lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

ROAD RULES:TO THE RIGHT!All Myanmar trafficgoes on the right-handside of the road. Thiswasn’t always so. In aneffort to distance itselffrom the British colonialperiod, the militarygovernment instigatedan overnight switchfrom the left to the rightin 1970. By far, mostcars either date frombefore 1970, or are lowcostJapanese models,so steering wheels areperilously found on theright-hand side – thisbecomes particularlydicey when a driverblindly zooms to theleft to pass a car!pand their pump networks tomeet demand.The situation has sustainedthe black market forpeople to resell petrol theydon’t need – hence the longlines at the filling stations.By March 2011, the price incentral Myanmar at unofficialroadside stalls was aroundK4800 a gallon, while in Myitkyina(where there are onlytwo filling stations) it had hita high of K5500. That monththe government stepped in tolimit sales of the subsidisedfuel to 4 gallons per vehicleper day and started issuingration books.Another cost to considerwhen travelling by car is thecustomary K50 or K100‘toll’ collected upon enteringmany towns and villagesthroughout Myanmar. Manydrivers are adept at handingthese to the toll collectorswhile barely slowing down.The toll for private cars usingthe new expresswayfrom Yangon to Mandalay isK4500, while to Nay Pyi Tawit’s K2500.MotorcycleIt’s occasionally possible torent a motorbike, though fewlocals advertise this – and theauthorities frown on it sincethey don’t want to deal withthe complications of visitorsinvolved in accidents. InMandalay and Myitkyina, forexample, it’s K10,000 per dayto rent a motorbike. Unlikecyclists, you’re required towear a helmet in most towns.HitchingHitching is never entirely safein any country in the world,and we don’t recommend it.Travellers who decide to hitchshould understand that theyare taking a small but potentiallyserious risk. Peoplewho do choose to hitch willbe safer if they travel in pairsand let someone know wherethey are planning to go.One extra reason to avoidhitching in Myanmar is thatlocal drivers may not knowwhich areas are off limits toforeigners and may unwittinglytransport them into suchareas. In such cases the driverwill probably be punished.Local TransportLarger towns in Myanmaroffer a variety of city buses(ka), bicycle rickshaws ortrishaws (saiq-ka, for sidecar),horse carts (myint hlei),ox carts, vintage taxis (taxi),more modern little threewheelerssomewhat akin toThai tuk-tuks (thoun bein,meaning ‘three wheels’), tinyfour-wheeled ‘blue taxi’ Mazdas(lei bein, meaning ‘fourwheels’) and modern Japanesepick-up trucks (lain ka,meaning ‘line car’; see p 381 ).Small towns rely heavily onhorse carts and trishaws asthe main mode of local transport.However, in big cities(Yangon, Mandalay, Pathein,Mawlamyine and Taunggyi)public buses take regularroutes along the main avenuesfor a fixed per-personrate, usually K25 to K100.Standard rates for taxis,trishaws and horse cartsare sometimes ‘boosted’ forforeigners. A little bargainingmay be in order. Generallya ride from the bus stationto a central hotel – oftena distance of 1.25 miles ormore – is between K1000and K1500. Rides around thecentre can be arranged forbetween K500 and K800.You may need to bargain abit. Sometimes first time offersare several times higherthan the going rate.Pick-up TrucksJapanese-made pick-uptrucks feature three rows ofbench seats in the coveredback. Most pick-ups connectshort- distance destinations,making many stops alongthe way to pick up peopleor cargo. They are oftenpacked (yet somehow never‘full’ according to the driver).Pick-ups trace some usefulor necessary routes, suchas from Mandalay to Amarapura,from Myingyan toMeiktila, from Bagan to MtPopa, and up to the GoldenRock at Kyaiktiyo. Unlikebuses, they go regularly duringthe day.Fares are not necessarilycheaper than those chargedfor local bus trips of thesame length, and pricesoften go up more after dark.You can, however, pay 25% to50% extra for a seat up thefront. It’s often worth the extraexpense, if you don’t wantto do scrunch duty. Sometimesyou may share yourspot with a monk riding forfree; usually you get exactlywhat you pay for (‘the wholefront’), unlike in some otherparts of Southeast Asia.Pick-ups often start fromthe bus station (in sometowns they linger under a bigbanyan tree in the centre)and then, unlike many buses,make rounds through thecentral streets to snare morepassengers.379TRANSPORT HITCHING