Rangoon Travel Forum

Hi All,
Will be in Yangon next week from 23-26 Jan '08 and am wondering if it's worth to make a full day excursion to Twantay to see the cottage industries (pottery, weaving, fishing village & market? Anybody know how to get there, how long it takes & aprox costs? I heard the easiest way is to take a ferry but I don't know from where in Yangon?

I've never been there but the easiest way is to ask one of the touts/guides to help you with a ticket. It'll cost you only very little if you don't want them to come with you on the trip itslef (and even then it issn't hugely expensive). And don't worry about that, they'll approach you as soon as you've set foot outside your hotel/guesthouse.

I was there last year. I thought it was in interesting day trip, or more like a half-day. I took the ferry ($1 for foreigners) across the river to Dalah, and then hired a car to take me to Twante. I can't remember how much it cost, but the ride was about 1 hour. Visited the pottery sheds and the one big pagoda in town. Hired a trishaw driver to pedal me around. Very cheap. I wanted to take one of the ferry boats back to Yangon, but by late afternoon I had apparently missed one and would have to wait a couple hours for the next one, so I ended up hiring a smaller boat to take me back. And that was quite expensive. I think it cost me about $15 or more. And honestly, the scenery along that stretch of the river wasn't so spectacular. If I went again I think I'd just do a car/taxi each way.

The $1 cross-river ferry that bangdong took is at the foot of Pansodan St., very easy to find. Runs every 15 min. or so. At Dalah on the other side, you can hire or take public transport to Twante: passenger trucks (1000-2000kyat), mototaxis, or public buses (~500 kyat), which are a bit hidden further up on the right past the trucks. There is also a direct Yangon-Twante-Yangon boat, but schedule can be sporadic (eg, last one is supposed to return to Yangon at 1600, but the day I showed up at 1500 and was told that day it's leaving at 2030). Not sure what pier that boat departs from in Yangon. Tip: the Junior Duck restaurant next to the Pansodan pier is a great place for dinner.

Sure, Twante's worth a visit (but not at the cost of a vist to Shwedagon, of course :-). Easy to hire a trishaw guide when arriving there. The Yangon circle train's another good excursion, if you're looking to fill a day in Yangon: get off at various points, like near the big riverside vegetable & fish markets at the west end of town.