Twante Canal and Oh Bo Pottery Village

Twante Township lies about 35 km west of Yangon across the Yangon River, in Yangon Region, and offers a day of village life that contrasts sharply with the city. The usual route is the Yangon-Dala ferry from Pansodan Jetty, a crossing of about 15 minutes, followed by a shared pickup or taxi to Twante, about an hour at 1,500-4,000 MMK. Door to door the trip takes 1.5 to 2 hours each way including the ferry. A private car with driver via the Dala Bridge route costs roughly 80,000-120,000 MMK for the day and avoids ferry waiting. The main attractions are the Oh Bo pottery village in Oh Bo (West) Ward, where clay pots are thrown on wheels and fired in large brick kilns, the historic Twante Canal built in the 1880s as a shortcut for river traffic, and the Shwesandaw Pagoda in Twante. Many visitors also stop in Dala on the way for a trishaw ride through the village lanes. A practical itinerary is to take the ferry at about 08:00, tour Dala by trishaw, reach Twante by 10:30, spend the late morning watching potters at their workshops and walking along the canal, eat lunch at a local restaurant in Twante, visit the pagoda, and catch the return ferry by about 16:00. The workshops sell finished pots, bowls and ornaments directly at workshop prices, and fragile items can be packed on request. Food stops in Twante are simple noodle shops and rice restaurants; vegetarian options are generally available on request. The dry season from November to February is the best time, since the unpaved village tracks turn muddy in the monsoon and the kiln areas are very hot in the hot season. Foreigners are usually charged a higher ferry fare of about 5,000 MMK, which should be verified at the jetty. Allow a full day, because the connection times between ferry and pickups can be unpredictable, and carry small kyat notes for pickups and purchases.