Dirt and Trail June 2020-2
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General Expedition<br />
& Kit List<br />
General Expedition <strong>and</strong> Kit<br />
List we normally divide into<br />
Accessories, Camping Gear <strong>and</strong><br />
Miscellaneous Kit before we<br />
travel. Carry a survival watch,<br />
such as a Garmin or Suunto, just<br />
in case your GPS on your mobile<br />
phone fails. Steel Putty is vital<br />
in case you have a major spill on<br />
one of the dirt bikes whilst riding.<br />
We packed a small mace spray<br />
each for personal protection,<br />
but to be honest never once felt<br />
threatened in Myanmar.<br />
Rider <strong>and</strong> Protective<br />
Clothing<br />
When packing, remember the<br />
lighter the load, the better.<br />
Separate your packing list for<br />
clothing into Riding Gear &<br />
General Clothing, Head Gear <strong>and</strong><br />
Footwear.<br />
It is highly recommended to<br />
bring your own full-face helmet<br />
<strong>and</strong> riding gear. You already know<br />
it fits, it is clean, <strong>and</strong> you can have<br />
your own intercom system fitted<br />
beforeh<strong>and</strong>. Considering the vast<br />
distances that you cover via dirt<br />
bike in Myanmar, it really helps<br />
to have instant communication<br />
between the riders. From<br />
shouting warning about oncoming<br />
trucks & me<strong>and</strong>ering bush pigs<br />
in the road, to highlighting some<br />
beautiful temples or pagodas<br />
in the jungle! Just remember to<br />
charge them at the same time<br />
as your mobile phone when you<br />
arrive at your destination each<br />
night.<br />
Travel documentation <strong>and</strong><br />
passports<br />
Being from South Africa, we<br />
applied for a visa online for<br />
Myanmar. It is cheaper to book<br />
your tickets through Bangkok in<br />
Thail<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> then take a regional<br />
flight into M<strong>and</strong>alay. Remember<br />
to upload all your travel<br />
documentation & inoculation<br />
certificates into the cloud, either<br />
via Microsoft One Drive or<br />
Dropbox. In the event of a lost<br />
passport you can easily retrieve<br />
it <strong>and</strong> gain access to emergency<br />
travel documents from your local<br />
embassy in Myanmar. Credit<br />
cards obviously only work in<br />
the large cities, so ensure that<br />
you always have enough local<br />
currency to pay for food <strong>and</strong> fuel.<br />
Safe riding!<br />
The entrance to<br />
Kakku Pagoda<br />
complex in<br />
Taunggyi<br />
One of the<br />
temples.<br />
This one near<br />
M<strong>and</strong>alay.<br />
There are<br />
some really<br />
beautiful<br />
things to see...<br />
The Hondas<br />
were flawless...<br />
A Kayan<br />
Tribeswoman<br />
teaches Kim<br />
to weave.<br />
About the author: Johan de Villiers<br />
Johan has adventure biked extensively through<br />
several South, Central <strong>and</strong> East African countries<br />
on either one of his KTMs or Triumph Tigers. In<br />
addition to that, Johan enjoys travelling in South<br />
East Asia, including hiking Nepal <strong>and</strong> staying<br />
with the remote Cambodian jungle tribes on the<br />
border of Laos. When not overl<strong>and</strong>ing through<br />
Africa, he is also a seasoned off-road <strong>and</strong> rally<br />
racer on two wheels. In his spare time Johan<br />
is a qualified helicopter pilot, high altitude<br />
mountaineer <strong>and</strong> a regular contributor to<br />
various overl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> aviation publications.<br />
60 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JUNE <strong>2020</strong> DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JUNE <strong>2020</strong> 6 1
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