Taking a train in Myanmar - From Inle Lake to Mandalay

After having omelette or mohinga on the rooftop terrace of our hotel, we make our way to the train station in Shwe Nyaung, about 10km north of Nyaung Shwe. The naming of the place must have involved some very creative minds. Our destination is Mandalay, but since there is no direct connection, we buy two tickets for the Upper Class to Thazi. Let me tell you one thing in advance: For these almost 150 km, the train takes 11 hours. And that's the scheduled travel time.

We have heard a lot about train travel in Myanmar, about the incredibly slow and swaying journey on the narrow tracks that were built during the time of British colonial rule. Some people find it terrible and consider it a waste of time, while others find it charming. Since we are embarking on such a long journey, we probably belong to the second group. And it really is! We sit on old soft seats at the open window and chug comfortably through the country. The average speed is 20-25 km/h and it feels like being on a boat, as the train sways from left to right. Left, right, left, right. Fortunately, the swaying has a rather sleep-inducing effect rather than causing seasickness in me.

The train is filling up more and more. With whole families who seem to be traveling through the country with all their belongings. More and more suitcases, boxes, bags are handed through the windows into the carriage and promptly stowed in our footwell. At first, we are not so enthusiastic about this, but we are told that the junk doesn't travel the entire time. To calm us down, they involve us in the food they brought. The people have really taken good care of themselves! Baskets full of food. Rice, fried meat, curries, fruit. Looks very good and we are happy to get some meat and mandarins :-) Of course, the train is not considered full when the seats are occupied. There is still plenty of room in the aisles for people and luggage. This makes it even more adventurous when you have to go to the toilet during the swaying journey. In the toilet, you have an unobstructed view of the passing tracks.
The hustle and bustle on the train itself is already very exciting and I don't even get a chance to entertain myself with the entertainment options I brought along. And on top of that, we are passing through the most beautiful landscapes. Fields on which you can watch the farmers and animals, villages where children stand by the tracks waving and jumping, dense forests and mountains with great views.

What I personally find most fascinating, however, are the stops at the train stations. What a hustle and bustle! When a train arrives, women put baskets with vegetables, fruits, or fried delicacies on their heads and walk along the windows of the train to sell their goods. And people buy a lot. At the end of the train, dozens of sacks of cabbages are shouldered by strong men and stowed in the train. Among the cabbage sacks in the goods wagon, there are also a few stowaways, or that's simply what the fifth class looks like in Myanmar.
1st Class: Sleeping Car
2nd Class: Upper Class (which we booked)
3rd Class: Ordinary Class (majority of the train, wooden benches)
4th Class: Aisle seat
5th Class: Goods Wagon

Since the stops at the train stations take a very long time, I have plenty of time to observe the busy hustle and bustle. I would expect people to primarily buy provisions for the journey. Like fruits, drinks, snacks, and ready-made meals such as rice or noodle dishes. Of course, these are also sold, but people also buy a lot of supplies from the train. Rice bags are lifted through the windows, kilograms of vegetables and fruits, flowers...

By the way, we quickly recognize the section of the track that we had already walked along 2 days before. Funny ^^ The few Europeans who got on with us get off in Kalaw, the starting point of our trekking tour. A 5-hour train ride is enough for them. After passing Kalaw, Max and I are the only tourists in the train and the journey becomes really interesting. We are heading into the mountains, or rather from the Shan Plateau down into the valley. And since you shouldn't rush down the mountain in a straight line by train, switchbacks were built over 100 years ago to overcome the difference in altitude. So, the train zigzags down the mountain. The signs say Zig-Zag-Reverse. A piece forward, then the switches are manually changed, then a piece back, change the switch, forward, etc. Until you have overcome the mountain.

This little game happens twice on our route, which is probably one reason why the train takes so incredibly long for the 150 km. It just travels incredibly slowly. Once during such a maneuver, we pass a few loggers who use the train's slow speed to quickly load a few logs onto the train. At the foot of the mountain, the wood is unloaded by the villagers again. This seems to be a common little game. After a solid 11 hours, we arrive in Thazi. By the way, we paid 1.60€ per person for the journey. A bowl of rice with meat and vegetables that we bought at the platform cost us just under 40 cents. It is clearly the cheapest way to travel!

Unfortunately, we were not able to find out whether there is a train to Mandalay from Thazi on the same day or whether we have to stay overnight there. Therefore, as a first step, we head to the ticket counter and hope that there will be a train to Mandalay today. And indeed: A train to Mandalay is coming today. It is supposed to arrive in 4 hours and we can buy a ticket 30 minutes before departure. So, we sit down on the platform and wait. It is already dark and people are sleeping everywhere. Of course, we cannot sleep. But one thing can be said positively: It is noticeably warmer! It's nice that it's not so bitterly cold at night anymore.

With a one-hour delay, so at 11:30 pm, the train rolls in. Unfortunately, I end up with a broken seat and there is no chance of sleeping. At least Max can sleep for a few hours. I could have done without this second part of our journey, as it is already dark, there are plenty of mosquitoes and train noises, and the people around us snore and spit. After another 4 or 5 hours, it's finally done and we arrive in Mandalay. We are only about 1.5 km away from our hotel and we feel a bit more awake after the walk. After a bit of begging and a phone call with the hotel manager, they allow us to check in early and we fall exhausted into the very nice and cozy bed :) Since we are celebrating my 26th birthday in Mandalay, we chose a slightly nicer hotel. We pay just under 23€ per night.