The success of the first Myanmar Burma Road Classic, in 2014, made this second edition even more special. The idea was to offer the same highlights as the first event, but while taking in new and even more remote roads within the country. More than 70 percent of the roads taken were new this year, but the highlights of Bagan, the Inle Lake and Mandalay were kept, while new places like the rubies market, the mines of Mogok, the beaches in the South and the delta region for the Irrawaddy River were added. All in all a fantastic journey to a fascinating, varied and rich land—Myanmar!
Participants came from all over Europe, with one Mercedes coming across the border from Thailand. The 18-day discovery rally started in the city of Yangon. With 10 cars on the roster, this year was more of a classic car rally with Mustangs, an XK140 Jaguar, a Citroën DS convertible, a Mercedes 190 and even a 1970 Bentley.
After arriving from the airport on January 25, participants collected their cars upon arrival at the hotel Kandawgyi Palace, followed by a welcome at the hospitality desk with a bag of goodies, an optional visit to the Schwedagon Pagoda and a little rest by the pool!
The next day, we left the Kandawgyi Palace in a convoy with police escort to avoid the morning traffic, followed by a stop at the Schwedagon pagoda for a car photo shoot. We departed straight to the outskirt of Yangon, near the war cemetery at BoBoGyi, where all cars received a special blessing before hitting the road for 3,500 kilometers of Burmese roads. In order to save time through a less interesting area, we took the new highway to the new capital of Naypidaw, a five-hour journey along a mostly empty highway, with a variation of hills on either side. Coming up to the capital, we organized a short visit to the 6-, 8- and even 20-lane boulevard where a spontaneous little race took place with the Aston Martin DB6 crossing the imaginary finish line ahead of the two XK 140s.
The next day’s early departure took the cars through the new capital and its “far west” looking suburbs. Now the rally is really on its way with a climb through the Shan Hills, going up to 1,400 meters. A couple of the Mustangs experienced overheating problems on the way. The winding road is just amazing with the occasional sight of the ethnic locals, the Paoh. Beautiful rock formations were topped with white and golden stupas. Arriving down to Inle Lake, situated at 900 meters, we ended up at the Aureum Palace resort on the lake with a beautiful sunset welcome.
On the third day, cars were left to be looked at by the mechanics, and washed in the morning. For the participants, this was a great opportunity to discover this unique mountain lake by boat, passing the many houses on stilts and floating gardens. After a quick lunch in the beautiful Red Mountain Winery, the route took them on a back road to the town of Pindaya, and the famous caves with 8,000 Buddha statues.
That night our local agent Inspiration Myanmar gave us a lecture on the country and its history, which all enjoyed so much that participants requested another one along the road to explain the daily life of the locals and the politics.
We left early the next day, for again a new road was opened especially for us by the Ministry of Tourism. A great discovery, but also a challenging road with water passages and a bit of off-road driving. The drivers left early through the Shan mountains, going up and down from 1,300 meters to 1,450 and back down to the Plain of Mandalay, before climbing up again to the colonial summer hideout of the British, the town of MayMyo (Pyin OO Lwin).
Along the road we experienced the Tha Kin Ma mountain monastery with its tall statues carved in the rock, but the new bridges being built meant passing through water. On this day, our first and only accident of the rally occurred when, along a curve, a small truck scraped into the side of the Mercedes 450—fortunately, only a dent and no casualties, but a wake up call for many that the roads are busy and honking is really necessary!
Next was a stop at the beautiful Anisakan waterfalls for a drink, followed by transfer on horse carts to dinner in a colonial house.
On Day 5, we enjoyed a day of colonial time, starting with a small drive to the train station to ride the train over the famous Gokteik Bridge, built in 1901 by the British. Back in MayMyo, it was time to drive around the town to look at the famous and beautiful colonial houses and botanical garden. We met with the mayor of the city, a car lover, to see his car collection, while having a drink in front of the tallest water cascade in the country. That evening we enjoyed a memorable night at the Governor’s Residence.
The next day’s drive took us through the Shan mountains on a brand-new road also opened with special permission for us. With almost no traffic, it was a fun drive at the top of the mountain peaks all the way to Mogok, the ruby mining area and a visit to the busy little market where the exchange of rubies looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie! This was followed by short drive to a local mine, much appreciated by the participants, where all got to see first hand the life of the ruby miners. All cars again made it through the long day, though the red 1966 Mustang overheated every so often, which kept our mechanics busy.
On Day 7, to our surprise, the local police headquarters asked us to divert from our original route for safety reasons, and asked us to take the old road to Mandalay, also scenic, but rougher. We, of course, obliged and had our advance team out surveying and put signage on the roads to guide the rally cars all the way to Mandalay, No problems were reported and everyone made it in time for a nice Western buffet dinner at our five-star hotel.
At this point in the rally, Mr. and Mrs. Peter, from Peter Auto, the organizer of Le Mans Classic and other rallies, had to leave us so that they could attend “Retromobile” in Paris. “It was a fantastic first part of the rally and we are sad to have to go! We will definitely come back,” were the words of Mrs. Peter before leaving for the airport.
As we left for the town of Monywa, we made a stop at the U-Bein bridge, the longest teak bridge in the world, followed by lunch in the holy city of Sagaing, the Buddhist center of Myanmar with its Buddhist University, a great background for a photo shoot. The road is full of Banyan and ficus trees, which sometimes make a tunnel above the smooth road. Today was an easy ride on some of the best roads the country has to offer, bringing us to our arrival in Monywa. That evening we rode three-wheel trishaws to the Chidwin River restaurant.
Day 9 broke with a very rural drive through the desert-like landscape to the “little Petra” of Myanmar, the caves of Pho Win Thaung, as well as stopping at the village copper mine for a short introduction to mining in Myanmar. Here we experienced the first emergency for our rally—a German tourist outside of our group who hit his head in the caves! We are here to help! Next we arrived in Bagan where more than 2,500 stupas and pagodas are spread on an arid plain. Our beautiful hotel, set in the middle of the park area, was a great relief from the road for the participants, with one day of rest to follow. That full moon night, we had a private dinner among the stupas and pagodas, lit up with thousands of candles … a magical moment for all.
The next day of discovery started at 5 a.m. with a hot air balloon flight, against the backdrop of thousands of stupas… an experience not to be missed! This was followed by a drive among the stupas that ended with lunch in a local village, in the garden of a small farm, where the local rally logistics company had organized a “cooking with the local grannies” experience. That night a sunset cruise took us on a sandbank for dinner while watching as the end of the day slowly descended beyond the horizon.
Day 11 opened with a free morning for mechanical checkups. After lunch, we had a nice drive through the Bagan Plain to Mount Popa with a stop at a local sugar palm collecting stall and distillery. Further on, we stopped at a local school for a special donation. It was great to meet the kids and share a little time with them and the English couple who teach them. Later that day, we arrived in the Popa Mountain resort just in time for an amazing sunset on the Taung Kalat monastery hill, followed by a few interviews by a Skynet television crew.
After sunset and sunrise in the wonderful Popa Montain Resort, we headed for the town of Magwe, passing through the “Texas of Myanmar” with its arid sandy landscape and the oil wells working at full speed—their production going straight by pipeline to southern China.
Then came a memorable night of rum sour and cigars by the pool of the hotel!
The next day was an easy drive to the town of Pyay, driving along the coastal range of Yoma mountains and alongside the river Irrawaddy. The Aston Martin got us worried when it stopped at the side of the road with carburetor problems, which turned out to be a minor ingestion. The car was a real hit among the local folks… “James Bond’s car” they cried! Upon arrival, an improvised visit by local Tuk Tuk of the first Unesco site of the country, the site of the ancient city of Sri Ksetra, which dates back to 300 AD.
Day 14 was the longest drive of the whole rally, taking us for more than 400 kilometers down to the beach area of Nwe Saung. A nice road until Pathein where the local television welcomed us at our lunch stop, the Pathein Golf Club, with tens of colorful umbrellas set up for the pleasure of the eye! After lunch, another hour of driving through the hills of the coastal range and through the never ending rubber tree plantations, to arrive at the beach resort of New Saung.
A wonderful setting along a pristine beach, in a five-star resort. Destination Rally arranged the Presidential Suite as the Destination Rally lounge where people could pass by to have drinks and chat with other participants, and that night it served as the setting for a wonderful dinner under the stars. The next day, a full day free at the beach after the long drive was just perfect!
We were back in Yangon on Day 16, after an easy 350-kilometer drive into the suburbs of the city. The rally’s blue Mustang gave up at that stage and entered the city on the flatbed, while the rest of the participants got to ride all the way through traffic without stopping courtesy of our two police escorts. It took us just 15 minutes—a relief for all the machines after all those kilometers on empty roads.
We had to say goodbye to all that night at the Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, ending with a farewell dinner at the French restaurant Agnes, with a view of the Schwedagon pagoda.
We were honored with the presence of his Excellency U Aung Kyaw, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and members of his staff.
On February 11, we drove the cars back to the harbor before flying off back home.
Did the participants enjoy this very exotic second iteration of the Myanmar Burma Rally? Four of them have already booked for the November 2016 rally, The Spice Road, including Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.
