lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

376TRANSPORT GETTING AROUNDCargo ShipsMyanma Five Star Line(www.mfsl-shipping.com), thegovernment-owned oceantransport enterprise, is onlycargo now, but you can tryto see about jumping on aboat to Thandwe, Taunggokor Sittwe, or south to Dawei,Myeik or Kawthoung, atsome point in the future.Ferries & PrivateBoatsThe government-run InlandWater Transport (IWT; www.iwt.gov.mm) has 476 boatsshifting some 25 million passengersannually. The boatstend to be rather run-downand ramshackle, but provideremarkable glimpses into localriver life. Many of the passengerson the long-distanceferries are traders who makestops along the way to pickup or deliver goods.Along the heavily travelled262-mile-long Yangon–Pyay–Mandalay route, there are 28ferry landings, where merchantscan ply their trade.IWT offices are usually nearthe jetty. They can offer information,schedules and faredetails, and usually tickets.IWT offices, officially, acceptUS dollars and FECs only.Some short trips – forexample, between Bagan andPakokku – are handled withsmall covered wooden ferriesthat fit about 25 people.Often there are smaller,private boats you can negotiateto use with the driver. Weinclude private boat serviceswhenever possible. However,because of their size it’s notalways as safe riding withprivate boats compared withbigger government ferries.In 2004, a small private boatbetween Sittwe and Mrauk Ucapsized during a storm andseveral Italian tourists werekilled.Only a few riverboatroutes are regularly used byvisitors. Key routes:» Mandalay to Bagan (seep 120 ) On the IWT or privateboats such as the Malikha» Mandalay to Myitkyinavia Bhamo and Katha (seep 241 ) A few private fast-boatservices, but mostly done onthe IWT.» Mawlamyine to Hpa-an(see p 101 ) Daily governmentferries.» Sittwe to Mrauk U (seep 279 ) Small private boats orgovernment ferry.There is no direct servicebetween Yangon and Mandalay;you have to change boatsin Pyay – and the IWT officesseemed to frown on takingpassengers on this route. Ifyou make it, take a book ortwo: it’s about two days byboat between Mandalay andBagan, three more to Pyay,and two more to Yangon. Amore feasible long journey,and a more attractive one, issouth from Myitkyina.Luxury BoatsSeveral luxury ferries travelthe upper and lower reachesof the Ayeyarwady River.You can book services withtravel agents in Yangon, butkeep in mind that manytrips are booked out by tourgroups and some will bejoint-venture operations. Formore about these cruises seeboxed text, p 214 .Amara Cruise (www.myanmar-discovery.de, www.amaragroup.net) Owned bya German and his Burmesewife this company runscruises from Mandalay toboth Bagan (four day, threenights single/double from€720/490) and Bhamo(seven day, six nights single/double from €1620/1120); italso runs a local charity theAmara Foundation (www.amara-foundation.com)Ayravata Cruises (www.ayravatacruises.com) Beautifullyrestored river steamersare used for this company’strips, which range from oneor two days between Manda-SURVIVING LONG-DISTANCE BUS TRIPSHeed the following points and your long-distance bustrip will, possibly, be more comfortable:» Bring snacks and drinks by all means but don’tworry too much about this. A bottle of water is oftenhanded out on better-quality buses. There are usuallyno bathrooms on the bus, but frequent toilet-and-refreshmentstops (where everyone must get off the busto prevent anything being stolen) perforate the night –frustrating if you’ve just got to sleep and the bus stopsat 3am for ‘breakfast’.» Often the TV blares for much of the trip – usuallysticking with Myanmar-made concerts or moviesdetailing things such as, oh, protagonists dying bloodydeaths in car crashes, but the occasional Raiders ofthe Lost Ark slips in.» Take a jacket or blanket (preferably both) as temperaturescan drop substantially at night. And considerearplugs and an eye-mask as well if you plan tograb a little shut-eye between toilet stops.» Myanmar superstition says that when you’re on ajourney you shouldn’t ask anyone ‘How much longer?’,or ‘Brother, when will we arrive?’, as this is only temptingfate.» Try not to become alarmed when you see how somelocal passengers hold their breath whenever a bus approachesa particularly dodgy looking bridge.