Bagan to Mrauk-U by car end September 2016

The link: http://tharlezwa.info/photos/584/

Yes but 10 is not the same as one. In July they had heavy rain, Sittwe is probably nearest place with weather, forecast is heavy rain next 2 days. It's probably ok around Mrauk U problem maybe getting there overland.

I went in December, it rained heavy 1 day and on and off other days, it was not very good, for me a waste of time and money. Weather in north-west is different from rest of Myanmar as near Bay of Bengal.

As I said in #5, the Myanmar Times reported considerable damage to temples and that the government ministry that deals with it said they would be covering all the damaged temples with scaffold to do the Repairs! There isn't that many temples at Mrauk U, so if 10 are damaged that is quite a high proportion of them. They are also smaller than most of the main temples at Bagan, so the damage to them could make them not very appealing to look At! As Herbie said, there is heavy rain forecast for the next few days with a big tropical storm coming in from the Bay of Bengal. Obviously, a hotel isn't going to tell you that there has been a lot of damage because they will loose business, especially at this time of year when no one travels there Anyway!

Check to see if the buses are running to Mrauk U from Bagan. Last November I cycled from Mrauk U towards Yangon and the first 135km was mostly flattish with a few bumps. So if there are any water problems, it'll be in that area. The roads were rough, but that didn't stop the cars, trucks and buses. The next day to Ann was really hilly and tough. If you reply, I'll give you some more info.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/971939276

Chris & Herbie,
The advantage we have is that we only need to decide around September 18th - 20th whether we go between 22nd and 26th. That time we will be in Bagan and will have also seen the state of the temples and Pagodas there. Also, weather predictions for the period in September when we intend to go may be more accurate a week in advance ... or not :-) (We live in Hong Kong and the Royal Observatory here gets there weather forecast wrong 7/10 times just 3 days in advance).
Quake damage is nothing that will have changed by the time we intend to be there but as said in my previous post, tourists are probably what they need most now. There was one article in the news where they were saying that the local government needs to apply to the province for money to do the scaffolding (USD 16,600!). So I think any tourist going there now will be of help. I am even considering to start a crowd funding initiative to help having the temples restored.

Dandru,
thanks for your sharing. Quite a trip you did there. I'd be very interested to hear how you went on from Ann towards Yangon. Did you ride to Magwe or stay west of the mountains? Do share more of your trip please. I am sure this will also be interesting for others.

Dandru,
thanks for your sharing. Quite a trip you did there. I'd be very interested to hear how you went on from Ann towards Yangon. Did you ride to Magwe or stay west of the mountains? Do share more of your trip please. I am sure this will also be interesting for others.

Here are the journals for Myanmar and Thailand.

Trip 1 - Burma - north to south + some Thai
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=193&doc_id=14677&v=rY

Trip 2 - Myanmar Meander
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=Sh&doc_id=15527&v=2Y

Yes some points and I agree best to decide nearer the time.
Re money I agree but I would consider where you stay, I stay in local guesthouses and eat in local restaurants rather than expensive Hotels that way more of my money is going proportionally more to the local and poorer people than some Hotel chain. It could be an interesting debate is restoring temples the most needed spending in Myanmar today?
In some ways I prefer unrestored temples and buildings, especially the way they did some in Bagan.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.