When I have the chance to travel by land, I try to do so, as I get to see local life in the countryside. That is, in those cases where I’m not stuck on a bus or train for too long, and where I don’t have to spend hours in a confined space next to chickens, rice and what else one brings along. This Mandalay–Bagan ride with OK Express took around 4 hours. I guess it caters mainly to tourists, but as we experienced it is all about getting the most out of your investment, so locals were picked up and dropped off along the way, so was groceries, mail and what not. The hotel booked my ticket and assured me there would be room for my huge suitcase in the 19 seater minibus. Not much room for luggage, that’s for sure, but they were able to fit it all in when I got picked up at the hotel and shown to my assigned seat. Not much legroom either, as you can see below, and I’m short, 5’2” 🙂 We had one stop on the way, where you could buy refreshments and use restrooms. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere 🙂 The roads are what can be expected. At one point we had to use a rail bridge as the road was flooded. A few locals who got carsick, and the sick bags went out the windows… 😀 All in all I’d say traveling this distance by bus instead of plane is absolutely a thing to consider. A huge bonus going with OK Express is that you are picked up and dropped off at the hotels you’re staying at. Happy traveling!
On the Bus from Mandalay to Bagan
I’m 5’2″ also, but I think my boys and husband who are about 6 feet tall may not enjoy the bus ride as much. In some ways, I like traveling by land to see the sights, but I’m also VERY prone to getting carsick or else falling asleep and missing everything.
Yes, sometimes it can be difficult to stay awake 🙂
What a great journey! I have to agree, overland is always an experience. Thanks for joining us at Weekend Travel Inspiration! #wkendtravelinspiration
And so much cheaper 😉
Having very recently taken several bus journeys in Vietnam from 2 to 6 hours I can fully relate to this though we never had to take the rail bridge, we did stop on the freeway randomly to drop off goods to people waiting by the side of the road and also had to stop for people to be sick! Burma is somewhere I’d love to visit. #wkendtravelinspirtion
I wouldn’t be surprised at something like that if it was a local bus, but this was a “tourist bus”. Love going by bus. Get to see so much more.