The flight from Bagan to Mandalay was only 25 minutes, but the drive from Mandalay airport to the city took another 1 to 1.5 hours (excluding photo stops)...

The road to Mandalay (as well as Mandalay itself) is like stuck in a time warp, dating back to British colonial times before WWII. The road, even though it is the main thoroughfare from the airport to the city, is narrow and dusty, and used by cars, buses, bicycles, carts, etc all at the same time. Nevertheless, it has a certain rustic charm and mood & atmosphere all of its own, as in this picture, reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling's 1887 poem "The Road to Mandalay" - "For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say: Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"