Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
27th and 28th sts. CB Bank, 78th St, between 27th and 28th sts, also has an ATM. Diamond
Plaza, to the east of the railway line, has a UAB bank plus several ATMs.
Hospital
Mandalay General Hospital is on 30th St, between 74th and 77th sts ( 02 39001;
call 192 in an emergency).
Police
Therearemanypoliceofficesaroundtown,witheventhefar-flungonesoftenfeatur-
ing an English-language “How may Ihelp you?” sign outside. The main office is on81st St,
between 29th and 30th sts ( 02 36869).
Postoffice
Themainpostofficeisat22ndSt,between80thand81ststs.There'salsoaDHL
office on 78th St, between 37th and 38th sts, outside the
Hotel Mandalay
.
Around Mandalay
Beyondthecity,itonlytakesaday-whetherbybikeoraspartofatour-tosee
Amarapura
anditsfamedteakfootbridge;takeahorse-drivencarriagethrough
Inwa
'swebofdustylanes
and make the sweaty trudge up
Sagaing
's stupa-studded hill. All of these former capitals are
tethered together by the mighty Ayeyarwady, a river which - as elsewhere in the country -
functions as the lifeblood of the region, and also slides idly by the delightful village of
Saga-
ing
, which never functioned as a capital but boasts a building which (had it been completed)
would have beaten any in the area for size.
GETTING AROUND: AROUND MANDALAY
By pick-up
Pick-ups leave Mandalay in the direction of Amarapura and Sagaing, though
sincetheydon'tgoanywherenearanyofthesightsinthosecities,they'rebarelyworthboth-
ering with - you'd have to get a taxi in any case.
By taxi/motorbike taxi
Most people choose to hire a motorbike driver or taxi for a day or
half-day;amotorbiketaxiwillaskforK8000toAmarapura,K12,000toSagaing,andaround
K15,000 for these two and Inwa too. By taxi it'll be more like K35,000 to visit all three,
though you can split this between up to four people. To add Paleik onto these itineraries will
cost an additional K10,000 or so, or K12,000 as a stand-alone trip.
By bike
It's possible to visit all the sights around Mandalay by bike, though Mingun is an
awfully long return trip if you're not taking the ferry there or back. Do note that you'll be
sharing the main road from Mandalay to Sagaing with plenty of buses, lorries and the like -
it's not terribly pleasant. However, having a bike certainly makes a visit to Inwa a lot more
interesting; rather than sitting in a cart and following all the other carts around, you can plot
your own course, and even take off into the area's rather arresting countryside.
