London to Mumbai by Road 2016 – Revisited
Day 54 – 20 October 2016
A Kenyan Reunion, Broken Roads, and a Battle with the Mountains
We woke up this morning to another beautiful day in Monywa. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and the resort where we had spent the night looked even more attractive in daylight.
Unfortunately, our schedule did not allow us time to properly enjoy it.
The road to India was calling.
Breakfast, however, turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of the day.
While enjoying our morning meal, we met a gentleman from Kenya, the country where both Ramesh and I were born. Dayal too had spent much of his life in Kenya, so it didn’t take long before the conversation turned nostalgic.
Before we knew it, we were chatting away in Swahili, Kenya’s national language.
After nearly fifty years of living in England, our Swahili had become a little rusty, but the words soon started coming back. It was wonderful reminiscing about our childhoods, familiar places, and shared memories of East Africa.
For a brief moment, thousands of miles from both Kenya and England, it felt as though we had unexpectedly found a little piece of home.
After a thoroughly enjoyable breakfast and conversation, Team Kontiki left Monywa at around 9:30 am, heading towards Tamu, near the Indian border, a journey of approximately 270 kilometres.
There was more good news.
The brake warning light that had caused us concern over the previous few days had finally disappeared.
Whether it was a sensor fault or simply one of Kontiki’s occasional quirks, we were happy to see it gone.
The route ahead, however, would prove far more challenging than any warning light.
As we climbed into the mountains once again, the roads became increasingly rough and difficult. Deep potholes, broken surfaces, and steep gradients made progress painfully slow.
Earlier in the journey, one of our rear shock absorbers had failed, causing some suspension damage and leaving the motorhome sitting lower at the back than normal. This was already a concern on rough roads.
Then came the real challenge.
While descending a steep section of mountain road, we arrived at a river crossing where part of the road had been washed away.
At first glance, it looked impossible.
A large section of the roadway had collapsed, leaving a deep and uneven gap. For a normal vehicle it would have been difficult enough. For a heavily loaded 22-year-old motorhome with damaged suspension, it looked almost hopeless.
We got out and inspected the crossing.
The more we looked at it, the worse it seemed.
Fortunately, our guide Soe immediately sprang into action.
He enlisted the help of several local villagers and arranged for sandbags to be brought from a nearby construction site. Together, everyone worked to create a makeshift crossing.
The sandbags were carefully positioned to build up the damaged section of road and create a path wide enough for Kontiki to attempt the crossing.
Then came the moment of truth.
Slowly and carefully, we edged the motorhome forward.
Everyone held their breath.
The villagers stood ready to help if needed, while Team Kontiki concentrated on every inch of the manoeuvre.
There were a few worrying scrapes underneath as the motorhome negotiated the damaged section, and unfortunately some additional damage was caused to the underside.
But we made it.
Kontiki crawled across and emerged safely on the other side.
The sense of relief was enormous.
Afterwards, we thanked the villagers sincerely and gave them a generous tip to share amongst themselves. Without their help, we might still have been sitting there wondering how to continue.
It was another reminder that the kindness of strangers often becomes one of the greatest assets on any overland journey.
Back on the road, conditions remained extremely difficult.
The roads were some of the worst we had encountered anywhere on the trip. Progress was painfully slow, with our average speed dropping to little more than 15 kilometres per hour in places.
At one point, we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, another interesting geographical milestone on our journey from Europe to India.
As the day wore on, the miles seemed to pass very slowly.
Eventually, tired but relieved, we reached Kalaymyo (Kalay), where we checked into a hotel for the night.
It had been one of the most physically demanding driving days of the entire expedition.
As we sat down to relax that evening, there was a growing sense of anticipation.
If all went according to plan, tomorrow we would finally cross into India.
After more than 50 days on the road, countless border crossings, thousands of miles, and adventures beyond anything we could have imagined, home was beginning to feel very close indeed.
Distance travelled: Approximately 270 km (168 miles)
Route: Monywa to Kalay, Myanmar
Weather: Sunny and warm
Highlights: Meeting a fellow Kenyan, speaking Swahili again, crossing the Tropic of Cancer, and overcoming a washed-away road
Most memorable moment: With the help of local villagers and sandbags, successfully guiding Kontiki across a damaged river crossing
Challenge of the day: Severe road conditions and suspension damage on mountain roads
Accommodation: Hotel in Kalay, Myanmar
Mood of the day: Exhausted, grateful, and excited that India was now within touching distance
Join us tomorrow as Team Kontiki reaches one of the biggest milestones of the entire journey—crossing from Myanmar into India and bringing our epic London-to-Mumbai road adventure ever closer to its destination.
