21 random thoughts on transport here

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* The seats have very thin padding generally (this thought occurred after 6 hrs on the road in a bus)
* The main roads are built up to avoid water. This necessitates drivers on sideroads accelerating hard to get up the inclines and shooting out into the stream of traffic! Scary!!
* They drive on the right now, but most vehicles (even new) are built for left side driving.
* It makes overtaking scary, and all buses and trucks have drivers helpers to look for oncoming traffic.
* It also makes front passengers get out into the road.
* Modern cars, bicycles, trucks, buses, motorcyles, bicycle saicars, ox- drawn carts, bullock-drawn carts, tractor-drawn carts, motorised tricycle trucks, pedestrians - all mix it on the street , even the highways
* The bicycle sidecar will fade soon - more people are buying cheap chinese motorbikes
* Most toursists prefer motorbike taxis for speed - and comfort!
* The regular tollpoints on highways make excellent choke-points for military control. They certainly seem designed that way.
* The train trip to Hsipaw is worth the effort for the scenery and atmosphere.
* The return trip via minibus is worth it for the speed and comfort - if lucky the bus won't fill until an hour or so down the road.
* When at roadside bus-stop cafes, if you can't figure how to order and pay, just wander around looking suitably confused - some person WILL help you if you look helpless.
* On bus trips longer than 2hrs there WILL be toilet stops - by the side of the highway, if necessary.
* Motorcycle taxi riders are generally cautious and not fast riders - the roads don't encourage speed, and they can't afford repairs, medical bills, or insurance!
* Unlike Thais, Burmese don't seem to wai to Buddha images with their hands off the wheel, as they drive past - just as well , given the millions of pagodas!
* Unlike in Thailand, traffic lights are obeyed rather than taken as general suggestions
* Buses usually play music dvds for most of the trip. I find their modern style more rock oriented and 'genuine' than the Thai pop-style. Heavy metal, hip-hop, and 70's style rock-ballads, seem common. Country&western also appears, all done in Burmese, sometimes as covers of western tunes
* It pays to be a little early at the bus station if your hotel has made a booking for you - seating and booking mistakes CAN occur.
* Diesel is often sold from roadside drums: decanted and poured via cloth-filtered funnel and hose, into the tank.
* Be prepared for stops where the engine is cooled by spraying water on it, and even brakes get this treatment after long down-hill runs
* NOBODY turns their headlights on until it's pitch black. I guess bulbs last longer and save a few kyat. Bicycles and saicars have no lighting at all - makes pedestrian life interesting.

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Photos

The hard road to Mandalay
It's a lot quicker than Kiplings "road". The ferry trip takes days!