Mandalay has an enchanting sounding name which bears no resemblance to the city.

Like most of Myanmar there is absolutely no consideration for foreign tourists who are targets for exorbitant demands. There are no metered taxis and the taxi app Grab does not work here.

We decided to take the ferry from Bagan to Mandalay. It was a good choice.

Sitting in an air-conditioned cabin on RV Panorama. The sun streaming in the window cruising up the Irrawaddy ... the start of a perfect morning. 

It started quite early with a taxi collecting us from the hotel and driving us to the jetty (the taxi transfer included as a bonus in the ticket we bought from Tun Tun’s Forever Travel).

​Arriving at the out of town bus terminal in Bagan we were met by a group of taxi drivers making fare offers which were obviously managed by collusion. The demand for “going to town 15 000 Kyat” was ridiculous. I hastily took my phone to contact Grab and get a reasonable fare rate. Another offer “12 000 - 3 people 4 000 Kyat each”.

The Myanmar bus trip from Yangon to Bagan was our first long bus trip in Asia. It was also our first exposure to the size of the Asian bus transport industry.

The main bus station is some distance from down town Yangon so we took a Grab. It was just as well; the bus station covers an area over a few kilometers.

In our trip around the world our first stop in Myanmar was Yangon. Or as many people still call it, Rangoon. 

Our flight arrived late in the evening so Ooderoo, the recommended  data SIM company had closed.  We couldn’t contact Grab so we reluctantly took the "official" airport taxi. It was a bad decision not to get a price from a registered taxi as, like in most cities, the approved airport taxis are a rip off.