Bagan, to and from, Air, Bagan

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From Yangon to Bagan is a one and a half hour flight (I used Air Bagan). Bagan is connected by flight to Yangon and Mandalay. By overland it takes 12 hours from Yangon and 7 from Mandalay by coach. There are also a very slow train from Yangon to Thazy and then a 3 hours drive to Bagan. Also there is a steamer service between Bagan and Mandalay. So probably the best way to go is by plane.

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BAGANThere are a few ways to get to Bagan...I chose to go by Air Bagan Airline from Yangon (Rangoon) as it was the easiest and quickest at the time...I mainly flew everywhere in Burma due to the distances covered..also the cost..
The Railway which is usually my mainform of transportation was not really practical at the time as the scheduling would have had me waiting some days and also arriving at an insane hour of 3am..The train schedules have been turned upside down by the political system.check local timetables when arriving as they change a lot..
Busses are used a lot as they are very inexpensive and have regular time tables..The bus station is right by the main centre in Bagan..
All forms of transport are cheap in Burma...

The airport is just 5 minutesby car from Nyaung U.
The connections within Myanmar are very good, but the timetable is not that reliable. My flight was supposed to be a direct flight from Bagan to Yangon. But what happened was that my flight was delayed and instead of a direct flight I had two (2!) stops in Mandalay and Heho with another break due to engine problems before I finally arrived in Yangon, way behind any timetable of course.

This way, at least, I got to know that the flight time from bagan to mandalay is just 25 minutes - nothing compared to the 8h bumpy busride I enjoyed on the way to bagan.

And again, for all flights, avoid the government carriers!