India – Myanmar – Thailand Self Drive Expedition 2017 with Mahindra Adventure

To begin with, let me tell you that the India Myanmar Thailand expedition, leg 1 was sold out in the first 90 minutes. I was among the first to register for the drive. Among the 12 participant cars, 6 were booked by us from Dubai and got known as the Dubai gang. As days and months passed, we started getting the pinch, as it was a humongous effort getting border crossing permissions from 3 countries and the huge logistics to follow by the organisers. The only consolation was the words from Amit “Dont worry, its happening and we all are going together”. Finally we participants from Dubai had to stamp our Thailand visas in Dubai and arrive 1 day early in Delhi and hand over our passports to stamp the Myanmar visa(Myanmar doesn’t have an embassy or consulate in the UAE). We had to go through the hassle of rebooking the tickets, which we gladly did. Once the passports were handed over in Delhi, our Dubai gang proceeded on our onwards journey to Guwahati in Assam, from where our expedition would begin. We were booked in at the Radisson Blue Hotel, Guwahati, a notch higher than our expectations. Having a free day and waiting for the participants to arrive the next day, our holiday began with a bang. After a late lunch, we went out to explore Guwahati and landed up at a night club called Kamikaze.

The next day, we were up late and by the time we could decide on where to go, it was time for lunch. Participants had slowly started to Check-in at the hotel. Before noon my expedition partner Arvind (classmate and friend from the age of 4) arrived directly from Bangalore.

Meanwhile, bar was opened in one of our rooms and the party began again until the clock reminded us it was evening and we were yet to have lunch. Once done with lunch, we went in straight for the registration, medical check-up and getting our packed goody bags. We were asked to be back in the ball room for the opening ceremony and the briefing on the expedition. It was a pleasure to meet Hari Singh (former rally champion) and his Drivetech India team, (who would take care of the expedition) with whom a chord was struck instantly. Amit and Rayan Lee (familiar from my previous expeditions) from Mahindra adventure were there to welcome us. Yes Bijoy aka chief was missed and would be missed on the expedition. From here on me and my partner Arvind would be addressed as adventure 9 for any and all modes of communications. The night began with the usual briefings on the expedition, the dos and don’ts, Radio etiquette, etc. along with the spirits flowing and a sumptuous dinner to finish with.

Day -3, Guwahati – Kohima
As announced all the participants had lined up along their cars at 7.30am after an early breakfast. As per the ritual, the silent group Morning Prayer was done and the convoy was ready to roll. Since it was an early morning start, it was not very difficult for us to get out of the city limits and we started cruising towards our lunch stop at Dimapur in Nagaland. Yes, the first timers took time to understand the term bio-break, and you could see the smile on their face when they understood it. The roads in Assam were not at all bad but, as we entered Nagaland, we not only realized the roads were bad and sometimes non-existent. Our scheduled lunch stop at Dimapur was at Niyatu resort. A beautiful place, but took some time for the participants to realize that they were in a different territory and had to have an authentic Naga cuisine.

To make use of the little day light available ( it gets pitch dark by 5pm in the north east) the convoy started rolling towards Kohima with scheduled bio breaks, coffee breaks and refuelling break. There was nothing much to see on the way as it was dark by 5pm. After a gruelling drive of 368 km we reached De Oriental Grand hotel at Kohima. Before we could settle down in the room, got a message on the group that the Drivetech bar was open in the restaurant. Here would like to mention that Mahindra had only 2 official bar nights, but the Drivetech team, being Punjabi’s were generous enough to make every night a bar night and the participants also happily contributing to the bar.

Ajay Parek, with his guitar gave us a few good numbers and I too contributed with my favourite Lucille by Kenny Rogers. We also realized that in the north east it doesn’t only become dark early, but people sleep early too and we had to follow the same rules too.

Day- 4, Kohima to Imphal.
To avoid the morning peak hour traffic, every day would be an early start for us. We would promptly get the wakeup call and a reminder to join for the breakfast from the reception. It was nice to see that all participants gathering for the prayer on time in the car park facilitating an on time start. The morning drive through the city with police escort was beautiful, Kohima being a hilly city. Our first stop was at the war memorial where the Japanese were defeated and the driven out of India by the brave British and Indian soldiers. Each and every soldier that lost his life in this battle has a small place with a marble placard with all the details embossed on it.

The place is well maintained and gives us a sense of pride and Respect. The convoy rolled through Kohima as the bystanders were amusedly watching the convoy being escorted by the police. Our next stop was at the Kisana heritage village where the famous Hornbill festival takes place. All the best bands from the country come here to perform which shows how much the Nagas love their music. All the tribes of Nagaland also get to showcase their culture and heritage at this festival. Who said you have to go to Japan to experience the cherry blossoms. The area around Kohima has many cherry trees and we were lucky enough to be there during the cherry blossom.

After the fantastic photo opportunities we moved on our Journey to Imphal. The choices for tea stops or the lunch stops were very carefully chosen by the Drivetech team. The tea stop in a small village and the lunch stop by the river side at Senapathi was a wonderful experience. This is what you would miss if you are not doing a road trip. As we were ahead of schedule after lunch, we were given a choice to go to the hotel in Imphal or visit a world heritage site which is a lake. All the participants unanimously grabbed the offer of visiting the Loktak lake, a 1.5 hour drive from Imphal. It is the biggest fresh water lake in the North east with a surface area of 287 km2. It is famous for the Phumdis (Bio mass) floating over it. On this floating bio mass people used to build houses and also do farming. Now since it is a world heritage site, the area has been cleared of houses and it’s a protected area. Watching the sunset on the lake was a beautiful experience which was rewarded to us for being on time.

The journey back to the hotel was fast as we were getting to know the participants and the constant banter on the radio. That night, during our stay at Hotel Oriental Grande, we were joined by the Director of Roads and transport for Dinner. I heard he was a great help getting the participants their International Driving permits and the police escort.

Day -5 Imphal to Kale (Myanmar).
Today is the day of border crossing and entering Myanmar. When we assembled in the hotel parking for the daily ritual of prayer, we were met by the minister of commerce for Thailand who had come to greet us. After a brief meeting, we were privileged to be flagged off by the honourable minister himself.

The roads from Imphal to Moreh, the Indian town was very scenic and a pleasure to drive. The tea stop on a cliff side café was breath taking and a feast for the shutter bugs with unending landscape portrait opportunities. I too got a few good shots.

The lunch was surprisedly arranged by the Tamil community called Tamil Sagam, that too on the north east border of India. We were met by the chief of border security and welcomed for lunch by him. It was a good spread of veg and non-veg south Indian food and our tour encyclopaedia Ejji had arranged some dog meat sausages for which a few were game. Upon completion of the paper work to exit India and enter Myanmar, we crossed the friendship bridge waving India and Myanmar flags and were welcomed by the Myanmar authorities and the beautiful Myanmar girls with flower garlands.

The next stop on the way was for refuelling and filled diesel at only Rs 37/litre. The best thing was In Myanmar, the majority of people drive right hand drive vehicles, but drive on the right side of the road. It’s a little bit tricky to get used to it. We were surprised to see how courteous the people of Myanmar are. Since the roads are small, they just pull up their vehicles on the side of the road and let you pass. Not a single place we experienced people honking. As usual, it gets dark early and our stay tonight is Hotel Majesty, a pretty decent hotel for the Kale town. During dinner, we got to celebrate Tapan and Uma Patels wedding anniversary and made them cut a cake. As usual the Dubai gang, the Baroda gang and the Drivetech team were last to have dinner and we had to force open the kitchen to make them prepare some fried rice for us.

Day- 6, Kale to Bagan.
The Day began with meeting the Indian Consul general and his speech at the Hotel. The Myanmari youngsters also put up a beautiful cultural program for us and were cooperative posing for pics with the participants. They were very organised in their task and gave an awesome performance.

We then got flagged off by the Consul general and exited kale town with the police escort clearing the way for us. The coffee stop was organised at side of Niyati river for which we had to go down the tarmac road. The beautiful sceneries around gave us the much needed boost for the rest of the journey. The shutter bugs were kept busy by the beautiful place.

Today’s lunch was our first brush with Authentic Burmese cuisine at Zemyani town. While the vegetarians were struggling to come to terms with the food, the others were having a feast in their own way. The only dis advantage with this food is the smell it creates. Tea was organised at the Pakyangi monastery. It is the biggest monastery completely built with wood and that too in 1868. We were amazed at the architecture and the sandal wood logs reaching heights of 90 feet at some places. A good photo opportunity again.

From there we rolled into Bagan city, known as the city of Pagodas which we would witness the next day. The dinner at Hotel Regency was arranged by the pool side with a wide spread buffet and the Drivetech bar open as usual. We started off tasting the local beer named Myanmar and yes, it was at par with any good beer. Also we made them open the pool for us and what a night it was.

Day- 7, Bagan to Mandalay.
As it is a short drive today from Bagan to Mandalay and with superb roads, we had half day for site seeing. The early morning trip was optional and only a handful of us were available for this trip. It was to witness the sunrise of Bagan and the rising of the hot air balloons from the top of the Pagoda.

Me and Arvind were very enthusiastic for the ride in the hot air balloon. The news that the balloon rides are booked almost 3 months in advance and we stand no chance put Arvind in a very bad mood the previous evening.

We got some excellent shots of the sunrise and the hot air balloons in the air and headed back to the hotel for breakfast and catch up with group for the city sightseeing tour. Busses were hired for the sightseeing as it would be a nightmare for the Drivetech team to find parking for the convoy at the tourist places. We began with the visit to the Shwezigon temple. It was a treat for the eyes and cameras. Everything is gold plated. Our guide with his explanations makes the temple look more magnificent. The next stop was at the famed Ananda Phaya temple where you get to see the statues of Budha in 4 different emotions.

The visit to the Laquerware factory was very interesting. We go to witness from scratch to finish how laquerware is manufactured and how much time they take to make one product. I also purchased one jewellery box for 100$ and you can guess for whom it was. After a authentic Burmese lunch and puppet show at Nandas restaurant, we headed back to the hotel, got into our vehicles and with the customary roll call we began our journey towards the city Of Mandalay. Our next scheduled stop was at the Sunloon Monastery where we got to see the body of a monk who self-mummified himself. It’s placed in a glass enclosure for public viewing. The details given by Ejji regarding self-mummification will long be remembered.

On the outskirts of the Mandalay city, we were greeted by the members of motor sports club with their sports cars. They escorted us into Mandalay city by closing the traffic signals and made sure we reached the hotel without getting stuck in the traffic. Today being a cultural evening, it was announced a Bar night by Mahindra for a change. It was a fantastic BBQ dinner in the garden restaurant watching the local dances and puppet shows. As usual we were asked to vacate the place well past the closing hours. It was surprising that a city of Mandalay’s stature had no night life and we had to settle in our rooms for the night.

Day 8 Free day at Mandalay
A free day in between the road trip is always a welcome. Not only we get rest, it’s a day for sightseeing. Again busses were arranged for the sightseeing trip. After breakfast we hopped on to the bus and headed to see the world’s largest book at the Kuthodaw Pagoda. It’s not actually a book. They are stone tablets inscribed with Buddhist teachings on both sides and stand upright in the ground. The book has 730 leaves and the size is around 5’ x 3.5’ and each leaf has its own roof and a precious gem on top. They are arranged around a central golden pagoda. The guides were a great help for us to understand.

Next visit was to the Shwenandaw Monastery also known as the Palace Monastery. This was part of the Royal palace and completely carved out of teak wood. This part was occupied by the then kings father and after his death, believing that this place was haunted, it was dismantled and reconstructed at the adjoining plot of the Atumashi monastery in memory of the late king. It was worth seeing this place for its rich heritage and the intricate wooden carvings. The engineering part of it is really monumental. For now this is the only remaining part of the royal palace as during the World War 2, the rest of the palace was burnt by the attacking Japanese.

Our next stop was the wonderful and famed Mandalay fort. As there is nothing much left to see inside, we just stopped by to enjoy the beauty of the fort and the moat around it and take some pictures for our albums. Our visit to the gold leaf factory was a good one and we got to see first hand how the gold leaf was made manually. We were also taken to the wooden carving and tapestry factory for a visit. Just realised that the intricate wooden carving pieces we see in the 5 star hotels get manufactured here. Carvings are done from a single log without a joint for which the cost ranges from 4000 to 40000 USD. The handy work of the artisans is worth a word of appreciation. Yes, I bought a wooden carved stone sling which we called caterpillar in our childhood. The famous Mahamuni temple is a must see place in Mandalay. The Buddha statue made of 6.5 tonnes of bronze is housed in a small chamber on a throne. The statue is crowned, bejewelled with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. The frequent application of gold leaf (approximately 15cm thick) by the male devotees has given a shapeless contour to the Mahamuni statue. You can just imagine, in 1884 when the pagoda was burnt down, 91 kg of gold was recovered from the site.

Mandalay has a Indian restaurant called Indian Tadka and we were taken for lunch there. The next half of the day was more interesting as we were going on a cruise on the river Irrawaddy known as the sunset cruise with cocktails. Once we had boarded the ship, we were sailing northwards towards Mingun. We were given a goodie bag with a T shirt and a colourful Loungi (lungi in India) by the local tour operator.

Our first stop was at Mingun after an hour of sailing the muddy waters of Irrawaddy. Even before landing, we could see the huge Mingun Pahtodawgyi Pagoda. The unfinished Pagoda would have been the largest in the world if the then king had not decided to stop building as an astrologer told him that he would die once the stupa was finished. With its big cracks from an earthquake, the construction still is so massive and most impressive. We were told that the orginal planned height of the pagoda was 150 meters and stopped construction at 50 mts. Just imagining how it would have looked if completed gives goose bumps. The funniest part was when the guide told us that the king actually died once the construction of the pagoda stopped.

From there next we proceeded to see the Huge Mingun bell. The bell is so huge (90 tonnes) that it was the heaviest functioning bell in the world several times in history. The story told by the guide how it was erected was very interesting.

We had to be back on the boat as we didn’t want to miss the beautiful sunset. Once back on the boat, we were served some beautiful cocktails by the crew. A little appreciation for the barman saw a regular supply of glasses to where we were seated next to the bar. Yes, the sunset was really beautiful and serene. All of us were soaking in, the peaceful atmosphere and then again a feast for the shutterbugs including me. We also had an opportunity to have a group picture wearing the traditional Burmese Loungi which was gifted to us. A perfect way to end the day. Back in the hotel , we gathered at the restaurant for our daily ritual of drinking and dining. Drivetech will be remembered for a long time for this.

Day 9 Mandalay to Yangon.
Today we will be travelling to Yangon, the old capital of Myanmar via the new capital Nay pi taw. On the way we got to visit the longest wooden bridge called the U Bein bridge. The UBein Bridge is a crossing that spans the Taungthaman Lake near Amarapura. The 1.2 Km Bridge was built in 1850 from the reclaimed wood of the Royal palace of Inwa and is believed to be the oldest and the longest teakwood bridge in the world. Yes, we witnessed a wonderful piece of History.

Our next stop was Nay PyI Taw. It is a newly built capital city with latest infra-structure. The city is well planned and divided into different zones. Our first stop was at the Uppatasanti Pagoda. It is similar to the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon but 30 cm shorter in size as nothing can be taller than the Shwedagon Pagoda. It is a magnificent piece of Architecture and treat to watch.

We also got to see the white elephants that are kept besides the Pagoda.(they are actually more pink than white).

With the police escort we got to drive in front of the Parliament building which has a 20 lane highway in front of it. We were told that this highway can be used a full-fledged runway incase of emergency. The parliament building is said to be a very secured place with open able bridges and moats around it. And what a co incidence, the pope was visiting Nay Pyi Taw the same day we were there. We also got to drive in formation on this highway to create a fantastic photo opportunity for the media guys. After lunch at Santinos café, we began our journey towards yangon. Again on the out skirts of Yangon we were welcomed by a convoy of sports cars from the Yangon motorsports club. They led us to our Hotel blocking the traffic for us. Our stay was at Inaya lake hotel situated on the bank of the huge Inaya lake. Yangon is known for its night life. We decided to visit one of the best night club called the Fuse bar in Yangon. After spending time with the youngsters of Yangon, we moved to the Imperial night club. Had a fantastic time there and reached the hotel before day break like a group of Zombies.

Day 10 Yangon to Mawlaymine.
Today was a free half day for site seeing in Yangon. The Swedagon pagoda, the biggest Pagoda is a must see attraction in Yangon. Also known as the Great dragon Pagoda and The Golden Pagoda, it is 99mts in height, situated on the Singuttara hill and dominates the skyline of Yangon. Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist Pagoda in Myanmar. The sheer amount of gold plating that is used is unimaginable.

Our next visit was to Bahadur shah Zafar’s Tomb. He was the last Mughal emperor at Rangoon in Burma.

From there we proceeded to the famed Scotts market. Didn’t find anything interesting there and we came back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch we proceeded towards Mawlaymine which would be our last night in Myanmar. Tonight our stay was at the Queen Jamadevi resort, a nice and quiet place on the outskirts of Mawlaymine. The Dubai gang had excess stock of liquor and we decided that the bar for the night will be sponsored by us. A variety of imported booze was laid on the table which all participants enjoyed.

Day 11 Mawlaymine to Sukothai.

The roll call and the banter on the radio meant that we had started the journey for the day. As we had ample time, The lead decided to take a detour towards the country side on some rough roads which actually was a short cut cutting across 2 highways. After driving on good roads, it was good to put the rugged scorpios to the test. It seemed that these bad roads didn’t make any difference to the scorpios as they took it in a stride. As we received news that the paper work for crossing the border was still going on , we had an extended coffee break at a road side eatery. As we were close to the Thai border, we got to eat ample Thai Mangoes and Guavas. Our lunch stop was at the Casino, right on the border between Myanmar and Thailand. The river in between demarcates the border between Myanmar and Thailand. The Thai people cross the river on boats and come to the casino to gamble. It was surprising to know that there are no Casinos in Thailand. After lunch we headed to the border gate where we had to have the exit stamp of Myanmar and the entry stamps of Thailand stamped on our passports.

This was a long process which devoured our time. Once this was sorted out, our convoy entered Thailand passing the Friendship Bridge and yes we were in Thailand. The towns and villages are completely in contrast to the ones in Myanmar. Everything seemed clean, neat and big. Now again you could see the brands on the facades of the buildings. Myanmar is going to take a lot of time to catch up with Thailand. We reached Sukothai by dusk and we stayed at the Regent resort and Spa for the night. Today we decided to do something different and had cocktails at the bar. Those who wanted to visit the Sukothai Historical park had to get up early as it was an early morning sightseeing trip.

Day 12 Sukothai to Bangkok.
The last day of our long drive. The adventurous of the lot were ready in the hotel lobby for a round of early morning sightseeing. We were taken to the Sukhothai Historical park by the hotel busses. The Sukhothai historical park covers the ruins of the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries. Even the modern city has the same name as then. It is on a 70sq km of land and houses 193 ruins which are well preserved. Inside are the remains of the royal palace and 26 temples. It is declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO. The park is easily toured by bicycle or foot. Also they have electric trolleys which are converted from the old trams of Bangkok. The visit was worth the early wake up.

Back in the hotel for breakfast and checkout, we gathered for one final ritual of prayers and the convoy got rolling. After a authentic Thai lunch enroute, the mood was changing slowly as we approached Bangkok. Our stay today and the next 2 days was at the Rembrandt Hotel Bangkok. We had to assemble in the ballroom for the closing ceremony and dinner. We were awarded with certificates for completing this gruelling journey along with memento , a picture of us with our vehicle in front of the pagoda of Nay Pyi taw. With some thanks giving speeches, little bit of dancing, popping up champagne and a final group picture the day came to an end. Few ventured out for the night, but I was in my room fearing a bug in my stomach. Didn’t want to spoil the free day in Bangkok.

Day 13 Free day in Bangkok
Today we decided to explore the city of Bangkok on our own. Fearing the traffic jams we used the metro to move around. Visit to the Royal palace is a must. So from the metro, we took a ferry to the Royal palace. For our bad luck, the palace was open only for half a day to celebrate the Kings Birthday and father’s day. So we could see the palace from outside only.

Next stop was at the Army shooting range. For the first time got to shoot with a revolver with live bullets and it was a terrific experience. We got to keep the target sheet as a souvenir.

After a lazy lunch at the river side Bistro with some beer to wash down the food, we hired a local dragon boat for a ride in the back waters of Bangkok.

We got to know that they are using the water locking technology to maintain the level of water in the canals the same during high and low tide. After the boat ride we went to the best spa in Bangkok for a body massage. Rejuvenation is the least I can say about the massage. Every muscle in the body was activated. With dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant, we were back in the hotel and called it a day. Even though officially the tour ends today and we had to checkout in the morning, we extended our stay by 1 night and began planning for the next day.

Day 14 Bangkok- chomburi- Pattaya
Today we decided to do some adventure sport and there is no better place than the Gibbon Flight at Chomburi close to Pattaya. We hired a minivan so that the 4 guys going to Pattaya could be dropped to their hotel and we could get back to Bangkok. Once at the gibbon flight, registrations were done and we were taken to the open Zoo where the animals are roaming freely and can be fed with hands. The animals are so used to humans and not at all scared.

We were served lunch after the zoo visit and were taken for the adventure of a life time. Gibbon flight is one of the biggest zip line adventures in Thailand. In total they have 27 stations out of which 2 are vertical drops of around 100 feet.

Once we were stringed and belted with harnesses, we had a briefing session and headed up the mountain for 1 km trek. It was a very tiring trek up the mountain and we were thinking it better be worth the climb. Once at the top, the view was exhilarating and we started zip lining one by one from one station to the other. Each station is situated on the top of a tree with a platform and the trees are connected by the zip line. The length of the line varies from station to station with the 300meters line being the longest. It was a thrilling experience and worth the trip. The crew were very friendly, professional and handled me and Abu, both huge in size, very precisely.

Once back at the base camp, we chilled with some beer and began our journey towards Pattaya. Dropped our mates to their hotel in Pattaya and left back to Bangkok. We visited the Pat pong market that night before going back to the hotel.

Day 15 Bangkok to Dubai
With my return flight at 4pm, we had a free morning. Decided to loiter around the malls close to our hotel. As scheduled, the car from emirates came to the hotel for a pickup to the airport. The return journey on an A380 was awesome. 2 weeks had passed by. We had developed a close bond with participants and the friendly Drivetech team. The days and nights at the bar spent together will be etched deep within our hearts for a long time. It was surprising to see that most of the participants were repeat customers of Mahindra adventure. There was one guy on his 5 th adventure with Mahindra which shows that how professionally the adventures are run. Reached back home satisfied and content. Met a few old friends and made a lot of new friends. We hope to meet sometime on some adventure. A special mention of thanks to my partner Arvind for bearing with me and my thunderous snoring.