Swe Swe of Legendary Myanmar Shipping and Logistics Co. Ltd. navigated clearing the bike at 8:00 last night.
Soe of (gov. approved/required) Burma Senses picked me up, after an hour’s drive we were early and stopped for tea. It’s thick, sweet, milky and terrific
They’re down this road
Arrived. The bike is in the truck outside the company warehouse
I have a few things to do.
1) Re-organize the gear. I’ve shipped the bike with stuff that goes in my duffle
2) Connect the battery, put some gas in the tank and trial start it
3) Do the paperwork and pay Swe Swe.
They’ve brought 4 guys and a pallet jack (see above pic) because they think I may want to do this on the ground and maybe test ride it or something. I’m a little embarrassed about this overkill. But Swe Swe wants everything to go without a hitch
I do everything in the truck while they study my every move. I try not to fumble connecting the rat’s nest of leads to the awkwardly located battery. Canada is at stake I’m thinking
Then gas. I’ve told Soe we need to get a container and gas on the way, because it had to ship empty, he says Swe Swe has organized it. Here’s Swe Swe, CEO of Legendary, siphoning gas out of her car. I can’t believe it, and have a tweak of enlightenment, which is what this ride is all about, many micro-enlightenments
Then she sets up a table and chairs and I sit where Soe is sitting (enough selfies) and get the paperwork done
Swe Swe is simply amazing. Calm, can-do. On this day, despite the uniqueness of this to her, it’s all perfect, as Soe said it would eventually be.
The cost was about $100 above other 3rd world receiving experiences. But she’s been working on this for weeks before I came, at least 6 people have been involved in various meetings since I arrived. And the bike is still in Yangon and has a long ride in the truck where the 4 guys will take it somewhere safe overnight (I know where, but that’s for the next post). So financially a gift really.
If you cross from Thailand by land it takes an hour to clear. But since Thailand has recently become so hostile to foreign riders as SE Asia changes, into Yangon by sea or plane may be the new way.
Comments
Haha “Canada is at stake”… glad you didn’t ruin anything for us back here… can’t get over Swe Swe and Soe they seem TOO nice
They were incredible. Everyone here is. They want to figure things out and do a good job, now that Myanmar is ‘open’.