Page 32 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

30 BASICS GettinG around
Fares and bookings inland Water transit or IWT (Wwww.iwt.gov.mm
in april 2014, Myanmar railways ended a system /en), a government-run service, used to operate
that saw foreign travellers charged substantially slow two-storey ferries that ran daily services
higher ticket prices than local people, and required along the ayeyarwady river between Mandalay
them to pay in dollars. now everyone pays the and Bhamo, and Mandalay and nyaung u (for
same price, denominated in kyat. By way of Bagan) from october to april and an irregular
example, ticket prices between Yangon and service from May to September. However, at the
Mandalay are as follows: ordinary class K4650; upper time of research the company had cut seventy
class K9300; upper-class sleeper K12,700. You will percent of its services and was in imminent
require your passport to buy train tickets. danger of ceasing operations altogether for
it’s almost mandatory to book sleeper berths financial reasons. it’s worth checking in port
well in advance (these tickets can be booked up towns if the iWt ferries are still running, but if not
to two weeks before you travel), and a good idea then the routes they once covered have, in many
to book ahead even if you’re planning to travel by cases, been taken over by private operators
upper class (generally tickets go on sale three running cargo ships and ferries along the backwa-
days in advance for upper class and a day in ters of Myanmar.
advance for ordinary tickets). However, at inter- Boats are often stacked high with cargo, leaving
mediate stops between major stations, tickets some covered deck space and a few cabins for
may only go on sale shortly before the train passengers, with most locals setting up camp on
arrives. Foreigners are usually dealt with deck for the duration of their voyage. Bring
separately from local passengers, and you will find something comfortable to sit on and sleep under
that station staff often invite you into their offices – if you’re planning to travel on deck, take a mat
while they write out your ticket. even so, don’t and a blanket. Simple meals are sometimes
rush up moments before a train leaves and hope available on board, and vendors swarm onto the
to have time to buy a ticket – it can still take ship at each stop.
around half an hour to buy a ticket. Privately run “fast boats” – usually long, thin
it’s possible to buy tickets before you travel motorboats carrying anywhere between thirty and
through a handful of Yangon travel agents, eighty passengers – cover some ayeyarwady
including Pegu travels (Wpegutravels.com), exotic routes, as well as the beautiful trip down the
Myanmar travels & tours (Wexoticmyanmartravel thanlyin from Mawlamyine to Hpa-an, the journey
.com) and Myanmar tour east (Wmyanmartoureast down the tanintharyi coast and the river voyage
.com). once you’re in the country, you’ll need to from Sittwe to Mrauk u. the comfort levels of the
head to the station yourself to buy a ticket direct boats can vary wildly. Some vessels offer spacious
from the booking office. seats and air-conditioning, while on others you’ll
For the latest information on travelling by train have to make do with cramped wooden benches
in Myanmar (and timetables for the most popular and a tarpaulin roof.
services), the Man in Seat 61 (Wseat61.com/Burma upmarket river cruises along the ayeyarwady
.htm) is the most comprehensive and reliable (and, less commonly, the Chindwin) have also
online resource. long been popular in Myanmar. the majority of
cruises are between Mandalay and Bagan, while
By ferry a few also continue north up the river all the way
to Bhamo. in addition, an increasing number of
Myanmar offers some of asia’s great river journeys cruises are now being offered along the ayeyar-
and travelling by boat is, in places, an excellent wady south of Mandalay, with some longer
alternative to buses and trains. Boats connect some cruises ending in (or starting from) Yangon.
of the country’s major destinations, most notably Cruises can last from just a few days to over two
Mandalay and Bagan, and can be a good way to weeks and offer a memorable and often very
experience local life. the most popular routes are luxurious way to see the country, although as
concentrated on the upper reaches of the Ayeyar- you’d expect they don’t come cheap, with daily
wady River, but there are also interesting trips on rates for a twin cabin on most boats starting from
the Thanlyin and Chindwin rivers, as well as from around $300–400.
Sittwe to Mrauk u. Several sea routes link places as with most forms of transport in Myanmar,
that are difficult to reach overland, with ferries journeys by boat can take far longer than adver-
plying the waters between Sittwe to taunggok. tised, particularly during the dry season (december

022-053_Myanmar_B2_Basics.indd 30 30/06/17 2:20 pm