Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Destinations (Pyi Gyi Mat Shin Station)
Departures to Kyaukme (8 daily; 5hr), Hsipaw (6
daily; 6hr) and Lashio (3 daily; 9hr) tend to leave early in the morning, though there are a
coupleofafternoondeparturestoo,andsomenightservices.Yedena(81stSt,between31st&
32nd sts; 02 36196) have a service to all three destinations (you'll have to pay to Lashio)
leaving at 6pm, and to Kyaukme alone at 1.30pm. Duhtawadi (31st St, between 81st & 82nd
sts; 02 61938) have a/c services to Hsipaw at 5.30am and 2.30pm. None of these services
includes pick-up.
Destinations (Thiri Mandalar Station)
Hourly services run to Shwebo until 4pm (3hr);
Monywa'tilnoon(3hr30min);andPyinOoLwin(2hr);thereareservicestoBhamotoo,but
foreigners still can't use them. Buy your tickets from the windows on the south side of the
station.
BY PICK-UP OR SHARED TAXI
Pick-ups
Pick-upstoPyinOoLwin(3hr;K2500)runbetween5amand5pm,departingwhen
full from the corner of 28th St and 83rd St. They are most frequent early in the morning, and
may not run after 3pm.
Shared taxis
Duhtawadi
bus company runs shared taxis to Hsipaw (5-6hr; K15,000) from
its office in town. Aung Yedana (25th St, between 81st and 82nd sts; 02 24850) has shared
taxistoKalawandNyaungshwe(fromK35,000)andwillpickyouupfromyourhotel.Sever-
al operators have services to Pyin Oo Lwin (2hr; K6000-7000), collecting passengers from
their hotels, plus there are morning departures from the corner of 27th & 83rd sts. Lastly, it's
also quite possible to visit Monywa on a day-trip; figure on $60-70 for the return journey,
plus waiting time.
BY TRAIN
Mandalay Railway Station
The simplest way to depart or arrive in Mandalay is by train,
though standards on the national rail network are not particularly high. The main station is
centrally located just off 30th St, between 78th and 79th sts; it's usually pretty easy to buy
tickets here, though the queues get longer and the station far busier as departure times ap-
proach.
North Station
Note that there's also a small station just off the palace's northwest corner,
though the line heading north from here doesn't go anywhere of tourist interest; services to
Myitkyinaandotherplacestothenorthactuallystillusethemainstation,andstarttheirjour-
ney by heading south.
Destinations
Bagan (1 daily; 8hr); Bago (3 daily; 14hr); Hopin (3 daily; 16hr); Hsipaw (1
daily; 12hr); Kyaukme(1 daily; 11hr); Lashio (1 daily; 16hr); Monywa (1 daily; 5hr); My-
itkyina (3 daily; 19hr); Naba (for Katha; 3 daily; 12hr); Nawngpeng (for Gokteik Viaduct; 1
daily; 8hr); Naypyitaw (2 daily; 6-7hr); Pyin Oo Lwin (daily; 6hr); Shwebo (3 daily; 5hr);
Taungoo (3 daily; 8-9hr); Thazi (3 daily; 3hr); Yangon (3 daily; 16hr).
