223AROUND MANDALAY8MANDALAY & AROUND8AROUND MANDALAY Bus & Pick-Up Trucks
If you’re in any kind of hurry, just take a motor-
bike taxi. But should you have time to spare
and aren’t too worried about not getting quite
where you wanted to go, Mandalay’s packed-
full, antiquated buses and pick-ups can be a
fun experience. Some, though by no means all,
display route numbers, but these are only writ-
ten in local script, the background colour can
prove signifi cant and some vehicles don’t follow
the route their number implies. Ask, ask, ask... A
good place to try your luck is a jammed junction
just north of the Zeigyo market (Map p 206 ).
Useful routes from near here:
» (^) Route 4 Heads along the north moat, getting
close to the base of Mandalay Hill.
» (^) Route 5 (touts may cry ‘Yeyji’ or ‘Yankin Taung’)
Along the southern moat, up past Cafe City then
east on 19th St.
» (^) Various (touts cry ‘Payagyi’) Heads south to
Mahamuni Paya.
» (^) White 2 on a blue background (cries of
‘Mayanja’) Heads west on 26th St to the Mingun
ferry, sometimes continuing south to Gawein
Jetty.
» (^) Pick-ups to Amarapura, Sagaing and the
main bus station Leave when very full from along
84th St (Map p 206 ), south of the market.
Trishaw
Traditionally the main form of city transport,
trishaws are steadily disappearing from the
city centre, and rumour has it that during 2012
they might be phased out altogether. Sample
fares:
» (^) City centre to Thiri Mandalar bus station, K500
» (^) City centre to base of Mandalay Hill, K1500.
» (^) All day hire from around K8000.
English-speaking drivers include eloquent Ko Re
([email protected] for appointments) and
Mr ‘Take it Easy’, who waits outside the Central
Hotel (27th St, 80/81).
AROUND MANDALAY
For many visitors, the historic sites around
Mandalay trump anything in the city itself.
Iconic attractions include U Bein’s Bridge
in Amarapura, Mingun’s gigantic stupa
stub, Sagaing’s temple-studded hills and
horse-cart rides to Inwa’s wonderful teak
monastery.
To visit Inwa’s main sites and Amarapu-
ra’s Bagaya Kyaung, you’ll need to show or
buy Mandalay’s ‘Archaeological Zone’ $10
combo ticket (see p 208 ). A separate $3
ticket for Mingun and Sagaing is patchily
enforced. No one checks for tickets at the
other sites.
Apart from one hotel in Sagaing, there’s
no foreigner-licensed accommodation near
any of the sights around Mandalay. There
are eateries in Mingun, in Sagaing and at
either end of U Bein’s Bridge.
Although there are crushed-full pick-up
trucks from Mandalay to Sagaing and Ama-
rapura, they won’t get you close to the main
sights, and even the most tight-fi sted travel-
ler will be well advised to visit by motorcycle
(chauff eured or self-drive), taxi or bicycle (if
you’re not afraid to sweat). River boat is also
an option for Mingun, which is rather too
far for a bicycle day trip.
A full-day ride by motorcycle/blue taxi
(around K12,000/18,000) might include the
main highlights of Amarapura and Sagaing,
plus waiting time at the ferry dock while
MANDALAY TRAIN ROUTES
Sample fares (ordinary/upper class/sleeper):
DESTINATION PRICE ($) DURATION (HR) DEPARTURE
Hsipaw 4/7/- 10 4am
Monywa 3/-/- 5¼ 6.15am
Myitkyina 10/27/30
14/31/36
22+
16-20
noon, 4.15pm
4.30am
Naba (for Katha) 6/13/16 11¾ noon, 4.15pm
Nyaung U (Bagan) 4/10/- 8 9pm
Yangon 15/35/40
11/30/33
15¼
16
9.45pm
5am, 5.30am, 6am