Practical information about Yangon. Prices for air tickets Yangon – Mandalay by month Orientation in the city
Here I tried to collect everything I know about transport in Myanmar. This is a problematic part of the journey, especially for those who do not speak English, although it can be difficult for them too. If anyone has additional information on travel in Myanmar, please share it, I will be grateful (and probably not just me).
For Russians, the most problematic aspect of traveling to Myanmar is the flight. There are no direct flights to Yangon from Russia.
Until recently, there was a direct flight from Moscow to Yangon (the Qataris flew), but now there is none. According to rumors, the management of Qatar Airlines was put under pressure by the British and Americans - they say the Russians support the country they do not love. So the Qataris canceled the flight from Russia. Now, to get to Yangon, you need to make a transfer, or even two. But again, it's worth it. You can fly to Yangon in different ways, but the best option is through BKK or Singapore.
Well, there is a transfer to Yangon. One hour and you are there. As I said, there are airports in many major cities in Myanmar. FROM BKK to YANGON. The cheapest tickets from BKK to Yangon are with Air Asia. Departure from Yangon at 7.15 am. The price of a round trip ticket is on average about $250.
From Yangon Airportand to the city center by taxi 6 – 10 USD.
YANGON ( GENERAL ON TRANSPORT)
IN YANGON:
It is better to travel around Yangon by taxi. My maximum moving cost was $3.
Of course, there are buses around the city, but it is difficult to get on them. This is something, packed to capacity. Something like that.
Those who want to see how ordinary Yangon residents live can take a ride on "circular train".
A circular trip around Yangon lasts about 3 hours (one circle, through the suburbs).
Arrival and departure of the ring train from the Central Station.
FROM YANGON (V all over Myanmar):
Aircraft.
Several airlines operate within the country. It is advisable to book tickets in advance through travel agencies. The average cost of a flight is 80 bucks, but more often it is more expensive, up to 120. Planes fly to all major cities: Sittwe, Mittina, Mandalay, Bagan, etc. They often fly not in a straight line, but fly around all the cities along the way. Some passengers get off, and new ones get on.
Railway transport
Yangon Railway Station is located in the very center of the city. Address - Kun Chan St., north of Bogyoke Aung San Rd., between Sule Pagoda Rd and Pansodan Rd.
Tickets (in Yangon) for railway transport are sold at the railway station or at the Myanmar Railways office, Bogyoke Aung San Rd., opposite Sakura Tower, tel. 277-503, daily. 6.00-16.00.
Sleeping cars in Myanmar come in several types - regular and high class (with air conditioning and sometimes a refrigerator).
River transport
There are four passenger piers on the Yangon waterfront, from which boats operate to Pathein and Mandalay via Pyay and Bagan.
Buses
Buses across the vast expanses of Myanmar depart from three stations. The main one is called “Aung min ga la”. Buses to Pathein, Chungtha Beach (a 5-hour drive from Yangon), Kyaikto and Mawlamyine, as well as pickup to Bago leave from this bus station, as well as several others.
Bus tickets in Yangon can also be purchased at the ticket office at Aung San Stadium (several bus companies have their offices here); opposite the railway station; at the store on Mahabandoola Garden St., opposite the City Star Hotel.
If you decide to take a bus trip, remember that in Myanmar they believe that all tourists are rich, then there is an opinion that they (tourists) are not supposed to ride buses at all. So their fleet of vehicles is not tailored to our needs. Bus level "USSR-1970s". It is true that there are decent companies that monitor the condition of transport, but you have to choose such ones. The fact is that the bus station is served by several car companies.
There are several ticket offices on the territory of the station, each of which sells tickets only for the bus of its own company. In short, you need to go and ask, for example, “Where do they sell tickets to Mandalay for good buses with air conditioning?”
In short, I went everywhere by bus and didn’t die. The choice is simple: either by plane for 100 bucks, or by bus for 15.
FROM YANGON TO MANDALAY
Yangon – Mandalay – by plane ($90).
From the airportMandalayIt's about an hour's drive to the city. 10 - 15 USD.
Yangon – Mandalay by train:
16–18 hours, 716 km for foreigners, upper class - 30 - 45 $, sleeping car - 50 $. Goes either through Bago: 2 hours, $2, upper class – $5; or through Thazi: 12 hours, $12, upper class $35.
Yangon - Mandalay, by bus: 15-24 hours, 7 - 10 $.
You can go from the central station (see general overview above), or you can go from a small bus station - Zaw Bwar Gyi Gone (formerly the main one), located on the main road near the airport.
From Yangon to Inle Lake
From Yangon to Shwenyaung or (Inle Lake) by bus. $14 (20 hours). Then taxi to Nyangshwe – $6.
Yangon – Taunggyi (Inle), by bus. Flights from Yangon depart from Zaw Bwar Gyi Gone Bus Station. IN range from 12.00 to 12.30. Ticket price is 8,000 kyat (takes about 18 hours). In Shuenyaung, transfer to a pickup truck and in 20 minutes and half a dollar you will be taken directly to Nyaung Xue.
Bus from Taunggyi to Yangon. Price– 2000 kyat, in Departure time – 12.00, travel time – 15 hours.
FromTaunggyi inYangon via Pyay (same prices)
From Taunggyi to Mandalay. Cost – 1200 kyat, departure – 5.00, travel time – 8 hours.
From Taunggyi to Bagan. Cost – 1500 kyat, minibus, departure – 5.00, travel time – 10 hours.
Yangon-Heho (Inle) (closest airport to Nyaung Xue), by plane. A taxi from Heho Airport to Nyaung Xue costs $20-25.
On Inle Lake you can rent a boat for the whole day (from $10 to $23, as agreed). “All day” will start at 7.00 and end around 16.00. The boat can fit several people.
FROM YANGON TO KINPUN – GOLDEN Pagoda AREA ( Kyaiktiyo or Golden Rock or Golden Stone).
The Golden Pagoda, 7.3 meters high, is one of the most popular holy places of Burmese Buddhists. According to legend, it keeps the hair of Buddha, which maintains balance between the pagoda and the stone hanging over the abyss.
Yangon – Kinpun by bus. Ksimmalaik Bus Station, in the northwest of Yangon at the Hanthawady Rd intersection. and Hledan St. Bus 5000 Kyat, 5 hours
Yangon - Kinpun, taxi.
You can travel from Yangon for 1 day by renting a car. Taxi costs from $100 for 4 people, up to $170 for a minibus for 8 people. The journey takes 4 hours there, 4 hours back. Get to the village Kinpun, there is a transfer to a truck, another 40 minutes along the serpentine road, and a 3 km walk uphill. If it is difficult to get up, then for 2000 chat any boy will carry your things, and for 6000 chat they will carry you on a palanquin.
GETTING FROM YANGON TO BAGAN You can go by plane or by bus.
Good planes of the Air Bagan airline fly.
Yangon – Bagan, by bus. From Yangon Bus Station – Zaw Bwar Gyi Gone. 17:00
From Yangon to Pathein
Pathein is a town on the way to the nearest beaches in the vicinity of Yangon). You can go by bus or by boat. If by water, then 16 - 20 hours. Departure at 3 am and 5 pm. $7 on deck for 100 people, or $42 for a cabin with only two people. Bus $5, 5 hours. From Pathein you can drive to the nearest beach at Ngwe Saung Beach. Bus - $4, 2 hours.
From YANGON to MAWLYAMINE and PYAY
Railway transport (Yangon – Mawlamine). By train 7 $ and 9-10 hours. Three trains a day. From Yangon to Pyay and Mottama (on the way to Mawlyamine). Bus. From Yangon Bus Station – Zaw Bwar Gyi Gone o Mawlamyine:12 pm
MANDALAY
From Mandalay airport to the city $15.Car with driver 30 – 35 USD for a full day.
Mandalay – PYIN U WIN train 5 o'clock.
Mandalay – Mitchina, by plane $80.
Train 45$. Departs at 15.00 in Mitchina in the morning.
Mandalay – Heho – Inl Lake e. The flight to Heho Airport is half an hour. Then an hour and a half by bus to Inle Lake.
Mandalay – Inle Lake / Nyaungshwe. Taxi directly to Nyaungshwe. The cost of $70 for a taxi can be divided among several people. Taxis are available in the area of 25th and 81st streets.
Mandalay – Hsipaw. You can get to Hsipaw by bus or taxi - $50. Taxi drivers near 25th and 81st streets. The drive is about 4 hours, beautiful.
Mandalay – Mingun. Round trip boat 30$.
From Mandalay to Heho.
Air flight (Air Bagan $32). Heho Airport.
Mandalay – Bagan
By plane, busor boat.
In Bagan, the fee at the airport is like a ticket to enter the archaeological zone - 10 USD per person. From the airport by taxi to the old part of the city (there are usually hotels there) - $6.
Boat - $35-40. It is better to take a boat from Mandalay to Bagan than from Bagan to Mandalay. General seat on a scheduled boat – $15 – 18.00. The trip lasts about 9-12 hours depending on the season. There are two short stops along the way. Most of the passengers are tourists. In Bagan, at the pier, you will bump into porters and officials. Be prepared to show your passport and shell out US$10 for sightseeing in Bagan.
| Price: US$25 |
From Bagan to Yangon by plane. Taxi to the airport is $5. Airline Air Bagan, price $78.
Bago
Bago - Yangon. Train to Yangon(Yangon): 8 times a day, 3 hours, regular – 2$, I class – 5$). Buses to Yangon(Yangon): buses (once per hour, from 6.00 to 18.00, 2 hours, 500 chat) and pickups (300 kyat).
Bago – Mandalay: Departure from Cafe Hadaya buses to Mandalay: (once per hour from 6.00 to 19.00, 12 hours, 5000 chat) and to Inle Lake: (at 13.30, 16 h, 5000 chat). Trains from Bago (Bago railway station (250 m west of the river bank and 100 m north of the Yangon-Mandalay highway). 4 times a day, 14 hours, standard carriage - 11 $, 1st class - 30 $.
Bago – Chaitho: frequent pickups in Chaitho(Kyaiktiyo, 6 hours, 600 chat). Departures from Bago three times a day trains to Chaitho(Kyaikto, 3 hours/6$), Mawlamyan(Mawlamyaing, 6 hours/$15).
Kalaw - Mandalay. Taxi$45, travel time: 6-7 hours
Mitchina
To Yangon by plane or train. Both the plane and the train make a stop in Mandalay. By plane 150 bucks. To Mandalay by train - 45 bucks, by plane - 80 bucks.
In Myitkyina, you can hire a taxi for $40 to Myson (the confluence of the Mehka and Malikhka rivers), which form the greater Ayeyarwaddy.
YANGON - SITTWE or MANDALAY - SITTWE
The town of Sittwe is not of particular interest to tourists. Maybe the market, but the nearby town of Gloom U is great. But there is an airport in Sittwe. So it’s better to get to Sittwe by plane. But from Sittwe to Mrauk-U(locals call Gloom-U - Mya U or simply Meow)on a barge. The barge runs from Sittve to Mrak-u twice a week. You can rent a boat for $40 (50 bucks round trip). The boat takes six hours (!). Dark-U is the second Bagan. Only the place is practically not promoted. There are few tourists.
If you decide to move to Asia, book hotels through the search engine on this page (blue banner above). Very convenient and selects hotel options for any budget.
On the right side of the page there is also a search engine for cheap air tickets. Searches almost all airlines in the world. In recent years, I myself have been buying tickets only through this service. Only if you find a good option, then try to buy it right away. Tickets tend to run out. Planes, alas, are not dimensionless...
The next destination on our way is Mandalay. When you mention the trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow, the famous notes of Alexander Radishchev “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” immediately come to mind. Likewise, one cannot even think about a trip to Mandalay without immediately thinking of the poems of Rudyard Kipling. Or rather, about one of his poems, called “On the Road to Mandalay”:
Come back here quickly
Do you hear the water squelching -
Wheeled ships are rushing towards Mandalay from Rangoon.
Of course, Kipling did not travel by train, but by paddle steamer up the Irrawaddy River. But Radishchev also describes the trip not by train or car, but by chaise. But both of them were able, if not forever, then for a very long time, to “privatize” their section of the road.
From Yangon to Mandalay, even now - purely theoretically - you can travel by boat. But this will take at least a week. Even in the opposite direction from Mandalay to Yangon downstream you need to swim at least five days. You can get there much faster by intercity bus - in just 12 hours. But we still have to worry about buses - in Myanmar this is the main form of intercity transport. In many places - and the only one. But you can also travel from Yangon to Mandalay by train. The British built the railway in Myanmar. It is gradually falling apart, but trains still run on it. It would be a sin not to take advantage of this.
If the intercity bus station is located on the outskirts of the northern city, not far from the airport, then the railway station is located almost in the very center of Yangon.
At the train station
The station, of course, was built by the British back in 1877 - as, indeed, all 5,000 km of Burmese railways. However, the British themselves destroyed it in 1943, when they fled Yangon. They didn’t want to leave their station to the Japanese. The Japanese did not get around to restoring the station. And the Burmese themselves, after gaining independence, had to restore this station. Therefore, the building turned out to be in a typical Burmese style - with a roof like a pagoda and turrets like in temples. The new station opened in 1954. And since then, if repairs have been carried out here, they have been purely cosmetic. All structures and equipment are half a century old. Only in the waiting room (they are only allowed in with tickets) there are innovations - old tube TVs (no longer working) and red plastic chairs. The cash registers are still old. Of course, there are no computers there. Tickets are sold the old fashioned way, by hand. For foreigners - a separate cash desk, foreign currency. But there are no other technical differences between it and neighboring cash registers. Tickets are also issued here manually. Although there is still progress. In the 50s, tickets were probably written with fountain pens, but now they are written with ballpoint pens. That makes all the difference.
Tickets for foreigners
For foreigners in Myanmar, train tickets are sold only in dollars. For example, from Yangon to Mandalay, travel costs $15 in a general carriage and $33 in a sleeping car. You don’t have to ask how much travel costs for Burmese, so as not to get upset. But even at “Intourist prices” a train trip cannot be called very expensive. But the trains run very slowly. The distance between the two “capitals” (Yangon is the capital of Lower Burma, and Mandalay is the capital of Upper Burma) is only 622 km, which is 100 km less than between Moscow and St. Petersburg. But the train - or rather, a super-fast express by local standards, and not an ordinary passenger one - takes at least 15 hours.
Tickets are not sold in advance at the station - even to foreigners. And even more so, you cannot buy them over the Internet. Or contact a state travel agency. Or go to the ticket office about an hour and a half before the train departs and buy it yourself - for cash dollars. There is no excitement, however. At least during the height of the rainy season. When we arrived at the station to get tickets (it was impossible to get there on foot - heavy tropical rain had just begun), it turned out that there were no other foreigners applying for a trip to Mandalay.
We bought tickets for a general carriage - closer to the common people. And indeed, they turned out to be the only foreigners in a full carriage. The general carriage of the Burmese train is very similar in appearance to the carriage of our electric train. Only the seats are uncomfortable - they are designed for Burmese sizes. It will clearly not be enough for Europeans. But they wanted to be closer to the people. Here we are.
Visa. For 28 days through a travel agency on Khao San Road - 2500 baht.
Currency. 1 USD = 700 chat.
Transport. Taxi from the Motherland II hotel to Yangon railway station - 2 thousand. Train Yangon - Mandalay - 15 dollars in regular class, 33 dollars in sleeper class.
Overnight. Hotel Moverland II - in Yangon - 16 dollars for 2 persons. Hotel Garden Hotel in Mandalay - 12 dollars for 2 persons.
Food. Pineapple - 200 – 700 chat/piece, mango 200 chat/piece. Cookies 300 g - 1 thousand chat. Noodles with meat - 1500 chat. Beer Myanmar 1250-2000 chat. Beer Mandalay 0.64 - 950 chat. Rice with vegetables - 1200 chat. Noodle soup - 500 chat. Soup - 300 chat. Tea with milk - 200 chat.
Attractions. Sule Stupa in Yangon - $2.
Navigation
Among the cultural and historical centers that Myanmar is so rich in, the city of Yangon is one of the undoubted leaders.
Unofficially recognized cultural capital of the country, and until recently (more precisely, until 2005) it was also the administrative capital.
Here are the most famous Buddhist shrines, a wonderful historical museum, as well as a market where you can buy literally everything for pennies if you know how to bargain.
The city of Yangon is almost India
Many tourists note the similarity of Yangon with the cities of India, both in architecture, and in the diversity of the population, and even in the smells from the many restaurants.
Colonial British architecture and rats flocking to the streets in droves after dusk complete the similarities.
This feature is quite justified, since during the years of British rule, many people from India moved to Yangon; for some time they even constituted the majority.
Now the majority still belongs to the Burmese, but there are still a lot of Indians in the city.
Yangon is a city that is very tolerant in all respects. Tourists in Myanmar are treated very helpfully and kindly (which does not prevent local residents in many cases from demanding that visitors pay for services and goods at a special, “visitor” rate).
There is no religious or national discord - a Buddhist temple, a mosque and a synagogue coexist peacefully in the neighborhood, and among the residents there are many Indians, Bangladeshis, and Chinese.
This national diversity helps tourists who find traditional Burmese food with lots of spices undesirable. Without any problems in the city you can find a restaurant serving Indian, Chinese, Japanese and European cuisine, and even international chicken and French fries.
Sights of Yangon
People usually come to Yangon, and Myanmar in general, for a dual purpose: to shop at the local bazaar and to explore numerous architectural monuments. The most famous of them is the Shwedagon complex and its pagoda, completely covered in gold.
Tourists can themselves take part in the further gilding of the pagoda - to do this, they need to buy a thin piece of gold foil (sold right there) and stick it on the place they like. This is a common way of paying respect to Buddha in Myanmar.
Nga Tha Ghi Pai Temple
It is famous for its luxurious statue of Buddha, decorated with precious stones, and its no less luxurious wooden carved throne.
The museum contains antiques - weapons, everyday items, paintings. The central place is occupied by the Lion Throne - the ceremonial chair of the last king of Myanmar.
Golden stone of Mount Chaittiyo
There are also a lot of interesting things to do in the outskirts of the city. Perhaps the most unusual place is the Golden Stone of Chaittiyo and the pagoda on it. The stone (a boulder of enormous size) is notable for the fact that it is located on the very edge of the abyss in a state of very unstable-looking equilibrium.
In fact, this “instability” has been going on for 2.5 thousand years. The Golden Stone Pagoda is one of the most respected shrines in the country. Foreigners are also allowed here; Local residents also suggest trying to push the stone (it actually swings, but it doesn’t fall!).
True, only men can test the Golden Stone for strength - women are prohibited from approaching it closer than 10 m.
Markets and bazaars in Yangon
It is impossible to describe all the local shopping establishments - there are a lot of them, from tiny shops to large prestigious stores. But tourists are usually advised to go shopping for souvenirs at the local indoor market.
You can buy absolutely everything there, from small trinkets to precious stones, gold jewelry and handmade carpets.
At the same time, prices on the market (as in Myanmar in general) are very low, and they can be further reduced if you haggle. The Burmese, of course, are not residents of Central Asia, but they love and know how to bargain.
This can be done with your fingers, but it’s better to use a mixture of sign language and English, which almost everyone in Myanmar understands a little.
Myanmar is not yet a well-promoted tourist destination, but its prospects are excellent.
The cost of a flight always depends on the time of travel. The chart will allow you to compare prices for air tickets from Yangon to Mandalay, track the dynamics of changes in their cost and find the best offer.
Statistics will help determine the season of low prices. For example, in December prices reach an average of 30,506 rubles, and in June the cost of tickets drops to an average of 10,287 rubles. Plan your trip now!
We analyze this information and create charts to make it easier for you to plan your trips.
What is more profitable – to buy air tickets in advance, avoiding the general rush, or to take advantage of a “hot” offer closer to the departure date? The chart will help you determine the best time to purchase airline tickets.
See how the price of air tickets from Yangon to Mandalay has changed depending on the time of purchase. Since the start of sales, their value has changed by an average of 58%. The minimum price for a flight from Yangon to Mandalay is 49 days before departure, approximately 9,610 rubles. The maximum price for a flight from Yangon to Mandalay is 4 days before departure, approximately 27,558 rubles. In most cases, early booking helps you save money, take advantage of it!
Airfare from Yangon to Mandalay does not represent a fixed and constant amount. It depends on many factors, including the day of departure. The dynamics of changes are visible on the graph.
According to statistics, the most affordable option for flights from Yangon to Mandalay is on Tuesdays, their average cost is 11,089 rubles. The most expensive flights are on Saturdays, their average cost is 21,298 rubles. It is worth considering that flights on holidays are usually more expensive. We hope this information will help you plan your travels more effectively.
The cost of air tickets depends not only on the date, but also on the time of departure. An airline can operate several flights on one day, and they will differ in price category.
The graph shows the cost of departure depending on the time of day. For example, the average cost of a ticket from Yangon to Mandalay in the morning is 18,552 rubles. Evaluate all conditions and choose the best offer.
The graph shows comparative prices for air tickets from Yangon to Mandalay on the most popular airlines. Based on this information, you can plan your trip and buy air tickets from Yangon to Mandalay from the carrier that suits you.
Statistics will help you choose a flight based on your financial capabilities, as well as your wishes in terms of comfort and flight conditions. The lowest prices for air tickets from Yangon to Mandalay are offered by Golden Myanmar Airlines Public Co., Ltd, the highest prices are offered by Bangkok Airways.
In this post, we will collect practical information about Yangon that will help you navigate the largest city in Myanmar, find accommodation for the night and move around the city without problems and unnecessary expenses, sightseeing. At the end of the post there is a map with important points marked on it that may be useful.
Read also the article - it contains all the useful information we know about the country, with answers to all questions.
Yangon - hotels, transport, restaurants, useful points
By the way, here is our article about, you will have something to occupy yourself with for a couple of days!
How to get to Yangon?
I will write a separate article about how to get to Myanmar in detail, because now you can travel by land, perhaps our experience will be useful to someone. Direct and relatively inexpensive flights to Yangon operate from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, so if you're flying from Russia, it's best to plan a connection in these cities. It is best to look for flights to Yangon on There are also flights from India and China, but they are not frequent and prices are high.
Yangon is the largest transport hub, so you can come here/from all parts of the country by bus, train, or plane.
By train:prices and times are average, 1$=1300 chat as of January 2016
Bago (3 hours, 3000 chat), (15 hours, 20000 chat), Mawlamyine (10 hours, 10000 chat), Naypyitaw (10 hours, 10000 chat), Nyaung U, Bagan (16 hours, 30000 chat).
Train in Myanmar
By bus:
Pha-an (8 hours, 6000 chat), (10 hours, 15000 chat), Mandalay (9 hours, 11000 chat), Inle Lake (12 hours, 14000 thousand), (15 hours, 15000 chat), Tawoi (15 hours , 13000 chat), Kalo (11 hours, 13000 chat) and many others.
By plane:
Mandalay (1 hour, $100), Bagan (1 hour, $100), Tavoy (1 hour, $120), Heho (2 hours, $100).
I wrote only the most popular directions; there are many others. The distance between Yangon Bagan and Yangon Mandalay can be covered by both train and bus. We recommend that you choose a bus - tickets for a sleeping car are more expensive and take longer. The buses go quite quickly and are quite comfortable. Tickets can be purchased directly at the hotel or ordered from a travel agency. There are also bus company ticket offices near the stadium, opposite the main railway station.
Yangon Airport located in the north of the city, you can get there by taxi from the center for 8,000 chat per car.
Bus stations: The main and largest bus station, Aung Mingalar Highway Bus Station, is located in the north of the city, near the airport - buses depart from here to the north and south of the country.
Hlaing Thar Yar Bus Terminal is located west of the center and collects buses to the west of Yangon, to Chaung Tha Beach, Ngwe Saung Beach, to the sea.
Railway station Located in the city center, you can travel by train to the north and south of Myanmar.
Orientation in the city
Yangon stretches strongly from north to south, but the most interesting places are in the historical center, which is close to the river bank in the south. In the center there are essentially only a few main streets: Bo-Gyok, Anorata, Mahabandoula, Strand (embankment) and Merchant Road. They stretch from west to east, and perpendicular to them from north to south there are streets simply with numbers, for example 28th or 32nd Street. A very convenient system - you can easily find the right place simply by remembering the intersection of streets. The center of this entire system is the Sule Pagoda - the main tourist and transport hub of the city center.
Downtown Yangon and Sule Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda is located just north of the city center and can be reached on foot or by taxi if desired.
Transport in Yangon
They run in the city buses varying degrees of destruction, mostly all old Japanese or Korean cars, large and small. The difficulty is that the bus numbers are signed in Myanmar numerals, not in Latin letters, so you will have to learn the numbers if you want to travel by bus around the city. The fare is only 100-300 chat depending on the distance - very cheap (15 cents), have some change ready! The doors on the buses are always open, but there are quite a lot of people packed in, there are no fans.
In each car there are usually two conductors who shout at the top of their lungs about where the bus is going - they are the ones you need to ask if you are on the way. For us, travel was not so much a way of transportation as a colorful entertainment - the locals were very surprised by the appearance of foreigners in such an “unusual” place. Buses can stand at stops for several minutes, picking up passengers, and the driving style of their drivers is just a song :-)
Taxi Yangon is also cheap. For example, travel from the main bus station in the north to the city center will cost approximately 7000-8000 chat per car ($5-6), and the distance is decent! Naturally, they will immediately quote you a price 2-3 times higher, bargain, we were even able to leave at night at a normal price - they have a lot of competition. In the city center for short distances, travel is literally 1000-2000 chat.
There are also pickup trucks driving around the city, chock-full of people, but there was neither the desire nor the need to find out how they went and where.
Ring railway It’s unlikely to be useful to you specifically for travel, but as an excursion to non-tourist places it’s quite suitable. Trains run along the ring, the whole journey takes about 3 hours, so it is better to ride along some section and return by taxi. The journey can begin at the main station in the center, and the fare is only 200 chat. I talked about it in more detail in an article about interesting places in Yangon.
Yangon Hotels
Housing in Myanmar and especially Yangon is very expensive. Moreover, they set prices in dollars, and you can pay in chats according to the exchange rate. For example, a double room with a shared shower and toilet of average cleanliness cost us $18. You could rent a completely scary room for $12, but it’s quiet horror! Quite normal options in the center start from $25. If possible, it is better to book in advance with or directly from the hosts. So at least in terms of price-quality ratio you will win.
We recommend staying in the Sule Pagoda area, then many interesting places can be reached on foot and traveling to other areas is not a problem. Moreover, there are many budget (by Myanmar standards) guesthouses here. This Yangon hotel map will help you navigate and book a suitable option
Restaurants and food in Yangon
What we liked about Myanmar was the food! It's cheap and varied. The city is a mixture of different cultures, religions and customs, so on the streets you can easily find restaurants serving Indian, Japanese, Burmese, Thai, and European cuisine.
Indian restaurant
Chapati flatbreads with sauces and curry
In addition, apparently after the British, the custom of drinking tea remained here. You will probably see small teahouses where you can taste traditional Burmese tea (black with milk and condensed milk), all kinds of sweets and buns, juices, and ice cream. And all this at a very attractive price. After Thailand, this is like a balm for our souls :-)
An excellent teahouse is located right in the center, at the intersection of Merchant Road and Pansodan Street - here you can order a whole teapot or a mug of different teas from 500 chats, eat all sorts of sweets and buns from 300 chats, and you can also have a thorough meal of main dishes from 1500 chats.
Another good teahouse “Golden Tea” is on Bo Sun Pat street not far from Mahabandoola street. Here you can relax in the evening over a cup, or have a hearty breakfast before exploring the city. The prices are quite low.
Be sure to try the Burmese sweets that you can simply find on the street.