lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

lay and Bagan (from $280)to 10-day itineraries includingsights along the ChindwinRiver (from $3150).Journeys Myanmar (www.journeysmyanmar.com) Yangon-basedtour agent thatcan arrange river trips on awide range of luxury craft,including those listed here,and other options.Pandaw Cruises (www.pandaw.com) Offers varioushigh-end cruises aboard areplica of the teak-and-brassIFC fleet, such as a 14-nighttrip between Pyay andMandalay (from $3683 percabin, all inclusive) and a 20-day itinerary that charts theChindwin and upper reachesof the Ayeyarwady ($5828).Road to Mandalay (www.orient-express.com) Part ofthe Orient Express group,this joint-venture operationoffers cruises from three(from $2290) to 11 days(from $3330), which centreon Bagan and Mandalay.BusAlmost always faster andcheaper than trains, Myanmarbuses range from luxury airconexpress buses, less luxuriousbut nice buses (withoutair-con), local buses, and mini32-seaters. Most are operatedby private companies.Also see p 381 for informationon pick-up trucks, andthe boxed text, p 123 , for moreabout the luxury ElephantCoaches that can be hired fortransport around the country.Classes & ConditionsMany long-haul trips, suchas those from Yangon toMandalay, allow the greatestcomfort, with new(-ish) airconditionedexpress buses –some of which are quite nice.A lot of bus activity happensat night, with buses leavingbetween 4pm and 10pm orlater, and arriving at the finaldestination in the wee hours(often 5am or 6am). Thereare a couple of reasons forthis: local people can’t affordBUS ROUTESROUTE FARE (K) DURATION (HR)Bagan-Taunggyi10,50010Mandalay-Bagan65008Mandalay-Hsipaw 5000 6Mandalay-Taunggyi 6000 12Pyay-Taunggok10,00011Yangon-Bagan15,00015Yangon-Bago (Pegu)60002Yangon-Chaung Tha Beach80006-7Yangon-Kyaiktiyo 7000 4½Yangon-Mandalay11,00012-15Yangon-Pyay40007Yangon-Taunggyi 11,000 17Yangon-Thandwe 12,000 17-18to waste a working day on abus so prefer to travel overnight;and the buses don’toverheat as much by avoidingthe punishing midday sun.If you want extra air-concomfort but don’t want togo the whole way on one ofthese routes, you usually haveto pay the full fare (eg goingfrom Mandalay to Taungooyou pay the full fare to Yangon)and will have to deal withthe middle-of-the-night arrivaltime. Similarly, by paying thefull fare for the route, you canjump on a bus at a stop alongthe way, for example catchthe Mandalay-to-Yangonbus at Meiktila. Staff at yourguesthouse or hotel shouldbe able to help with this.Similar sized but older buses,with no air-conditioning,make shorter-haul trips, suchas direct links from Yangon toPyay or Taungoo to Yangon.Local 32-seat minibusesbounce along the highwaystoo. These tend to use theaisles, if not for blokes, forbags of rice, vegies or (worst)dried fish. Sometimes thefloor in front of you is filledtoo, so you’ll find your kneesto your chin for some bouncyhours. Getting up to stretchyour legs while moving justisn’t an option. (Try to sitin the front couple of rows,which sometimes have fewerbags stored, and bettervisibility.)Trip durations for all formsof public road transportationare very elastic and busesof all types do break downsometimes. Older buses oftenstop to hose down a hot engine.Some roads – one-lane,mangled deals (read: veryrough) – don’t help matters,and tyre punctures occur too.CostsYou can pay kyat for all busfares. Note, foreigners willpay more than locals – andon occasion the price is ‘set’on the spot. Generally minibuses,local 32-seaters, expressbuses with no air-con,and air-con luxury jobbiescharge roughly the same onoverlapping routes. The tableabove shows sample foreignerfares and trip times.ReservationsFrom November to February,it’s wise to pre-book buses acouple of days in advance forkey routes, such as Bagan–Inle Lake. Seat reservationsare made for all buses. Ask to377TRANSPORT BUS