381TRANSPORTTOURS^Tours
Many high-end hotels off er
expensive day tours. We list
sources for less expensive,
private guides throughout
this book. Also see p 30 for
tips on organising a ‘DIY
package trip’.
Train
There are as many opinions of
Myanmar’s oft-maligned train
service as there are people
riding it. For some a train ride
on narrow-gauge tracks is like
going by horse, with the old
carriages rocking back and
forth and bouncing everyone
lucky enough to have a seat
on the hard chairs – sleep is
practically impossible; others
dig it, as some routes get to
areas not reached by road
and the services provide a
chance to interact with locals.
‘It’s not as bad as some peo-
ple say, not as good as you
hope,’ one wise local told us.
What’s certain is that
compared to bus trips on
the same routes, taking the
train means extra travel time,
on top of which likely delays
(over 12 hours is not unheard
of) have to be factored in. It
also means extra expense.
A 1st-class seat between
Yangon and Mandalay is
$35; a bus ticket on an air-
conditioned bus is about $10.
If you’re concerned about
avoiding government-owned
businesses (see p 21 ), then
taking the train will also not
be on your to-do list.
The Network
First introduced by the British
in 1877 with the opening of the
163-mile line between Yangon
and Pyay, Myanmar’s rail
network continues to expand.
According to government
mouthpiece New Light of
Myanmar, in 2010 there were
3357 miles of 3.3ft-gauge
track and 858 train stations.
Extensions to the network,
adding another 2264 miles of
track, are currently under con-
struction from Sittwe in the
west to Myeik in the south.
The 386-mile trip from
Yangon to Mandalay, via
Bago, Nay Pyi Taw and Thazi,
is the most popular train
ride visitors take – though
there are plenty more routes
for the adventurous. Others
worth considering are Bagan
to Yangon, Mandalay (or Pyin
Oo Lwin) train to Lashio (or
Hsipaw), which takes in hilly
terrain the roads miss (Paul
Theroux managed to do this
back when foreigners weren’t
supposed to, as described in
his book The Great Railway
Bazaar), and the Yangon-to-
Mawlamyine route.
You can also take the
poke-along the line from
Pyinmana to Kyaukpadaung
(31 miles south of Bagan) or
the Thazi-to-Shwenyaung
branch (7 miles north of Inle
Lake). From Yangon lines also
run northwest to Pyay, with a
branch to Pathein; from Bago
there’s a branch southeast
to Kyaiktiyo (the jumping-off
point for the Golden Rock)
and on to Mottawa, a short
ferry ride from Mawlamyine.
An express line connects
Bagan or Nyaung U with Man-
dalay from where there are
three other branch lines: one
running slightly northwest
across the Ava Bridge and
up to Ye-U, one directly north
to Myitkyina in Kachin State
and one northeast through
Pyin Oo Lwin to Lashio in the
northern part of Shan State.
Note also that Myanmar
trains are classifi ed by a
number and the suffi x ‘Up’ for
northbound trains or ‘Down’
for southbound trains. Train
numbers are not always used
when purchasing tickets.Classes & Facilities
Express trains off er two
classes of passage, upper
class and ordinary class,
while many trains also off er
sleepers. The main diff erence
between ordinary and upper
is that the seats recline and
can be reserved in the latter,
while ordinary class features
hard upright seats that can’tbe reserved. Some trains
also off er another class of
service called 1st class, which
is a step down from upper in
comfort.
Sleeper carriages accom-
modate four passengers,
have air-conditioning that
may or may not work, linens
and blankets and their own
toilet. We had one to our-
selves from Bagan to Yangon
but it was also sealed off with
no through corridor to the
rest of the train. If you’d pre-
fer to move around the train
and meet fellow passengers,
an upper class seat will be
better.
Long-distance trains have
dining cars accessible to
passengers in 1st, upper and
sleeper class. The food isn’t
bad – fried rice and noodles.
Attendants can also take
your order and bring food to
your seat or pass it through
the window.
Trains stop pretty often
too, with vendors on plat-
forms off ering all sorts of
snacks. Bathrooms are basic;
there are also sinks to wash
hands and brush teeth. At-
tendants sometimes hire out
bamboo mats to spread on
the fl oor in aisles or under
seats if you can’t sleep up-
right. It can get cold at night,
so bring a jacket and/or a
blanket.
The express trains are far
superior to the general run of
Myanmar trains. Other trains
are late, almost by rule – tak-
ing one 12-hour train trip that
ends up running as much
as 15 hours late is enough
for most travellers. The
Mandalay to Myitkyina route,
though scheduled to take
around 24 hours, can take
up to 40 hours. Even on the
far-more-travelled Yangon–
Mandalay route, delays are
common particularly in the
rainy season when the tracks
are prone to fl ooding.Reservations
For most major routes you
should be able to buy tickets
directly at the train sta-
tions, using the same ticket