Bagan to Mandalay - Minibus

After a fantastic few days in Bagan exploring we decided to move onto our next stop, Mandalay. Our second two days in New Bagan we stayed at Arthawka Hotel which I can highly recommend, especially if you want a pool after a hot day of exploring the temples!

The hotel had minibus (19 seater) tickets available to Mandalay for 9,000 kyat per person. This seemed reasonable and included pick up from the hotel as the bus station is quite far out. The bus company is called Pyi Taw Aye Express. The only two times available were 5am or 9am and it takes 5 hours, we picked the latter with pick up at 8am.

Old 19 seater minibus

We were picked up on time by a pick up struck along with other backpackers and travellers. We then drove up to Old Bagan and across to Nyaung-U where we arrived at Pyi Taw Aye Express bus office. We had expected to depart from the new bus terminal which must just be used for when you arrive to make more money from you for taxis.

The bus itself was quite old and only had a boot big enough for three suitcases with most backpacks being put under seats inside the bus. We departed not long after picking up many locals on the way. The bus at times got very crammed with locals standing up and  aisle ways full of backpacks. This also meant the bus attendant had the door open for large parts of the journey which made it very hot!

Locals crammed on

The roads are quite poor on this journey and we were in for a very bumpy ride. At one point you drive along train tracks across a bridge as the roads aren't accessible.

No longer a bridge!

We stopped at another of their offices in Myingyan to pick up a few more locals and have a ten minute toilet break. After this we didn't stop until not long before 12 for lunch, we just nipped across to a small shop for a couple of snacks.

The last leg of the journey was a bit smoother  as you hit the newer highway. A few more pick ups and drop offs before you get into Mandalay. The bus drops you off at your hotel which is good however we had difficulty finding ours. Finally we managed to locate the hotel and we arrived not long after 2.

3.5 out of 5 

Inle Lake to Bagan - Bus

We opted for a day bus to Bagan from Inle Lake and contacted JJ Express about there day bus, which I'd read about online, however they only now do a night bus. We managed to book a day bus through our hotel for 12,000 kyat opposed to 19,000 kyat for the night bus. Lots of travel agencies offer tickets to Bagan but I had previously heard from other people not to get the minibus.

We were picked up at 7am from our hotel and thought we would be taken back up to the junction at Shwenyaung junction, but after picking up a few other travellers we were taken around the corner to the bus office in Nyaung Shwe. We then waited until around 7.50am when the coach arrived and we quickly boarded and set off.

However, about 5 minutes later we stopped on the side of the road just outside of Nyaungshwe for what turned out to be nearly an hour. We weren't told anything and didn't leave until 9am, I have no idea why they pick you up so early when it could easily of just picked you up at 9am. Slightly infuriating!

The first of many stops!

After this, we set off for Kalaw but again stopped before here at one of their bus stations for a ten minute break even though we'd probably only just done about an hour of driving. Once we got moving again we picked up a couple more people in Kalaw and began the drive through the mountains.

The first bit of the mountain drive is full of bends but our driver seemed to know the roads well and didn't hold back. This was no problem for us and just before 12, we stopped for lunch at a little roadside restaurant.

After 30 minutes, we set off again but the driver seemed to be more laid back now and a lot slower. Then we stopped for the bus to be cleaned, thankfully only for ten minutes.

Throughout the journey, we picked up and dropped off local people which wasn't a problem. The bus was never more than half full and we had a couple of very loud local films playing on the screens which we followed and they were awful!!

The second half of the journey felt much quicker as the roads weren't too bad and we looked to be good for time! We made one final stop at there offices in Kyaukpadaung so the driver could wrap up a gift in a box. He then went off on the back of a moped with a local for 20 minutes and finally reappeared at the bus so we could leave again. Unbelievable.

We finally made it to Bagan's new bus terminal  at about 4.30pm and to finish off the day we got ripped off for a taxi. To get to New Bagan they wanted 20,000 kyat!! We now know that it should be 7,000 and we ended up paying 12,000 kyat. Oh well, we made it.

2.5 out of 5