Myawaddy Station—Kayin, Myanmar/Burma. - Bus Stations on Waymarking.com

The city of Myawaddy is one of the more prosperous in Myanmar. Much of this prosperity is due to its geographical proximity to Thailand, with which a great deal of trade, both formal and informal, is conducted. The city has one bus station, a little out of the city itself, which links Myawaddy, with the city of Yangoon (no longer the capital, but still the largest and busiest city).

This station could be considered an 'informal' station in that there is no official sanction, no actual bus station building, nor signage, however, it is from this location that buses depart every second morning on, and arrive on alternative evenings from, Yangoon, a long and bumpy journey. The reason for this alternation, so I was informed by my guide (a retired Bangladesh gentleman, who served in the British army), was that the road was narrow and in such poor repair, that the only safe means of travel was to alternate direction for all vehicles. Very practical.

The station itself: the station itself is a rather dusty and not that well cared for, or maintained, open area—a sandy field, around which are small, wooden shacks, which, at the appropriate time, are filled with people selling tickets and surrounded by people buying tickets. Outside, on the road side are wooden shacks with food and drink for sale. This station only deals with long distance travel. Shorter trips within the province (which are not that frequent, the roads are in bad shape) base themselves at the Myanmar border crossing post, where most of the action in town originates.

I visited in the early afternoon, and the station was deserted, however, my guide assured me that at every second morning and evening this spot was a hive of activity.

At the current time, foreigners, that is to say anyone not a Myanmar citizen, have severe travel restrictions. Thus only locals can use these buses. My guide also told me, that five kilometres distant (beyond my permitted travel range) there was a 'real' bus station, however, this station did not deal with passengers as such, rather at this spot buses were stopped and inspected by the Myanmar police, who checked passengers and their baggage for signs of contraband and illegal activities, and charged a service charge for doing so. Thus I believe that this station area can correctly be considered the bus station for the Myanmar city of Myawaddy.

Here's hoping that in years to come, this station is developed and becomes one more link in the global alliance of bus stations and bus passengers.

umm, restrooms. I suspect that informal arrangements apply.

Food and drink?: yes Interesting architecture: Not listed Website: Not listed Restrooms?: Not Listed

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