A long distance bus journey lasting almost 25 hours, Yangon to Nyuang Shwe, yet to come to an end while this is being written. The 15-hour bus ride has come across a few hiccups: flat tyre which delayed 45 mins, followed by a break-down in the middle of highway marked 197/4, which was 5 hours away from destination... Drivers and passengers have taken everything possible for lying down on highway in front of the bus, leaving only one lane for traffic. Our additional itinerary was star gazing though! No charge. Bonus was three shooting stars up in the clear sky. Barely sleeping through the thundering noise of vehicles passing by was absolutely once in a life (only) experience. 點擊圖片放大 Our guiding star has arrived together with dusk hour light. After two hours of climbing up mountains slowly, we have arrived another break stop (and break-down) seeing all the local passengers having not only breakfast but major meals! We felt devastated at this point. No matter it is "odd things come in a pair" as Chinese says or "bad things come in three" in English, what we have experience had already been answered. This torture of waiting is totally outrageous and dramatic. The local counterparts however did not show any grievance. Perhaps in their belief, there has never been emotions associated with 'rushing' or 'grumpiness'. Or perhaps their lifestyles consists of never-ending wait and uncertainty and it is not necessary to make thing clear and precise hence they take the delay so easily. (After note) While break, drivers and bus workers diligently hoisted to cool down the car battery. It took another three hours to reach our destination. The entire journey was approximately 25 hours long. Not surprised to found out afterwards, both the bus company and its fleet have long history. The buses were imported from Japan second-handed, quite likely to be 90s produce. Anyway, we had no choice as all better and new buses from Yangon to Nyuang Shwe were full that day. And that brings such unforgettable and great travel story!
