lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

WHICH MANDALAY BUS STATION?221Mandalay has three bus stations:» Thiri Mandalar bus station (Map p 202 ; 89th St, 22/24) Relatively central. Buses forMonywa, Shwebo and Bhamo (though foreigners can’t use the latter).» Pyi Gyi Myat Shin bus station (off Map p 202 ; 60th St 35/37) Two miles east of centre.Buses for Hsipaw, Lashio and Mu-se.» Main (Kwe Se Kan) bus station Six miles south of centre, this serves all other majordestinations, including Yangon, Bagan, Kalaw and Taunggyi. Allow 45 minutes for theK3000/5000 motorbike/blue-taxi ride to get to the bus station from downtown andplenty more time to find the right bus in the mayhem.Buying TicketsPre-booking long-distance bus tickets is wise. The easiest way to do that is through yourhotel, but check how much commission is charged (typically K350 to K1500). Bus companieseach have their own city-centre ticket office: booking there saves you going all the wayto the bus station twice. If you’re trying to save money, this will be the best deal, especiallyif you use a company that provides a ‘ferry’ (minibus transfer to the bus station), saving youthe taxi/motorbike fare. But double-check ferry conditions – some will leave you far toomuch (or occasionally too little) connecting time to justify the financial saving. Many suchagents are on 32nd St. Shwe Mann Thu (Map p 206 ; %22365; 32nd St, 82/83) has a particularlywide choice of destinations and has several ‘ferries’ costing K500 per head (last at 3.30pm).Buy tickets one day ahead from Shwe Eyama(%09 680 0243; Strand Rd). The booth’s signis in Burmese, but a second sign above it saysPanlon Co Ltd in English. Nearby, MGRG also advertisea Mandalay–Katha–Bhamo service, butthat wasn’t operating at the time of research.SHWEI KENNERY Higher-standard expressboat aimed at the tourist market. Enquire forschedules and prices at Sun Far Travel & Tours(Map p204 ; %69712; No H, 30th St, 77/78;h9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat & Sun).CRUISES Several of the Bagan cruise operators(p 214 ) also do occasional Bhamo–Mandalay trips.MINGUNBoats start at 9am from Mayan Chan Jetty.See p 231 .PYAYGovernment ferries (deck/cabin $10/20; seep 21 ) depart Tuesday and Saturday at 5.30amtaking around four days. Bring mat and sleepinggear. Tickets sold on board at departure.Double check schedules with IWT (Map p 202 ;%36035; 35th St).Bus & Shared TaxiTwo of Mandalay’s three highway bus stations areinfuriatingly distant from the city centre. Sharedtaxis, where available, aren’t quite as expensiveas they might seem at fi rst glance because mostoffer door-to-door (or at least centre-to-centre)service, saving expensive taxi rides to/from busstations at either end of your journey.BAGANJourney time is around eight hours from themain bus station. Choice is limited.Shwe Mann Thu (Map p 206 ; %22365; 32nd St,82/83) has buses at 8am (K9000) and 4.30pm(K8000), with ‘ferries’ to the bus station departingtheir offi ce at 7am and 3pm.Nyuang U Mann has buses without air-con at8.30am and 9pm (K8500, eight hours) as a lastresort.HSIPAW, LASHIO & MU-SEBUS Buses use the Pyi Gyi Myat Shin busstation (off Map p 202 ; 60th St 35/37), withcentral agencies clustered on 83rd St, 22/23,but relatively few companies will accept foreignerson buses bound for Lashio or beyond. Mostbuses leave between 5.30am and 6.30am, but ifyou sleep in, there are still two Hsipaw-specifi cbuses departing at 3pm operated by Ye Shinand Duhtawadi (Map p 206 ; %61938; 31st St,81/82). Duhtawadi ticket holders can get a connectingtransfer from the city centre offi ce to thebus station 1½ hours before bus departure time.SHARED TAXI Duhtawadi also organisesshared taxis to Hsipaw (K15,000, fi ve to sixhours), departing from their city offi ce mostdays around 8.30am. If there is no Hsipaw car,take one bound for Lashio, operated by Shwe LiOo (Map p 206 ; %33280; 32nd St, 81/80) back/front seat K15,000/17,000 at 6.30am, 8am and9am and Shwe Li Shan (Map p 206 ; 84th St,22/23) back/front K18,000/21,000 when full.MANDALAY 8 GETTING & AROUND THERE 8 & AWAY