This is the day I’m leaving Mandalay towards Bagan. I’m already feeling better from my stomach and I’m very excited about it. I took the hostel bus service to go to this city. It’s my first bus ride in Myanmar. The bus picks you up at the Hostel and leaves you at your booked hostel in Bagan. Besides having already ridden what Burmese call a bus, this was really a bus for me, that’s why I say it’s the first time.
The bus I take is small but it’s not so bad. I take the cheapest one even having a little afraid what might be the conditions. Especially about the air conditioner, as it is very hot outside. The bus takes just a few foreigners and the rest of the sits are occupied by bags, boxes, bags full of stuff. Many Burmese take a lot of things with them…
The bus ride in Myanmar is a very funny experience. There are a bus driver and a man to takes “care” of passengers and collect money. This guy is shouting very loud to the crowd when there is a bus station (there isn’t any sign for bus station) the name of our destiny: Nyaung-U. Every time he shouts it twice: Nyaung- U; Nyaung-U. It feels like I can still hear him now. On the way, we stopped several times to collect things from the road. There was someone waiting for the bus on the street and this person was just delivering something and then we follow.
This is a long ride, just like every bus ride in Myanmar if you want to change the city. Not that the places are so far from each other, but the way doesn’t allow velocity. Still, it’s one of my favorite things to do as I can enjoy the view along the way. Even if I’m very tired I avoid sleeping so I can appreciate the beauty of the country. We cross some street tolls and this was fun to watch. If you are expecting us to stop and make a payment, you are wrong. The bus doesn’t stop. It slows down for a bit as the drivers assistant throws the money out of the door and the guy from the toll is running after it. I was mesmerized! I can’t avoid laughing at this… Also during this trip, I saw the drivers assistant spitting red to a bottle. It happens that they chew a mixture of tobacco leaves and some others things and then they spit it to the floor. At least he was putting it on a bottle and wasn’t spitting out of the window…
On the way, you are able to see a lot about Myanmar lifestyle. That’s why I like these rides so much. I left Mandalay around 8:30 AM and arrived at Bagan around 3 PM. On the way, the bus stopped for lunch in a place that wasn’t much trustworthy… I was hungry so I decided to eat something but as I had food poison a few days ago I just eat rice and some salad. Bad move again. I thought nothing could happen as I’m not eating meat, but I guess the problem is vegetables. As they wash it with the tap water, they make trouble to our sensitive European stomachs, so once again I feel sick and after arriving in Bagan I stayed this day in bed. I’m not very worried about it as I will spend 5 days in Bagan so I still have 4 to explore which is enough.
I visited Bagan during the dry season, but I’ve been listening that during the rainy season the scenario gets even more beautiful and I believe so, cause all the green shall make a difference.
