Local Bus to Bagan

The electricity here is completely unreliable, so we never dare to take an elevator for fear of getting stuck. Today, we took the local bus further south to Bagan - 8500 kyat per ticket. It’s going to be an 8-hour journey. The legroom is tight, and the bus is packed to the brim. People are sitting in the aisle, on the steps, and even on the roof. It’s incredible that no one fell off the roof along the way. The road was decent for the first few hours, but then we hit some big potholes, and it got narrower. When two cars needed to pass each other, both had to pull off onto the shoulder. People are very serious about sticking to their breaks. We had a lunch and tea stop along the way. We didn’t dare eat anything, both out of fear of bad hygiene and the worry of needing a toilet. The toilet conditions are so terrible, smelly, and disgusting that we can easily wait to eat until we arrive :) We passed several places where road work was happening - again, it was all done by hand. Stones are smashed with hammers and then dumped onto the road. A big trend among both men and women here is chewing betel, which turns their mouths, teeth, and lips bright red. It looks like people are bleeding from their mouths. Betel creates a lot of saliva, so people are constantly spitting out red clumps. Even while we’re on the bus, the window is open so people can spit. Our very old bus managed the trip in almost fine style. Only the bumper fell off once. It’s quite random whether the driver sits on the right or left side of the car; it depends on which country the car is from :) At 5 PM, we arrived in Bagan - more specifically, Nyaung U, which is the town where most tourists stay when exploring Bagan’s many ruins. We’re staying at May Kha Lar Guesthouse for just $10, which includes TV, air conditioning, and breakfast. Bagan is famous for its many ruins, which are said to rival Angkor Wat in Cambodia.