Bagan by bus from Yangon (Rangoon) – Part 2

The Yangon – Bagan bus will first drive along Yangon-Pyay (Prome) road, which is quite a good road compared to other roads in Myanmar. There are very few bumps and the road is generally smooth. Before it enters Pyay (Prome), it will stop at Ye Pyar for dinner at around 7 PM. The restaurant is a nice one which sells delicious Myanmar food. However, there is no English menu. Just go and look at the Myanmar dishes and order the one you like. Don’t try to order something like fried rice or fried noodle which they will have to prepare for you. It might not be on time, and you will miss your dinner. If you don’t want to have dinner there, bring some food with you before you leave Yangon.

After about half an hour of rest, the bus resumes its journey again. Before the bus leaves, don’t forget to go to the toilet. Toilet here is quite dirty, but still, it is better than other toilets on the way. You have no choice but to use the toilet even though it is dirty. This is Burma.

Once the bus starts its journey again, the loud soap opera or music video resumes. It is already dark and there are no lights on the way, so better to switch on your iPod and try to take a rest. You still have to go a long way.

It will pass Pyay at around 8 PM (it does not really enter the city). From here, it goes to Aunglan, then to Magway. The next stop for the bus is usually after it left Magway. The bus usually arrives to this very small village beyond Magway at around 1:30 AM. You are already very sleepy but you have no choice but to leave the bus. It will stop here for about 15 minutes for tea/coffee. This time, they will stop around 15 minutes.
After leaving this small shop, it will drive directly to Bagan. There is nothing to see on the way – everything is dark, so just try to sleep. By this time, fortunately, the video has already stopped, and everybody falls asleep.

The bus will arrive to Bagan at around 5:00 AM in the morning. However, it can be as early as 4:00 AM or as late as 7 AM. Before you could enter Bagan, it will stop at the Tourist Entrance fee collection office. You will be asked to leave the bus and pay for the entrance fee at the office. Entrance fee is US$ 10 per person. This is considered cheap, compared to US$ 5 you paid to visit Shwedagon Pagoda.

After another 15 minutes drive, you arrived at the Bagan Highway Bus Terminal. This is just a row of small rooms beside the main road, at the base of Shwezigon Pagoda. You will be dragged by a number of trishaw drivers, offering you to bring you to a nice guest house. Welcome to Bagan.