Slow going in Myanmar

Slow going in Myanmar

Yangon, Myanmar
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Getting around Myanmar is not for the faint-hearted. A chaotic fleet of rusty 1980s cars, rattletrap buses, rickety trains, packed ferries and perilous long tail boats are all part of the country’s transport system.

Now, however, as Myanmar emerges from long years of military rule, old vehicles are being swapped for newer models. But despite modernisation, travelling in Myanmar remains a colourful, surreal and daunting experience.

. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Years of isolation and trade-crippling sanctions have left Myanmar's streets with one of the world's oldest vehicle fleets, dominated by wheezing Japanese cars, often more than 30 years old.

Clapped-out bangers make up part of the noisy crowd of rickshaws, motorcycles, pick-up trucks and small buses that wait to pick up the thousands of migrants, who cross the river every day on long tail boats or cheap, government-operated ferries from Yangon to Dallah township.

The moment the passengers disembark, the drivers clamour for the their attention and won’t leave until nothing and no one else can be squeezed into - or on top of - their vehicles.

. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Yangon is a city of taxis, small, privately owned buses and other improvised vehicles, which provide an alternative to the strained public transport system. But taxis fall victim to traffic jams, and are a dangerous and uncomfortable travel option - mostly dating from the early 80s or even earlier.

Gradually though, as the country opens up, recently imported cars have been offering a new comfort: air-conditioning.

. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Motorcycles and bicycles were banned in central Yangon about 20 years ago, but they can be used outside the city, for example in Dallah township, where they make up part of the raucous crowd waiting for the Yangon ferry.

The ban on bikes is one of the quirks, dating from the dictatorship, of Myanmar's transport system. Another is the fact that most vehicles in the country are right-hand drive, a throwback to British colonialism, but the roads are right-hand traffic, similar to the American system, reducing visibility and keeping drivers on perpetual alert.

. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Around Yangon, with its growing population of almost five million, a circular train line runs through the city’s suburbs. The system is in the process of being upgraded, but currently the rusty carriages of the train, which runs on ageing, narrow-gauge rails, are still rickety.

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Passengers are reflected in the window of the captain's cabin, as a government-owned ferry makes its way to Dallah township.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Passengers are reflected in the window of the captain's cabin, as a government-owned ferry makes its way to Dallah township.

Passengers wait for a bus to leave the station in front of a shopping mall in central Yangon.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Passengers wait for a bus to leave the station in front of a shopping mall in central Yangon.

A potential customer sits in a saloon for newly imported cars in central Yangon. This is one of the many dealerships for newer vehicles that have sprung up across the country, offering everything from Indian micro cars to super expensive Rolls Royce models.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A potential customer sits in a saloon for newly imported cars in central Yangon. This is one of the many dealerships for newer vehicles that have sprung up across the country, offering everything from Indian micro cars to super expensive Rolls Royce models.

As newer cars arrive in Myanmar, the country’s roads are congested by a hotchpotch of vehicles. Here, rickshaws, motorbikes, trucks and buses wait for passengers to descend from the Yangon ferry to Dallah township.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

As newer cars arrive in Myanmar, the country’s roads are congested by a hotchpotch of vehicles. Here, rickshaws, motorbikes, trucks and buses wait for passengers to descend from the Yangon ferry to Dallah township.

A driver and his young assistant wait for passengers to arrive by ferry from Yangon, hoping to pack as many as possible into their vehicle.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A driver and his young assistant wait for passengers to arrive by ferry from Yangon, hoping to pack as many as possible into their vehicle.

A man fixes an old truck before taking it to a junkyard in exchange for a new import license. Previously, military-owned companies monopolised the distribution of vehicle import licences and only the rich and powerful could afford them, but now import permits have been issued for more than 58,000 cars.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A man fixes an old truck before taking it to a junkyard in exchange for a new import license. Previously, military-owned companies monopolised the distribution of vehicle import licences and only the rich and powerful could afford them, but now import permits have been issued for more than 58,000 cars.

Schoolgirls ride the government-owned ferry to Dallah township, a short journey across the river from Yangon made by thousands of passengers every day.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Schoolgirls ride the government-owned ferry to Dallah township, a short journey across the river from Yangon made by thousands of passengers every day.

A vendor offers food to passengers travelling on the ferry.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A vendor offers food to passengers travelling on the ferry.

Like other forms of transport, air travel can be time-consuming in Myanmar. Many airlines operate on what is known locally as an "air bus system", in which planes fly to city after city, like a bus route, because there are not enough passengers to support direct flights to every destination.
. Mandalay, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Like other forms of transport, air travel can be time-consuming in Myanmar. Many airlines operate on what is known locally as an "air bus system", in which planes fly to city after city, like a bus route, because there are not enough passengers to support direct flights to every destination.

Passengers ride the suburban train that makes a three-hour loop around Yangon, stopping at station after tiny station.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Passengers ride the suburban train that makes a three-hour loop around Yangon, stopping at station after tiny station.

A man with a wooden leg picks up trash from the tracks of the suburban train. Train lines across Myanmar are also getting more high-tech refurbishment. New train cars are being imported from India and China and, with Japanese assistance, a 600-km (370-mile) rail link between Yangon and Mandalay in the north will be upgraded.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A man with a wooden leg picks up trash from the tracks of the suburban train. Train lines across Myanmar are also getting more high-tech refurbishment. New train cars are being imported from India and China and, with Japanese assistance, a 600-km (370-mile) rail link between Yangon and Mandalay in the north will be upgraded.

But at present, carriages of the suburban train jolt and sway between stations, while passengers hang off the side.
. Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

But at present, carriages of the suburban train jolt and sway between stations, while passengers hang off the side.

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