To get from Mandalay to Bagan you can choose between a 7 hour bus ride or 9 hour ferry. Pretty simple choice given the quality of buses and roads in this part of the world. The hotel staff didn't wake me me up at 3:15 as promised so I woke them up. After a hasty breakfast served by a bleary-eyed but surprisingly cheerful cook, I arrived at the ferry terminal at 4:30am for the 5 o-clock ferry. Initially I had a bit of trouble purchasing my ticket because all I had was a USD20 bill which had a minute tear in it, and which all government agencies and government owned companies (such as the ferr company) were required to refuse. Eventually I paid USD10 and made up the other $6 in kyat at an exchange rate
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