And then our bus caught fire…

What is with travelling and early starts? When I rule the world, we will all sleep in.

On the cards was a (supposed) 8 hour bus trip to Bagan, one of the most significant Buddhist archeological sites in Myanmar. The area was home to 3 former capitals and now people come to see the ruins of more than 4000 temples.

The bus trip was…interesting. The bus itself had bright purple curtains & a trim around the windows that looked like it had been made from an old Thai sarong. The aircon was cranked as high as it could go and the TV alternated between blaring Buddhist chanting & images and Burmese music videos & soap operas.

It was early!! Notice the curtains…

Buddha TV

Driving along maybe an hour out of Yangon And it begins to smell like rubber.

We ignored it because no one else seemed concerned. But then it got harder to ignore & the driver must have thought so too, as we pulled over. Tools were pulled out and most of the men on the bus got off to look at what was happening. After 20mins we got off too. Men in longyi’s (traditional Burmese dress for men) were standing around watching the tyre get changed. The women were still on the bus engrossed in the soap opera. We watched for awhile and then got back on the bus. 

Then the bus caught on fire.

Well, kind of. There was a load bang like someone had slammed a door. We grabbed our stuff and scrabbled off the bus to see 2 flaming water bottles being flung away from the tyre. We dodged the firey water bottles and stood back from the bus. The bus wasn’t on fire but something had definitely exploded. Our driver was burnt & not happy.

Can you see the flames? Look closer.

4 hours after we had broken down another bus came to pick us up. We were ridiculously excited to see it, but a little hesitant about the air con again. But we did get to see a lot of the country. Low scrubby fields made way for more desolate land as we got closer to Bagan. Then, at 10pm, 14 hours after we got on the bus we arrived. Good thing too as we were about to scream if we had to stay on any longer.

on our new bus

All was forgiven when we were taken to our hotel by a horse drawn cart. I’m not even kidding! I love this country!

PS. Just read the following passage in my Lonely Planet…

‘Spies – At some point in your trip (and you’ll probably never know when), the authorities will be watching you. This is even more likely to happen when you go to more off-the-beaten-track places, where authorities are less used to seeing foreigners’.

Don’t worry mum & dad, should something happen, someone will know where I am!