INLE LAKE TO MANDALAY

The hotel organised our transport to the airport – the one-hour early morning boat trip back to Nyaung Shwe where we were met by a car to take us on. We arrived in good time at the airport but then the plane was delayed by two and a half hours. As in Yangon there was no adequate pa system so airline staff came around passengers individually informing them of the delay. It was a team effort – one person to identify the passenger, another to check the name off the list and a third to advise of the delay. Later they came around again - one to identify, one to check the name off the list, one to advise that they were offering us some lunch, one carrying little polystyrene boxes with hot noodles, chicken and vegetables, and one carrying chopsticks and bottles of water. I’ve never had that kind of service from BA……………

The airport at Mandalay seems new – a huge baggage arrival hall with three or four large carousels. And then our luggage arrived on a trolley through a side door……………………………..

It’s about 25 miles south of the city and we travelled via a wide dual carriageway most of the way – with virtually no traffic on it – seems like a bit of a white elephant project.