I had accepted it and had begun to deal
with it in my own way.
Pankaj and I don't know each other well. We
have met just couple of times and decided
to do this trip as partners. It was our
common dream of conquering the world on
our bikes that brought us together. We took
it as our project and our respective roles
were clear.
However, looking at Pankaj there in that
restaurant in Myanmar - I was glad to see
him happy, smiling, clicking and recording.
Each day is a new day, in learning about and
respecting our individual personalities.
Satiated with the mountain of food, we paid
our bill and got ready to head out. As a side
note, I must mention that in Myanmar, they
only exchange your crisp new dollars with no
marks and no folds. In return they give you
their old currency that is crumpled and full
of markings. We had no complaints.. as long
as it worked it was absolutely fine with us !
We got back onto our bike and rode for
another 50 kms, when the bike started
flashing a red light - a sign of overheating.
We stopped and used our logic that to cool
down the bike, we should turn off the engine
and water can help it cool faster. We looked
around for a car wash with a water pump to
wash our bikes, as we couldn't find any for
past 2 days after riding on potholed and
mucky roads. While I washed the radiator,
the stones, dirt and muck fell out. My poor
little bike could not breathe!
We got done and got ready to ride again.
That is when we realized that our brake pads
had failed and we could not use the brakes
at all. we shared this latest development
with our guide, who told us that there were
no parts available for big bikes in Myanmar.
We couldn't imagine that we had worn out
our brake pads in the first 1000 kms of our
ride, thanks to the great roads of Nagaland
and Manipur.
However, if there is a problem, there must be
a solution as well. So partner went and
checked at place where they cut the pad
and fixed in our brake pads. It sounded like a
great idea, so we went there and in 2 hours our brakes were
working absolutely fine. Phew !!
However, the problem with my bike wasn't yet solved as we found
out that my bike fan had spoilt and that is why the bike kept
heating up. And we knew we would not be able to fix it while in
Myanmar. But our mantra was to keep going and never give up.
So I rode my bike in higher gears and lower RPM, and took a
break in every 50 to 100 kms to help the bike cool down. This is
how we got through our planned route in 7 days across Myanmar.
And after a day's rest at Inle Lake, we proceeded to the Myanmar-
Thailand border. Through our ride through Myanmar, what struck
me is the concept of 'Family'.