Myanmar - As I see it

I love travelling, and when the Transport secretary informed me that I have been included as part of the delegates for the first ever Imphal-Mandalay Bus Service trial run from 9th December to 14th December 2015, my excitement knew no bound and I eagerly looked forward to it. At long last, I could visit the mainland of our neighbouring country and no longer claim of having visited Myanmar by merely setting foot inside Tamu, the border town, every time I visit Moreh.

The bulk of the delegates consisted of officials from various Deptts of the State Government and some civil reps as well as the main tour operator Seven Sisters Tour agency. There were also representatives of Ministry of Road Transport Highways (MORTH), MHA, Customs, etc. The proposed route we were to take was Tamu-Bagan via Kalemyo-Monywa-Mandalay-Neypitaw.

The journey from Imphal started right after the formal flag off ceremony on 9th Dec., 2015 at Hotel Imphal. The vehicles consist of one bus and two SUVs, and it took barely three hours to reach Moreh. But the immigration and custom clearance at Moreh took time and we finally headed for the border gate at 2.35 pm. After crossing the India-Myanmar border bridge, we found the Myanmar officials waiting for us since morning. After a brief halt at their immigration and custom check-post, the Myanmar officials informed us that as per their schedule for us, we were to arrive at 10 am at the border and we have to drive from the border straight to Monywa via Kalemyo-Yargyi route. This was unexpected, as according to our plan, we were to halt the night at Kalemyo, and we requested that we stick to our schedule.

But ultimately, we yielded to their schedule for us. So, we had to brace for a long journey ahead. At 2.45pm IST, we started off from the Tamu border gate for Monywa led by the Myanmar Transport Director U Thin Myant Thu. After two and half hours journey, just before reaching Kalemyo, we stopped by at a roadside eatery for tea and snacks. The sun had already set by then. Thereafter, the night journey commenced. It was not long when we reached the bad stretch of Yargyi road. The kuccha journey began, with our dust covered vehicles trudging the lonely road at night. (Courtesy of Clay Khongsai)