Good morning Myanmar !

From my last indian campsite, I thought it would be quick to reach the Tamu-Moreh border. Haha, again, I should have looked at the elevation map. The last 25 km climbed again on a hill before finally getting down... With an empty stomach and an already boiling temperature, these last kilometers felt hard (my plan was to catch a morning bus from the Burmese side so I woke up early, skipped breakfast and then rushed...).
But a few checkpoints later - where the Indian armymen were super nice : I was offered water and even fresh watermelon ! -, there I was, crossing the bridge separating the two countries, painted in two different colors to clearly mark the border.

Moreh, on the Indian side, is a strange place. This terrestrial border crossing opened only one year ago, in mid-May 2018 (like all land crossing points between India and Myanmar). So you can see vast and new buildings but poorly indicated and with almost noone in there (neither travellers nor officers). At least this "emptiness" makes the crossing quite fast and easy.

On the Burmese side, I could find a van leaving at 2 pm (in reality it was 4 pm), direction Monywa. 345 km, 13 hours of travel.
Why Monywa? Well, Myanmar is a vast country. To cross it in 28 days while still enjoying some site seeing, i will have to skip some cycling parts by riding buses or trains. I chose Monywa, to visit a less known place and to slowly "discover Myanmar" by bicycle before arriving to the tourist hotspots like Bagan or Mandalay (respectively 153 km and 142 km from Monywa).

The ride was long and on ongoing battle for space (i was stuck between two indian guys whose legs widespreading habit had to be kept under control...). Since I imagine that in India the issue of manspreading has not yet emerged (and even though some european articles provide scientific explanations for this bad habit (*)), i had to take the law into my own hands (or to invent it): I decided to "counterspread" by opening my legs too and even by blocking my knees with a cushion so as to create a more comfortable patella-to-patella contact with my neighbors (and prevent them from taking advantage while i was sleeping...!) It worked well, even though I could feel their surprise (Why is this european lady taking up so much space?). As for the hands and arms, well, measuring at least 10 to 15 cm more than my neighbors, I also decided to take advantage and let them find space for themselves. In the end, i probably spent a better night than the 3 big foreign dudes (Israeli, Canadian, Colombian), crammed at the back of the van.

The bus crashed us (Hathi and I) at 5 am in Monywa. A bit harsh after a night of van-seating but I was soon comforted with my first burmese breakfast : noodles, soup & tea.

Nota : first contacts with the Burmese people : they seem to be extremely gentle and helpful - a special thanks to the lady who ran after an ice cream scooter for me & to the team that helped make my new sim card work (involving 2 shop keepers, 2 Mytel employees, their manager...and taking 3 hours)- but the communication is going to be complicated ! Mostly no English spoken. Sometimes not a single word. At least in non touristic places like Tamu or Monywa...

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https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/manspr…Read more