stations, and once I got away from Rangoon I found gas at stations and small independent shops that sold gas out of bottles or barrels. About $4.00 USD per gallon.
I came back into Rangoon by boat and was met at the wharf by the motorcycle rental shop owner in his car. Two of his mechanics/workers took the motorcycle from me and walked it back to his shop, not starting it inside the city where the coppers could grab it. It was not against the law to own a motorcycle inside the Restricted Zone of Rangoon, or be in possession of one, it was against the law to drive it and confiscation was the first result of being caught.

I found that I could not get to Mandalay or other places north because I could not travel through another large “Restricted Zone.” Once I jumped over the closed area and got to Mandalay I found many motorcycles. I could have bought a Chinese 110 or 125 for $450.00 USD. Cash worked for a rental at $12.00 USD per day with a $10.00 security deposit.

I would go back to Myanmar. The people were friendly and interested in me and my travels, many speaking English. I saw only one American while in Myanmar. While the USA has an embargo around Myanmar that does not mean their citizens cannot travel to Myanmar. The US State Department advises against it. Most travelers I met were European, and a majority of them were German or French. The food was OK as was the swill (MYANMAR Premium Beer). For the Jameson gulpers black market whiskey was around. I even saw some Jack Daniels bottles. A local whiskey, Myanmar Whiskey, sold for less than $1.00 USD for a flask and smelled like old paint in a can.

A sad note was being advised by my contacts in Rangoon in 2008 that the Ministry of Tourism had issued a new rule that foreigners were no longer being allowed to drive motorcycles in Myanmar. I was told this was the government’s reaction to being hassled by other governments to let some of their fat-wallet motorcycle travelers ride into and through Myanmar. Supposedly the generals-in-charge had little patience for foreign governments trying to bully them on behalf of some deep-pocket motorcycle riders. They dropped the hammer in 2008 and my contacts in the underworld of motorcycle adventures in Rangoon have since faded. Maybe Mr. H can find out if the rule has been lifted.

I am not going to cross post an extensive article published on motorcycling inside Myanmar. While it has been a couple of years I believe little has changed other than prices going up as the US dollar has fallen. If interested there are a few 1,000 words and 35-40 pictures in the Photo Gallery at http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/284/1407/ ... Burma.aspx

 

[KTMphil]

Most fascinating that you were able to rent a Honda XR250 there - I will send our "man-on-the-ground" on a recon. mission to see what he kind dig up in respect of trail riding motorcycles in the Rangoon area. Superbly written as usual - Thanks Greg.

 

[AlexUSA]

Awesome stories. I've been meaning to get over to Rangoon but the visa is a bit of a hassle. With all the animosity between my government (USA) and Myanmar, there's a big "forbidden fruit" appeal to me.

Have heard the same about foreigners not allowed to ride in country as well recently.

Is there really no nightlife in Rangoon? I would have thought there would be some sort of a...service industry scene. :RE

 

[KTMphil]

[quote="

Is there really no nightlife in Rangoon? I would have thought there would be some sort of a...service industry scene. :RE[/quote]


What do you think?

 

[DrGMIA]

There was a night life there, but generally out of reach for the foreigners: language and knowing the ropes. As for service industry, I saw none. Not even whispers from alley ways late at night. In Rangoon I was never approached by "fixers" or cab drivers willing to serve as a guide.

As for "trail riding motorcycles" in Rangoon, the only one I saw was the 250 XR I rented. In Mandalay it was a different story. I saw Yamaha 225's and 250's, plus some Chinese "enduro style" bikes. I found only one BSA, dispelling the rumors of old BSA's being all over the place, the British having left them there after they pulled out. Over the years guys have been going into Myanmar and buying up all those old bikes and shipping them to Europe, pretty well flushing Myanmar of the BSAs.

If I were to return to make another motorcycle expedition I'd take a wad of cash and start in Mandalay. In the countryside the traffic was light and traffic moved along at a sedate pace. If one can leave their ego at home, a 125 cc step-through would work fine, and tires/repair shops for the little bikes were in every city I went through in the north. I believe the place I rented from in Rangoon was the only rental place in all of Rangoon and I saw no repair shops. Another tip is to take all your own gear, there was nothing in Rangoon and what I found in Mandalay and the surrounding areas was minimal: helmets were small and made of egg-shell material, gloves small, and boots small. It was not like the shops in Tachileik where you can find knock-off Harley-Davidson leather jackets and moto-cross boots. The local Burmese don't have the money to buy that kind of gear so the motorcycle shops don't stock it. A final suggestion: take your own tool kit.

 

[KTMphil]

Very useful information

There was a night life there, but generally out of reach for the foreigners: language and knowing the ropes. As for service industry, I saw none. Not even whispers from alley ways late at night. In Rangoon I was never approached by "fixers" or cab drivers willing to serve as a guide.

As for "trail riding motorcycles" in Rangoon, the only one I saw was the 250 XR I rented. In Mandalay it was a different story. I saw Yamaha 225's and 250's, plus some Chinese "enduro style" bikes. I found only one BSA, dispelling the rumors of old BSA's being all over the place, the British having left them there after they pulled out. Over the years guys have been going into Myanmar and buying up all those old bikes and shipping them to Europe, pretty well flushing Myanmar of the BSAs.

If I were to return to make another motorcycle expedition I'd take a wad of cash and start in Mandalay. In the countryside the traffic was light and traffic moved along at a sedate pace. If one can leave their ego at home, a 125 cc step-through would work fine, and tires/repair shops for the little bikes were in every city I went through in the north. I believe the place I rented from in Rangoon was the only rental place in all of Rangoon and I saw no repair shops. Another tip is to take all your own gear, there was nothing in Rangoon and what I found in Mandalay and the surrounding areas was minimal: helmets were small and made of egg-shell material, gloves small, and boots small. It was not like the shops in Tachileik where you can find knock-off Harley-Davidson leather jackets and moto-cross boots. The local Burmese don't have the money to buy that kind of gear so the motorcycle shops don't stock it. A final suggestion: take your own tool kit.

 

[Hassman]

Back on internet again… last night internet was turned off, apparently this is to stop the 0.1% of the population that has internet access from surfing the web and finding out that they live in what some people may refer to as a dictatorship, ignorance is bliss as it is said..

So with the internet being off last night there was not much to do other than have a few cold Myanmar beers in the hotel bar and discuss the upcoming work with my mate… right! A few beers led to more beers and then the need to go check out the nightlife, I am happy to report that since Mr G’s visit here much has moved on.

We started out about 9 in the evening as we thought that everyone would be home and in bed by midnight –we were very wrong! No-one is out at 9 at night, it is too early. So after having visited one establishment named Pioneer and finding that we were the only two there we left for V6 Club, there were some people there and the door staff assured us that at about 10:30 the place would start to fill up, they were not wrong, the place was pretty much packed at 11.

We decided to move on at some time during the night, can’t tell you exactly when as the Myanmar beer is very good and goes down easily…. We staggered out and left for Pioneer and right next to it we found another 2-3 places that we also checked out, the places were hopping, back to Piooner for some much needed drinks…
Finally staggered home at about 2 in the morning –the clubs close at 3, had to pay the last taxi and the last bar bills with USD as we were out of Kyats.

I would not say that the nightlife is out of bounds for foreigners, sure it would have helped to have a local guy with us to keep us out of trouble and “translate” situations for us, at times we were clueless as to what was going on and it felt a bit weird.

There seem to be no nightlife aimed at foreigners as one can find in Thailand but we had a good time and were never feeling threatened or feeling that we were in any way imposing on the locals, we saw another 2-3 foreigners in these places during the night so clearly the locals are used to it.

So after waking up with a bit of a heavy head I went for another stroll through town.

People who can afford it keep backup generators on the street outside their houses and shops as clearly the electricity tends to go off from time to time.

Last night I found a Black Canyon restaurant, this is the only fast food outlet I have found, no McDonalds, no KFC, a guy told me that they have a local version of KFC called TFC –Tokyo Fried Chicken, but I have not found any of them.

There are quite a few Thai restaurants spread around everywhere, local (Burmese) food places seem to be located all in the same area –around the Bogyoke market.
I visited some shopping centers today but the only food available in them were donuts from a local chain called J Donuts, donuts though is not food in my book..

The local women use a type of yellow powder in their face –this powder is from a piece of wood from a particular type of tree, the wood block is scrubbed against a flat stone and the powder is mixed with water and blotted in the face.

The result of the powder:

On the way to the shopping centers I passed this park that is dedicated to the socialist movement or something like that, the park is utterly pointless as people are not allowed in… a bit like parks in Singapore actually.

A homemade Humvee, I reckon it is awesome.

For people looking for a decent hotel in town I found just that, prices range from 20-25 USD per night, no chance to look at the rooms though as they said they were full, located at 69 Damar Yone Street, decenthotel@myanmar.com.mm or call 95 1 501 670

As Dr. G said the only bikes around are bikes used by the police, I had to shoot this pic on the sly as the coppers are not too keen on anyone taking photos of them or their facilities.

Everyone I speak to say that there are no bikes around in Rangoon, nothing at all available apparently, I would agree with Dr. G that the best would be to fly in somewhere else and plod around on a scooter or something, Rangoon is not a bad place but as bikes are not allowed it is kind of limited to us bikers…

The former rule by the British can be seen in some architecture and buildings and also in the many antique shops around, I found some really interesting stuff and at first I could not believe my eyes.

At a first glance it is a simple fan… but what is driving the fan blades around??

An oil lamp at the bottom of the stand heats up a plate and the motor driving the fan around is a small Stirling engine, I was absolutely gobsmacked when I realized what it was.

I am thinking of getting one of them as they are absolutely epic little things, not cheap though as the shops want 200 USD for the cheapest ones and 2000 USD for the best preserved old British made units, the cheaper ones are allegedly made in Germany.

There are some items around from the second world war –both British stuff and Japanese items such as swords and the like, not sure how much of it is originals and how much is copies, I don’t know enough about antiques to know what to look for.

Not much more to report from today, a bit of bragging though… they had me change room to the executive floor so my view is a lot better.

The room itself is not too bad either…

 

[KTMphil]

Very informative, how are the prices food, drink etc....? same as Thailand?

Beautiful room you've got there now.

If you buy one of those fans buy one for me too - i'll give you the cash when you get back, love stuff like that.

It's powered by a stirling engine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Stirling engine is a heat engine operating by cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gas, the working fluid, at different temperature levels such that there is a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical work.

Like the steam engine, the Stirling engine is traditionally classified as an external combustion engine, as all heat transfers to and from the working fluid take place through the engine wall. This contrasts with an internal combustion engine where heat input is by combustion of a fuel within the body of the working fluid. Unlike a steam engine's (or more generally a Rankine cycle engine's) usage of a working fluid in both its liquid and gaseous phases, the Stirling engine encloses a fixed quantity of permanently gaseous fluid such as air.

Typical of heat engines, the general cycle consists of compressing cool gas, heating the gas, expanding the hot gas, and finally cooling the gas before repeating the cycle. The efficiency of the process is narrowly restricted by the efficiency of the Carnot cycle, which depends on the temperature difference between the hot and cold reservoir.

Originally conceived in 1816 as an industrial prime mover to rival the steam engine, its practical use was largely confined to low-power domestic applications for over a century.

The Stirling engine is noted for its high efficiency compared to steam engines, quiet operation, and the ease with which it can use almost any heat source. This compatibility with alternative and renewable energy sources has become increasingly significant as the price of conventional fuels rises, and also in light of concerns such as peak oil and climate change. This engine is currently exciting interest as the core component of micro combined heat and power (CHP) units, in which it is more efficient and safer than a comparable steam engine.

 

[Hassman]

So to stop people from bringing it up again I guess I have to report what I have found out about the service industry….
Most large hotels have bars/karaoke lounges and the hostesses working there are sometimes able to be very hospitable, the prices I am told is 50-70 USD, some will leave your room at 01:30 but others will stay the night.

The girls in V6 Club and Piooner were all freelancers, in the other two or three clubs we found it seemed to be a mix of working girls and girls just out for a night on the town.

V6 Club can be found on New University Avenue close to the US Embassy, allegedly there are some other seedy places in that area too, Piooner is located on Ahlone Road, there is also an area on Schwe Dagon Pagoda Road that has roof top bars and allegedly the same deal there as in Piooner and V6, not sure though as we did not go there.

Most decent hotels will not allow a “guest” in your room without him/her leaving an ID card at the front desk, they may also charge you a “misc. service” charge of 15-20 USD for allowing the other person to stay.

 

[Hassman]

I forgot....
I bought a decent map of Myanmar as well, not sure how accurate it is or how updated but it may come in useful one day.

 

[KTMphil]

I could use a Myanmar map too if you have a chance to buy one more ....... looks like we need to do some planning

I forgot....
I bought a decent map of Myanmar as well, not sure how accurate it is or how updated but it may come in useful one day.

 

[Brian66]

Phil

I lived in Yangon for just over 2 years from 2006 to mid 2008 and I can tell you there is an abundance of night life there.
JJ’s was my favourite place and it was wall to wall. I mean standing room only!!!
There are many other bars scattered around the place. Most hotels have their own downstairs bars with the freelancers always available.
I stayed at the Sedona hotel apartments. A long term contract so it was cheap.
3 rooms for 48 dollars per day.

Everything is cheap in Yangon including females. 20 dollars will get you any one. Phone and internet access are the worst I have experienced.

There are lots of old births bikes in Yangon. I visited a few shops and thought of buying a triumph, BSA etc. There are somewhat restored. Mostly just stripped and painted and parts swapped between dozens of bikes to build good a good one.

 

[LivinLOS]

[quote="

Is there really no nightlife in Rangoon? I would have thought there would be some sort of a...service industry scene. :RE

What do you think?[/quote]


I am reliably informed of a few places rammed with freelancers..

 

[Hassman]

I should write things about prices, food etc. but that has to wait because today I hit paydirt!

Today I got in a taxi (a 36 year old Mazda 929) and asked the driver to find me some motorcycles…

Honda Monkey –asking price is 700 USD

This bike stood on the sidewalk on the way to a shop that the taxi drivers friend knew about, looked totally out of place in the surroundings…

Got to the shop and found this old beamer..

With a matching sidecar

Another beamer, this one seems to come with all the bells and whistles.. not my thing really..

But then things got interesting -4’000 USD for this BSA M 20

Spare parts hanging from the rafters

Found one more shop way outside Rangoon center, this shop will find and restore bikes or just simply find them and ship them to you, the owner seemed a nice enough guy and had lots of spare parts.

Prices for restored bikes are:
BSA Royal Star 1966 model -2’400 USD
BSA BM33 1956 model -3’000 USD
BSA M 20 1937 model -4’000 USD or about 2’500 USD for a complete but un restored bike.

I found a locally living foreigner that will pick me up tomorrow morning and take me to some other shops, this guy has been living here for 4 years and knows his way around.
Shipping of bikes and other items seem to be easy, for us Thai living expats shipping can be sorted out to Myawadi/Mae Sot for about 5’000 Baht per bike.

 

[Lightemup]

That Beemer with the side car, that's just so cool.

 

[Hassman]

Today I got to see some other bikes, a Matchless which is quite a rare find

And also some other bits and bobs but nothing that was spectacular, all in bad shape as well.

The American guy (Brent) that took me around and his Burmese friend were very straightforward with regards to what is copied and what is not… apparently the production of “antiques” is major business here and the Burmese guy happily showed some of the stuff that he makes, here a parts of a copy diving helmet.

There used to be a bike club in Rangoon –according to Brent it consisted of a French guy… and that was it….

Brent says that this French guy and his mate used to ride their bikes in Rangoon and other places, the police did not care until one day he crashed the bike with a Burmese girl on the back, then they confiscated the bike and he packed up and left for France.

As I am off for work tomorrow and it is raining heavily right now I guess this will be my last “on the ground” installment to this thread, some other info below:

Most pricing is quite reasonable; taxis in the day time will charge you around 2’000 Kyat/2.50USD for a 15-20 minute ride, night time it can be almost twice that. For a “scoot around aimlessly and look at stuff” type of ride it is about 10 USD per hour.

Your mobile phone will not work here, they use some other type of mobile system such as in Japan and Korea, add to this the fact that local phone system and internet connection is rather sketchy and the result is that it is difficult to stay in touch with the outside world.

There are no ATM’s around, as in none at all!! -meaning that you need to bring enough cash to last your entire trip.
Most places do not take credit cards –large hotels do and apparently they need 3 hours to verify it as they call Thailand and charge your card in Thailand..
Local banks are not connected to the outside world, you cannot transfer money in or out.
USD’s are accepted and widely used but you want to avoid using USD’s in taxis or small shops etc. as you will not get USD back in change.

With all the men wearing their “skirts” (called a longyi) it in a way reminds me of my trip to Scotland many years ago, the obvious difference is of course that the Burmese speak better English.

I have had an interesting time and I think I will return here, people are friendly and speak English and the sights here are amazing, it is a shame that it can be difficult to get around and that some areas are out of bounds, hopefully things will change in the future.

Hassman

 

[Steve Canyon]

Great report, very interesting.....nice to see some other areas being covered..

:RO

 

[Captain_Slash]

With all the men wearing their “skirts” (called a longyi) it in a way reminds me of my trip to Scotland many years ago, the obvious difference is of course that the Burmese speak better English.

Classic

 

[yempaul]

Got to the shop and found this old beamer..

With a matching sidecar

Hassman

Do you have the name of this workshop? Will be in Yangon next month. Would love to give it a visit. 8-)

 

[KTMphil]

Mr. Hassman - 3 gold stars for this report, fantastic stuff.

The BSA discovery is immensely interesting and seem great value for money. I know Armin found a 1937 Norton over there which he has Joe restoring, so poking around it sounds like there would be some real treasures. really look forward to going there now.

 

[Hassman]

Yempaul -pm me your e-mail address and I will forward the details.

Cheers,
Hassman

 

[Hassman]

Phil I would not mind going back there again!!

People are great and friendly, things are not overly expensive and I got neither robbed nor murdered -always a plus!

And one thing I forgot in my previous posts; I found one British made (not India made) Royal Enfield -if anyone is interested in pricing let me know and I will try to find out.

Cheers,
Hassman

 

[yempaul]

Yempaul -pm me your e-mail address and I will forward the details.

Cheers,
Hassman

You have a PM mate.

 

[KTMphil]

If you can find out the Enfield pricing that would be interesting to compare to the prices in India.

Phil I would not mind going back there again!!

People are great and friendly, things are not overly expensive and I got neither robbed nor murdered -always a plus!

And one thing I forgot in my previous posts; I found one British made (not India made) Royal Enfield -if anyone is interested in pricing let me know and I will try to find out.

Cheers,
Hassman

 

[KTMphil]

Hass -

Any feeling whether your "fixer" could get Thai registered bikes into Myanmar somehow?

Or at the least arrange Myanmar registered trail riding bikes?

 

[Hassman]

Phil I am working on that...

I reckon rental of trail bikes can be arranged in Myawadi, may have to go there and find out for sure...
Getting Thai bikes into the country may be a harder nut to crack...

When I am back I will try to work something out, requires a lot of "legwork".

Hassman

 

[KTMphil]

Will be a great piece of work if you can pull it off Mr. Hassman.

Phil I am working on that...

I reckon rental of trail bikes can be arranged in Myawadi, may have to go there and find out for sure...
Getting Thai bikes into the country may be a harder nut to crack...

When I am back I will try to work something out, requires a lot of "legwork".

Hassman

 

[KTMphil]

Hass

Any idea how much it would cost to get one BSA's to the Tachileik, Myanmar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachileik) / Mai Sai, Thailand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Sai_District) border?