Nothing much happened on Day 1.
We left Singapore with an afternoon flight and landed in Yangon around 3 pm local time (after a 3-hour journey). I don't really like taking early morning flights since I have this phobia of missing my flight if I can't wake up hehe :D
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After we cleared immigration & collected our luggage, it was around 3:30 pm. Our overnight bus to Kalaw would depart at 7 pm and we just decided not to go home. Instead, we had a relaxing tea time and catch-up session with my mom and sister at at restaurant near the airport.
Kyay Oh (Soup) - thin rice noodles with pork
There is a dry version too. You can order this dish with either chicken or pork.
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Airport is in the middle while my place (FMI City) & bus terminal are at opposite sides. With the increasingly common traffic jams in Yangon, my parents advised us its best not to go home. So my dad went home with most of our luggage while we are left with one small bag each for our 4D3N trip to the Shan State.
There are buses going to various parts of Myanmar from Yangon and many of them depart from the Aung Mingalar bus terminal. You can purchase bus tickets from either Aung San Stadium (in town area, near Scott / Bo Gyoke Market) or Aung Mingalar bus terminal. Last year, we traveled with JJ Express Bus from Yangon to Mandalay and it was an enjoyable journey. There was no price difference between local & foreigner for JJ. If I remember correctly, Yangon-Mandalay bus ticket cost 16,000 kyats per seat in 2012.
This year, we tried a different bus service called Lumbini and they are pretty good as well. However, Mister had to pay a bit more due to his privileged status as a foreigner :D It was around 17,000 kyats for a local and 22,000 kyats for a foreigner for the Yangon-Taunggyi ticket. Kalaw is located about 70 km before Taunggyi and since we planned to alight at Kalaw, we had to inform the bus attendant in advance. The prices are the same though (whether you alight somewhere along the way or go all the way to Taunggyi). The seats were comfortable and there was quite a leg room. I also heard that Elite buses are pretty good as well. So if you plan to take overnight bus in Myanmar, you can consider Elite, JJ, Lumbini.
On a side note, Lumbini is actually the name of a region in Nepal. It was where our Buddha was born and lived until the age of 29.
(Source: Lumbini Facebook Page)
Don't worry about the condition of the buses. They are not old and will not pack people like sardines. There is a very good air-condition system and bus attendants would provide blankets. Plus, buses are clean and have just 3 seats in one row. Of course, these 3-seats-in-a-row bus tickets cost a bit more than the usual 4-seats-in-a-row bus tickets (:
More to come about our next day in Kalaw!
Adios!
xoxo
Miss N
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Dec 2013 Trip Itinerary
Our 2012 Trip
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