Travelling to Myanmar 101

Bus Journeys

Buses are the main form of transport to get you to almost any part of the country (where tourists are permitted). The journeys are long, sometimes averaging 10-12 hours. Night buses (which bring you to your destination around 3 or 4am) are not sleeper buses and some still play their
funky Myanmar CD’s and cheesy music videos until the early hours of the morning. Pack your iPod, invest in some heavy duty extreme ear plugs or kindly ask for what was once amusing entertainment now noise pollution to be turned off.

Never ask a driver about the time of arrival. Due to superstitions based on a belief system of nats (spirits) that existed before Buddhism came to the fore, asking when you will arrive at a destination conjures up bad spirits and is taken seriously. The result? You won’t get an answer.