lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

378TRANSPORT GETTING AROUNDsee the bus ahead of time tochoose the seat you’d like.Restricted RoadsForeigners are permitted tobuy bus tickets of any class,using kyat, to any destinationwithin or near the mainYangon–Bagan–Mandalay–Taunggyi quadrangle. We alsofound that buses were easilyboarded in most other placesin the country, except for acouple of tricky areas, liketravel towards the Thai border.Car & MotorcycleVisitors not wanting to takeplanes, or endure overnightbusbumps, frequently hire acar and driver for the bulk orentirety of a trip. It’s a goodway to go, though not alwayscheap. To drive one yourself,permission must be arrangedvia the government-run MTTand Road Transport AdministrationDepartment (RTAD;%01-36113), and you mustbe accompanied by a localat all times. (Some expatsbypass this with registrationfrom the RTAD.)Driving conditions canbe poor but are often betterthan on many roads inVietnam, Cambodia andLaos – and traffic is comparativelylight compared toROAD DISTANCES (miles)MawlamyineNay Pyi TawNyaungshweMandalayMyitkyinaSittweNgapali BeachHpa-anPyayPatheinNyaung UTaunggyi185265 335Thai or Vietnamese roads.Of the 15,000 miles of roadsin Myanmar, about half arepaved; the remainder aregraded gravel, unimproveddirt or simple vehicle tracks.Hiring a Car & DriverThe best place to arrange adriver, perhaps for a full trip, isin Yangon, but it’s possible totrack down a ‘taxi’ or ‘privatecar’ from most travel agenciesand guesthouses around thecountry, particularly in populardestinations like Bagan,Mandalay and Inle Lake.When trying to find a carwith driver, consider there arethree unofficial types of cars:» Tourist cars – theseare reasonably new, airconditionedcars run by acompany that provides backupor repairs in the eventthey break down. These arethe most comfortable – andthat air-con is handy whenit’s dusty and hot out – butthe most expensive, runningto about $80 to $100 a day,depending on the length ofthe trip. This price includespetrol for up to 12 hours’driving per day and all of thedriver’s expenses.» Airport taxis – a midrangeoption are the so-called‘airport taxis’ – often yellowtaxis that will be offering420 430 200420 500 185 175795 900 515 465 350430 590 620 610 605 915200 380 460 465 450 760 205155 70 310 480 470 785 565 355170 355 365 350 335 655 255 120 330140 315 390 565 615 925 380 165 295 280390 505 195 175 170 495 485 330 470 215 490415 485 200 15 175 495 605 450 445 340 545 175YangonMawlamyineNay Pyi TawNyaungshweMandalayMyitkyinaSittweNgapali BeachHpa-anPyayPatheinNyaung UApproximate distances onlyyou their service for yourtrip before you leave Yangonairport. These are older, mayor may not have working aircon,and run to about $50 to$60 per day.» Private cars – the cheapestoption are ‘private cars’,run by entrepreneur drivers.These go with windows down(ie no air-conditioning),vary in condition and pricedramatically, and there’sless chance that you’ll haveany sort of replacement ifthe engine goes out midwaybetween Bago and Taungoo.They can be found for as littleas $40 or $50 per day. Sometravellers tell us of greatexperiences with this option,others have problems.There are no car-rental agenciesper se, but most travelagencies in Yangon, Mandalayand Bagan – as wellas guesthouses and hotelselsewhere – can arrange carsand drivers.Among the most popularand reliable rental cars in thecountry are secondhand,reconditioned Toyota Coronahatchbacks imported from Japanfrom 1988. Such a car cancost a staggering $40,000.A slightly better quality car isthe Toyota Chaser (from 1990to 1992). Myanmar also assemblesits own Mazda ‘jeeps’(MJs) using 85% local parts.Though mostly a governmentmonopoly, these jeeps makedecent off-road vehicles. Theold US-made, WWII-era WillysJeeps that once characterisedoutback Myanmar travelare becoming few and farbetween.Petrol & TollsFuel stations were privatisedin 2010, but the governmentcontinued to subsidise petrolat K2500 per gallon. Manyof the private filling stationsare owned by domesticconglomerates such as HtooTrading and Max Myanmar(see p 26 ), but since they areforced to sell at the artificiallycapped rate, there has beenno incentive for them to ex-