From the market in Nyaungshwe, there was a pickup terminal for passengers heading to Shwenyaung. It took us a while before we started to move since the driver waited until the pickup was full. The custom here in Myanmar is for the ladies to sit inside the pickup, while the men usually either sit on top or just hang outside the pickup. I took the latter approach, having been used to this by hanging from jeepneys in the Philippines. This was quite an experience since I was hanging with several other Burmese men, and I guess they were also amused to see a foreigner hanging out with them. I tossed my bag up the roof and just prayed that it won’t fall. I don’t think anyone would bother taking it since it was already so ratty.
After around 20 minutes of travel and a pair of sore arms from hanging on to dear life, we finally arrived at the junction of Shwenyaung. The bus arrives at around 12 noon and I still have 30 minutes to spare. The waiting area was a simple shed with seats. There was another foreigner in the shed apparently waiting for the same bus. The bus will be coming from the town of Taunggyi, fortunately, we already reserved seats on the bus so there were no worries about missing the trip. My only worry was that we might get another rickety bus like the one I took from Yangon to Bagan.
My fears were completely unfounded when our bus finally arrived. It was surprisingly new and the air-conditioning was actually working! Only time can tell how long it will work though. The foreigner and I were seated next to each other and I got to know him a little bit more. He was a German tourist and was touring South East Asia, obviously, Myanmar was one of his stops. I felt glad that I have someone to talk on the long trip back to Yangon.
The trip will take around 16 hours which was about the same time it took for us to get from Yangon to Bagan, although I have a feeling that this trip will be much more pleasant that that hellish ride to Bagan. Our bus took us through spectacular mountain ridges as it wove in and out of the mountains. Some of the roads were a little iffy and oftentimes downright dangerous. One can take a look down from the bus window and see the bottom far, far away.
As a result of the constant turning of the bus, a lot of the passengers started getting motion sickness and then I realized what the plastic bags were for. One by one the plastic bags were flung outside the window full of “stuff”. Fortunately, I didn’t get the motion sickness but just looking at the other passenger started to get me worried. The turning continued on for a few hours until we finally hit a main village where the bus stopped for some cleaning.
From there it was almost smooth riding all the way. There was hardly anything to see outside since it was either all mountains or all trees. Villages were all far in between. Around late afternoon we reached a major stopover point in the highway and had some dinner. I merely pointed to what I wanted and paid for it. It was ordinary Myanmar curry chicken. The place was surprisingly modern and clean, it was very unlike the cafeterias I have been to in my trip over Myanmar.
At around ten in the evening we reach the capital city area of Naypyidaw where everyone needed to get off the bus and go through a checkpoint. Identification cards were checked and for foreigners, passports. You needed to note down where you are headed to, including your name and passport number. Nothing really untoward happened there but at least I got a glimpse of the security in the capital. Naypyidaw was declared the capital of Myanmar by the current rulers in typical Burmese fashion. The ancient Burmese kings had a habit of moving the kingdom’s capital each time a ruler ascends the throne. Apparently, the current rulers follow the same thinking. Being the capital city, it enjoys 24 hour electricity unlike most of the country. Roads are wide and houses are large and almost palatial.
The rest of the journey was an uneventful 6 hours until we reached Yangon. We were dropped off at what looked like the Aung Mengalar Bus Station. We were instructed to hold on while another shuttle comes for us. I was surprised they actually had this kind of service. The shuttle was the typical rickety Burmese buses I am now used to. This bus will bring us to the city center.
I was starting to worry about how to get to the White House Hotel were we intended to check in when a fellow Burmese passenger chatted us up. Apparently he recognized that I was Chinese and spoke to me in fluent Mandarin. We told him of our intentions and then helped us to instruct the driver to let us off at the correct spot. Happily, the White House Hotel was just meters away from where were stopped and we immediately found it. The building was a glass clad building much unlike the surrounding buildings with colonial designs.
Fortunately there were still rooms and I got my room. Unfortunately, the rooms are up on the top floors so we needed to drag our bags all the way up to the seventh floor until we were sore from all the walking. The room was of course, white but bare. There was a fan in the room hopefully to make up for the tiny window I have. I was only glad to see have a bed and promptly feel asleep. I would have to warn you though that when it rains the water tends to come in and the bed can get soaked.
If there is electricity, there is hot water too! The bathroom was right outside my room which made it quite convenient. The bathroom was a little dark though but it was still bearable. I guess for the price I paid for the room, I can’t really complain too much.
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