The Many Modes of Transportation

While killing time waiting for our last Myanmar in-country flight (Heho to Yangon), it occurred to us to make a list of the various kinds of transportation we’ve experienced on this trip, both in Thailand and Myanmar. This is what we came up with:
1. Walking – The longest was an 11-mile trek over “hill & dale” to rural villages outside of Kalaw, but we did lots of walking in Mandalay and Bagan as well.
2. Taxis within all of the cities/towns we visited. This included runs from the airport to our hotels, and costs ranged from $1 to $8 (not too bad!).
3. “Long haul taxis” – These were booked ahead of time and took us from one city (or airport) to an entirely different location—usually involving a trip of at least an hour. The most expensive 1-hour trip was $45.
4. Airplane – both in-country prop-jets with Yangon Airways (4 flights) and Airbus flights with Air Asia (KL-Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai-Bangkok, Bangkok to Yangon, Yangon to Bangkok, Bangkok to KL),
5. River taxi – a short river crossing at night in Bangkok to reach a hotel where we ate dinner,6. Riverboat - a 1-hour trip up the Ayeyarwady from Mandalay to see the temple ruins and other sights in Mingun,
7. Horse cart – very helpful in Bagan to get to pagodas in the immediate vicinity (1/2 day rental: $11), and for getting back to our hotel from a restaurant after dark! ($1)

8. Trishaw (think Rickshaw!) – a bike with 2 wheels in the back that’s propelled by “pedal-power” and has 2 seats—one facing front, the other back—just to the left of the cyclist. Nancy wasn’t thrilled riding in one to our hotel after dark in Mandalay when she noticed the bike had neither headlamp or taillight! ($1.50),
9. WWII vintage jeep – A very interesting 30-mile round trip from Kalaw over dusty and rocky tracks with a local entrepreneur who initiates rural water and hydroelectric projects with foreign funds,
10. Sky-train (rapid transit) in Bangkok,
11. Long flat-bottomed motorboat that took us on a 2-hour round-trip journey down Inle Lake to our “Golden Island Cottage” (2 nights), and then provided transportation for a day-trip to see the floating gardens, a local market and other sights,
12. Long dugout canoe – It was hired for a return trip after we walked 1.2 km. across the famous U-Bein’s teak bridge near Mandalay.
13. Elephant – a 45-minute ride with both of us atop the beast in connection with a day tour out of Chiang Mai, Thailand.,
14. Ox-cart – a 20-minute journey to the place where we changed modes of transportation and mounted the elephant,
15. Bamboo raft for floating down a river near Chiang Mai,
16. A Thai tuk-tuk (small covered & open-sided 3-wheeler powered by a motorcycle engine),
17. Tour van – It took us and several other tourists on the day tour out of Chiang Mai, and
18. A Zoo tram – 2 journeys through a wildlife park north of Chiang Mai, Thailand -- included in the price of admission. - rw