70YANGON
8 Getting There & Away
Air
See p 371 for information on international air
travel, and p 372 for details on domestic air
travel to and from Yangon. Boat
There are several jetties along the Yangon River,
but those interested in travelling by boat only
need to be familiar with two – all other departure
points are for cargo or are for routes that don’t
allow foreign passengers.
The Pansodan St Jetty (Map p 42 ), located at
the foot of Pansodan St, near the Strand Hotel, is
the jumping-off base for daytime river-crossing
boats to Dalah (round trip K2000, fi ve minutes),
which leave roughly every 20 minutes from
the early morning to the evening. Keep in mind
that, as Dalah is technically part of the Delta
Region, you’ll need to apply for permission from
Myanmar Travels & Tours (p 69 ) to board this
boat. Pansodan St Jetty is also where you board
ferries to Twante ($1, two hours), which depart
at 6.30am on Tuesday and 7am on Wednesday
and Saturday.
Farther west along Strand Rd, Lan Thit
jetty (Map p 46 ) is where IWT (Inland Water
Transport; Map p 46 ; %381 912, 380 764; Lan
Thit jetty) run Chinese triple-decker ferries to
Pathein every day at 5pm (deck class/private
cabin $7/42, 17 hours). Foreigners must buy
tickets from the deputy division manager’s offi ce
next to Building 63 on Lan Thit jetty.
There are several privately owned companies
that operate luxury cruises from Yangon to
Bagan and Mandalay (see p 376 ). Bus
There are two major bus terminals that service
Yangon: Aung Mingalar Bus Terminal (Map
p 38 ) and Hlaing Thar Yar Bus Terminal (off
Map p 38 ).
Most signs at the bus terminals are in Bur-
mese; however, English-speaking touts anxious
to steer you in the right direction are in abun-
dance. To avoid the hassle and attention make
sure your taxi driver (both of the major terminals
are around 45 minutes from the city centre)
knows where you want to go and, even better,
the name of the specifi c bus company. Showing
the driver your ticket will do; if you don’t have a
ticket, ask a Burmese speaker to write the infor-
mation on a slip of paper.
Both bus stations are located far outside town,
but most companies have offi ces alongside Aung
San Stadium; expect to pay a couple thousand
kyat more than for tickets bought at the station.
Many hotels can book tickets for you.
Bus companies with offi ces at the Aung San
Stadium:
Maw (Map p 42 ; %393 384) Departures for
Bagan, Chaung Tha, Inle, Kalaw, Kyaiktiyo, Man-
dalay, Ngwe Saung, Pyay and Taunggyi.
PTT Express (Map p 42 ; %252 212) Departures
for Mawlamyine.
Shwe (Map p 42 ; %249 672) Departures for
Bagan, Chaung Tha, Inle, Kalaw, Kyaiktiyo, Man-
dalay, Mawlamyine, Ngwe Saung and Taunggyi.
Shwe Zin (Map p 42 ; %704 253). Departures
for Bagan, Chaung Tha, Inle, Kalaw, Mandalay,
Ngwe Saung and Taunggyi.
Teht L ann E xpre s s (Map p 42 ; %255 557) De-
partures for Lashio, Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin.BUSES FROM AUNG MINGALARDESTINATION FARE (K) DURATION (HR) DEPARTURE TYPE
Bagan 18,000 13 4pm air-con
Bago 1500 2 every 30min 6am-6pm air-con
Hpa-an 8600 8-10 6.30-8pm air-con
Kalaw 11,000 12 4pm air-con
Kyaiktiyo/Kinpun (for
Golden Rock)7000 5 7-10.30am air-conMandalay 11,000 12-15 7am & 5-7pm air-con
Mawlamyine 8600-10,000 8-10 6-8am air-con
Pyay 4000 6 every hr 7.30am-8pm air-con
Taunggyi (for Inle Lake) 11,000-
18,00015-17 5-7pm air-conThandwe (for Ngapali
Beach)12,000 18 3-4pm air-con