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Published: January 27th 2013
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It was an early start to the day as we were dropped off at the Mawlamyine bus station for our trip back to Yangon. The bus station was very different this morning then when we had been dropped off in the very early hours a few days before. The bus station was bustling with travellers, motor bikes and vendors selling all types of products. Our taxi driver made sure we were at the right bus company before leaving us. Unlike in Yangon when our bus was called the local passengers were kind enough to make sure we got on our bus.
The trip back to Yangon was very different also from the previous trip in the opposite direction. The previous one had been at night and the sights during the day were nothing like I had actually imagined when we were making the night trip. Much of the countryside was rice paddies and it was harvesting time. Like in many other parts of the country some of this work was now being done by machines but much was still being done by hand. Many of the workers harvesting the rice were women like we had seen in mmost of the
Asian countries we have visited.
The trip was very long on a local bus that stopped many times to pick up passengers until the bus could not hold any more. The bus driver also seemed to turn down many passengers who I can only presume were forced to wait for another bus. It seemed everyone was on their way to Yangon. Tomorrow is Independence Day but we have been told that the celebrations will be different then we imagine. The big parades occur for Military Day and are now held in the reasonably new capital.
Arrival at the bus station in Yangon was pandamonium. Taxi drivers everywhere trying to get a lift from foreigners who really have no other way of getting into town. the Northern Bus Station is even further out of town then the airport. I heard some people referring to them as a mafia but it was more of a union with fixed pricing and no haggling. The fare into town was $1 more expensive than the previous trip but there was no haggling. There was some argument between our driver and one of the middlemen. The driver apparently was not too happy with paying
the middleman his commission until we had paid him. Who pays for a taxi ride before they reach their destination???? Not us for sure.
It was the most hair-raising taxi trip I have even taken. Even after an hour and a half the driver's face was still bright red from the argument he had and his anger showed in his driving. He couldn't even be bothered dropping us at the front of our hotel but dropped us a block away. Then he continued down the one way street and drove straight past our hotel. We were determined not to let him ruin our mood and politely wished him a good day.
We stayed at the same hotel we had used previously but had booked a room with a window. Our room turned out to be on the newly renovated 7th floor and had a great window but no real view. We had a good laugh when we looked down and saw the space between our building and the one next door was were everyone threw their rubbish. Lucky for us we were seven floors up. Tomorrow is Independence Day so it will be interesting to see how it
is celebrated.
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