Burma Transportation

 
by lotharscheer
 
  •   Round Bagan, Cycling
    by lotharscheer
  •   Round Bagan, Cycling
    by lotharscheer
  •   Round Bagan, Cycling
    by lotharscheer
  •   Round Bagan, Cycling
    by lotharscheer
  •   Round Bagan, Cycling
    by lotharscheer
 

Most Viewed Transportation in Burma

1.

Taxi, Rangoon / Yangon   Rangoon

Taxi, Rangoon / Yangon, Rangoon

 6 Reviews  Taxis are very cheap and plenty in rangoon, quite scary at night since somehow the turn off the front lights god knows why. However it beats any alternative since renting a car is not possible (there... 

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2.

Round Bagan, Horse and Cart   Bagan

Round Bagan, Horse and Cart, Bagan

 11 Reviews  BAGAN The mode of transport I chose in Bagan was The horse and cart which I hired from my hotel .After looking at the various means of transport this seemed to be the most practical mainly because of... 

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3.

Taxis   Mandalay

Taxis, Mandalay

 7 Reviews  We paid about US$25 per day for the services of 2 guys and this old Corolla. Neither had any training, but were excellent guides in and around Mandalay. They tried really hard to provide us with all... 

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4.

Airport, Rangoon / Airport   Rangoon

Airport, Rangoon / Airport, Rangoon

 5 Reviews  At the new Mingaladon International Airport, near the cafe, a few computers are available for websurfing and checking your email. Like every where else in Burma, you need someone to guide you to the... 

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5.

Round Bagan, Cycling   Bagan

Round Bagan, Cycling, Bagan

 6 Reviews  Bicycles are a very convenient way of getting around the huge area of Bagan. You are flexible and quick enough to get around. Renting a bike for a day was 1000 Kyats per day. The problem was that... 

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6.

Air Travel   Mandalay

Air Travel, Mandalay

 6 Reviews  MANDALAY . While travelling through Burma I weighed up the best means of transport to the various places that I wanted to visit. Because of the distances and decidedly slow trains and busses, I chose... 

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7.

Bus, Rangoon / Yangon   Rangoon

Bus, Rangoon / Yangon, Rangoon

 10 Reviews  Bus 51 does not run to the Airport but has a stop (Sel Mine Gone) in about 700 meter distance, the rest you might have to walk. Leaves from Mahabandola Park street near Mahabandola Park, Sule Pagoda,... 

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8.

Bagan, to and from, Boat   Bagan

Bagan, to and from, Boat, Bagan

 3 Reviews  There are new quick boat connections between both places that take only 6h. But because of the tense situation and the lack of tourists during my time this offer was closed for this time. But it is a... 

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9.

River Travel   Mandalay

River Travel, Mandalay

 6 Reviews  Getting to Mingun is an easy process. There is a jetty at the river banks from where daily boats depart for Mingun at 9 am. You can buy your tickets (paid in kyats) at a non-signed booking office... 

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10.

Circle Train, Rangoon / Yangon   Rangoon

Circle Train, Rangoon / Yangon, Rangoon

 3 Reviews  The Circle Train is a great way to get close to the ordinary people of Yangon. It takes 3 hours to go around Yangon. We caught the train at the central depot. You have to pay for the ticket on the... 

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11.

Bagan, to and from, Air   Bagan

Bagan, to and from, Air, Bagan

 3 Reviews  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.... 

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12.

Rickshaws / Trishaws   Mandalay

Rickshaws / Trishaws, Mandalay

 5 Reviews  This is an embarassing thing to admit but I couldn't fit into the rickshaw seat. The driver tried a few different things and eventually I just decided to pedal myself. Same fare of course (500 kyat... 

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13.

Rangoon, getting there and away   Rangoon

Rangoon, getting there and away, Rangoon

 4 Reviews  (date written - March 18, 2007) Booking number: YR9BDE Flight number: FD 3771 Departure date: April 20, 2007 Departure time: 8:35 a.m. Arrival time: 10:20 a.m. Airfare: one-way ticket via Air... 

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14.

Bagan, to and from, Overland   Bagan

Bagan, to and from, Overland, Bagan

 3 Reviews  There is a regular bus connection between Mandalay and Bagan (several buses a day). For the roughly 300km it takes about 8h - that says it all about the road condition. Additionally to the common... 

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15.

Bus Travel   Mandalay

Bus Travel, Mandalay

 4 Reviews  The cheapest way to get around Mandalay is by Taxi bus, basically you just flag down the driver and climb aboard. You should check with the driver first to make sure he is headed in your direction.... 

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16.

Rickshaws / Trishaws   Rangoon

Rickshaws / Trishaws, Rangoon

 2 Reviews  The trishaw drivers do it hard. We did not use any until we decided that we might catch a ferry across the river. We were told that we couldn't go with the local population and so because there were a... 

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17.

Balloon Trips   Bagan

Balloon Trips, Bagan

 1 Review  If you wnat to burn some cash for a good, if not the best over Bagan, try the Balloonservice. I didnt seriously think about it nor did I dare to ask for prices, but I read it costs around 250... 

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18.

Horse-drawn transport   Mandalay

Horse-drawn transport, Mandalay

 2 Reviews  This is a very blurry picture I know but I thought it was pretty evocative and gave an impression of Maymyo/Pyin O Lwin being stuck in the 50s. It is called a garry. My mother remembers using these... 

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19.

Air Bagan   Rangoon

Air Bagan, Rangoon

 1 Review  My Air Bagan ticket was purchased from a local Myanmar based travel agency named TEMPLES OF DYNASTY. Air Bagan proved to be safe, clean, and efficient when it comes to departure times. Snacks and... 

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20.

Airports (not Rangoon / Yangon), to and from   Rangoon

Airports (not Rangoon / Yangon), to and from, Rangoon

 1 Review  THIS IS IMPORTANT.. After arriving in Rangoon I was lucky to have transport organised. Here I was met by my hotel driver with a hotel pickup...but as ALL airports in Burma are such a huge distance... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

HIRE A HORSE-CART AND DRIVER FOR A FUN DAY.

by DennyP

HORSE AND CARTWITH DRIVER A few times in Burma I hired a horse and cart with a driver for the day and found it to be just really a great relaxing way to slowly get around..Seeing that I was'nt in a hurry this mode of transport suited me just fine. One thing I found hard to deal with sometimes was the most oppressive heat. This I found while out on my bicyle..riding in the cart was comfortable as it was covered and was most relaxing.There were cushions to relax and stretch your legs . I always carried a plastic bag with me which I could put in my hat anthen pour water into it for the horse...There were a few days that I noticed that the horse was exceptionally thirsty and was not given water. Quite often they are left to stand in the one place for long periods of time. .so make sure to carry LOTS of water with you..Hiring these horses for the day can be arranged by your Hotel or hostel....

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ALL INTERNAL FLIGHTS CONTROLLED

by DennyP

MYANMAR (BURMA) I arrived in Yangon from Bangkok by an Air Asia flight. All further flights that I took within Myanmar were with the Burmese Airlines of Air Bagan and Yangon Airways. These airlines are controlled by the military Government and receive all their profits...Anyone flying within Burma must use one or both of the internal airlines. I found both of the airlines to be excellent as I used the both of them. They were efficient courteous, on time and just good airlines. I must say that I was very surprised and wouldnt hesitate to use them if/when I return to Burma.

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HIRE A BICYCLE TO GET AROUND

by DennyP

BURMA Bicycle hire is definately the way to go.I always hired a bike when possible as I found that " day hire "was extremely cheap and affordable. Your Hotel manager can usually organise a bicycle for you and if he has none available will certainly find you one for hire close by. Like everything ,the price is negotiable and of course that will depend on your own bargaining skills. Walking long distances around the cities is rather testing also.Due to the extreme heat and humidity here in Burma its imperative to replace fluid losses with fresh bottled water. When hiring your bicycle also enquire about a local roadmap..so you can get back!! DON'T forget your waterDON'T carry your handbag in the basket of the bicycle.!!.

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Booking Internal Flights on Line

by cochinjew

i would recommend booking tickets on line, the price on line is about half of the published fare. depending upon the time, they can get booked. recently burma introduced visa on arrival and that has spurred a spurt in tourist arrivals. there are lots of tips on burma/myanmar on VT and there are quite a few Myanmar Experts on VT. If you can get hold of a book called From Myanmar with Love it is a compilation by one of the Vters of travellers stories and helpful hints. Yangon has the best kept british colonial architecture and the burmese people without doubt are the most gentle of all asian people. also the land is a tribute to the living buddhism and almsot all people who visit Burma/Myanmar fall in love with the place. good Luck and Enjoy Myanmar

Border crossings between Burma and Thailand

by Mique

The rules apparently have changed again. Now you can enter Burma again overland at either Kowthoung or Tachileik (and exit there too) but you need to get a special permit (aka a package tour-thingy) to do so. You can get permits (or info on them) by emailing to them. From Tachileik you have to fly on since the overland route is closed to foreigners and if you come form the south then either take a flight from there to Yangon or take the boat to Myeik (around $25 one way). After that you'll have to fly to Yangon with either Air Bagan or Air Mandalay. Both charge $87 dollars for a one-way ticket (all prices are from before the price rise of august 2007). If you want to do this trip overland you'll need a special permit which you need to apply for 2-3 weeks in advance. And you can never get the permit just by itself. It is always part of a package tour and therefore quite costly. The MTT...

Short distance bus

by Mique

These truck-buses run everywhere (much like the pick-up trucks). Again they seem more in the 'short range' business but I've been in buses like this for 5 hours and more (even once for about 13 hours when we went to Namhsan. In the back on bags of something. With 9 people occupying a tiny bit of space(don't get me started on that one)). A bus like this runs the Mandalay-Bagan route. Or from Mandalay to Monywa or Hsipaw. From Pathein to Chaungtha we were also in a bus like this (though these pictures I took in Yangon itself where they were running as city buses). In the bus from Pathein to Chaungtha we were seated somewhere in the front. The bus was so full that my boyfriend exited through the window. We also unloaded our luggage through there. Me, I didn't want to go through the window so I painstakingly made my way through the overcrowded bus. I Was midway when the window started to...

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Old but reliable: the bullock cart

by Mique

In many small communities the bullock cart is THE way to get around. Of course, nowadays you can also go by bullock cart for tourist purposes and these rides are offered at the known places like Mingun and Bagan (at least I've seen them there). For us it was a genuine cart, used by some villagers to bring us to the next place we wanted to go. Thankfully it wasn't too far because no matter how picturesque it looks, comfortable is quite different. It looks like the cart goes real smooth until you're actually sitting in one....

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With humour and a lot of patience

by Mique

As said in the title, do bring a good sense of humour and a lot of patience. This country is definitely not run on time. And especially with transport you can find that the original 15 hours (or so) can turn into a lot more if there is something along the way that will hold up your bus/pick-up/whatever you travel with. Local buses and pick-ups especially have a tendency to leave only when full. And this can mean sometimes that your still there an hour or more after the official departure time. Buses and pick-ups are usually also packed up to an absolute maximum and then some. Not the long-distance buses but the local ones. 30 to 40 people in and on a pick-up is also not at all uncommon so be prepared to be a bit uncomfortable sometimes. This doesn't mean that it is going to happen, it means that it can happen. In the case of the broken shock breaker we were about 6 hours away from Bagan...

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Cheap flights to Yangon

by Mique

Air Asia nowadays offers two flights daily to Yangon, a morning flight and an afternoon flight. One way flights can be got for as cheap as $ 21. (excluding airport tax and such). Check their website www.airasia.comPlanes are well kept and seats comfortable but do keep in mind that the following comes on top of the quoted fare online:- admin. fee - airport tax- fuel surcharge- credit card use

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The Burma road/ border crossing with China

by Mique

It is still a road less traveled (by tourists that is). Many people think it is almost impossible to cross the border between China and Burma. It is only a trip to the travel agent in the Camelia Hotel in Kunming (they are the only one at the moment who have permission to handle these kind of trips) and you have to go through them since you need a special permit. This will be the bulk of your money. We did a small calculation project and figured out that with the bus to Ruili (the border) and the fee to the travel agency we would pay the same as for a plane ticket from Kunming to Mandalay and besides having a big preference for traveling overland we also found this a lot more adventurous. From Kunming you take the night bus to Ruili where you'll meet your guide (or the next day as we did since our bus had so much delay...). The border crossing was something that we had mentally prepared...

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Top 3 Hotels in Burma

The Kandawgyi Palace Hotel  Rangoon

 11 Reviews and 191 Opinions  Kandawgyi Palace hotel is located on the shore of Royal Lake. I hope these pics will help you to... 

 Hotels in Rangoon

The Hotel @ Tharabar Gate  Bagan

 1 Review and 155 Opinions  I can't tell whether this hotel is better or worse than other 4* hotels in Bagan, but I'd heartedly... 

 Hotels in Bagan

Hotel By The Red Canal, Mandalay  Mandalay

 1 Review and 240 Opinions  Great hotel, arguably our favorite in Myanmar. You can tell the owners put a lot of thought into... 

 Hotels in Mandalay

Questions and Answers

stevemt profile photo

Q:  I have just had a wonderful week in Yangon and Mandalay. Whilst I was there I noticed something that I was hesitant about... 

Fluffy_bunny profile photo

A: Tanaka is the name you are looking for. It is made from the pulp of a tree. It serves 2 purposes, one as a sun block and two as a general skin cream (exfoliator,... 

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