By the time I finished my temple hopping it was already sun down. A couple invited me to join them for dinner which I readily agreed to. I haven’t been talking to a lot of people in my trip and I was glad to be able to talk to someone who can understand me. After all, my driver wasn’t exactly the best conversationalist. We had a nice little dinner at the A Little Taste of Bagan Restaurant which was okay, but I thought it was a little too fancy for me. As usual there was still a power failure in Bagan and I had to walk home in the dark. I can’t imagine how I would be able to live in this kind of environment.
Despite the heat, I slept like a log since I was really tired from the hot temple hopping. I needed to wake up early since the bus to my next destination leaves at seven in the morning. I was grateful there was running water with which I can take a shower to get rid of the dust that has settled on me. The next day, my bus left as scheduled. This particular bus is not an airconditioned bus, I’m not sure if I wanted one either. Although it was very hot outside, the bus was constantly moving so there was a lot of fresh air and wind in the bus, making it a pleasant trip. One thing I noticed here was that drivers sit of the right side of the vehicle but also drive on the right side of the road. I thought this was odd since this is the first time I have seen this kind of layout. This means that buses unload their passengers on the open side of the road. Not exactly very safe.
I will be taking an 8 hour ride from Bagan to the sprawling city of Mandalay. From the map Mandalay looks like is quite near Bagan, but it will still take us 8 hours to get there. Along the way, it went through several towns and cities. One of them, Meiktila, was one of our stopovers. Actually it was a stopover for lunch. We stopped right outside a large eatery and I didn’t really know how to order since I do not speak the language. I approached the manager of the shop and just pointed at the food that I wanted.
While I was happily eating. another bus also made a stopover. As their passengers made their way inside the eatery, I noticed a passenger carrying a Kata Bag similar to mine. The guy looked Asian, but I thought that it would be quite unlikely for someone from Myanmar to be owning a Kata Bag. It turned out that he was a friend of my friend, which I only knew by name and we never met! It was obvious that he was also very happy to see someone he can talk to, so was I. We talked over lunch as long as the break would permit us. He would be going the opposite way towards Bagan. I gave him some tips on how to explore the temples of Bagan while he also gave me some tips on Mandalay. He also confided that he was also having money problems here in Myanmar. It seems that he also grossly underestimated the budget here as I did.
Soon our bus needed to leave and I had to say goodbye to him, but I was still amazed at the coincidence of meeting someone in the same place while going in opposite directions. My bus continued on to Mandalay, along the way a fellow passenger chatted me up. He was also going up to Mandalay and it seemed like he was reading some Buddhist text. Just before reaching Mandalay, he said goodbye and got off, while I continued on to Mandalay. At the very dusty bus terminal in Mandalay I hired a motorcycle taxi to bring me to my intended gues house – the Royal Guest House.
The Royal Guest House was a small but modern looking building. It was one of the recommended accomodations in Lonely Planet so I figured it must be good enough. I managed to land myself a USD 3 single bedroom at the top of the stairs but it doesn’t come with an attached bathroom but I didn’t mind that. The room was tiny, and I mean tiny. The room was just wide enough to fit the bed in and it had a tiny window. Fortunately, there was an electric fan to cool myself in.
The Royal Guest House has a great location as it is right in the middle of the city and is within walking distance of several sights like the Mandalay Palace and several temples. The room was a little bit basic, but for three dollars, I shouldn’t be complaining. Even if the room was tiny at least there was a fan I thought. But I learned an ugly reality of Myanmar – power failures. There was a power failure that night and I was sweating the whole night without any fan. The window was tiny so there was hardly any circulation there. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable places I have stayed at. But I can’t exactly blame them, since power failures are a fact of life here in Myanmar. If only they could get them to use generator power with their electric fans.
Royal Guest House
41 25th Street,
Mandalay, Myanmar
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We would like book in Royal Guesthouse one double room for 4 nigts: 10-11-13 and 14 february 2012(not the 12th night), for two people.
Regards and we wait for your answer.
Miguel Esteban
hi miguel,
i’m sorry, i don’t have any of their contact information. i didn’t even book ahead of time and i was lucky to have a place to stay for the night. i cannot guarantee that you get the same luck as me though. thanks for visiting!
Natawa naman ako sa comment na nagpapareserve na ng room. Hahaha. This blog entry is in the first page of Google search for this guesthouse.
I’m going to Mandalay too. I’ve emailed Peacock Lodge and Silver Star Hotel. so far, no replies yet. It seems mahirap nga internet connection dun. However, my Bagan accommodation has been confirmed without a hassle naman.
So I will also try this. Hopefully I could be able to book a room.
Was there any chance that you happen to pass by AD1 Hotel? or ET or Nylon Hotel?
hi jay,
haha, it was strange to get reservations on the blog. if i have contact information of the hostel i won’t mind making arrangements for them. unfortunately, i didn’t really look at other options at the time i was in mandalay. it was either royal guest house or the street. i didn’t book rooms since i didn’t know if the mail would reach them. the only one i actually reserved was the motherland inn ii (highly recommended) in yangon on the way back. though i don’t think it would be difficult to find alternative accomodations either.
summer would be unbearably hot in myanmar, what with the constant power failures and all. make sure you have enough ventilation in your room or you will be sweating buckets. internet access has always been flaky there. somehow yahoo mail didn’t work there but gmail did, i don’t even know if they have 3g now, back then just owning a mobile phone is already a privilege. my most important tip to you would be to bring lots of cash. more than you think you would need. prices on the guide books may not be the most accurate especially when it comes to transportation. it is a very safe country so don’t worry about getting robbed and you will be rewarded for visiting. reforms seem to be picking up in the country and it might no longer be the same after a few years. now is the time to go.
i wish you the best in your journey and i hope you come back here to report on your trip.
thanks for visiting!