At I write these words, I am riding the overnight bus from Yangon to Bagan. We are currently hurtling along a bumpy road at an unsafe speed, occasionally lurching from side to side or being jolted by the high impact of tires hitting fissures in the bitumen. Don't get me wrong: I'm grateful for this express bus service linking the two towns that are 627 kilometers or 390 miles apart. This is a more preferable way to travel than the train or plane, which tells you something about the country's transportation infrastructure. While the other passengers sleep, I find myself gazing at the moonlit countryside and thinking about Myanmar.