Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Yangon to Mandalay
Themodern
expressway
betweenYangonandMandalayoffersaswiftandrelativelypainless
route to both Mandalay and Bagan, although the personable towns of
Taungoo
and
Meiktila
offeranenjoyablesliceoftraditionalBurmesesmall-townlifeifyoufancybreakingthejour-
ney. Halfway between Yangon and Mandalay, the nation's new capital of
Naypyitaw
is re-
quired viewing if you're interested in the consummate madness of Myanmar's ruling milit-
ary junta and the surreal excesses of modern urban planning gone wrong, although it doesn't
have a lot to recommend it otherwise.
Taungoo
Just off the old Yangon-Mandalay road (National Highway 1), and only 10km east of
the newer (and faster) Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, the bustling little provincial city of
TAUNGOO
(akaToungoo)hasaclusteroflow-keysightsaswellasoneoftheregion'smost
appealing guesthouses. Taungoo's engagingly small-town atmosphere belies its considerable
