By train to Kalaw

After spending three great days at Inle Lake, we continued to the town of Kalaw. Since we had already flown from Yangon to Inle Lake, we wanted to at least take a small train ride. It was only 60km, but the train ride was said to take a whopping three hours. The train apparently can't go faster than 20 km/h. Buying the ticket at the counter was quite easy, the more difficult question for us was whether we should book the cheapest class for 30 cents or the upscale class for 78 cents;-) In the end, we treated ourselves to the slightly better class with more comfortable seats for 78 cents. I also felt a bit safer when I read on the ticket that a life insurance of an incredible 4 cents was included in the ticket price!!! Now nothing can go wrong anymore=)

The ride itself could also be compared to a boat ride, as the individual carriages swayed from one side to the other. Nevertheless, the train ride was really beautiful, as we could also see a bit of the gorgeous landscape. Along the way, the train stopped at several train stations, and vendors crowded at the windows with all kinds of things. Jonas had a lot of fun trying out the whole range and bought anything that looked appetizing.

Sometimes people write to us and ask how we can afford all of this... This train ride is the best example of how you can live cheaply while traveling. The ride cost 78 cents, a whole box of rice/vegetables/meat cost 60 cents, a steamed corn cob 12 cents, and 3 huge rice crackers for an unbeatable 6 cents!!! Honestly, we sometimes feel a bit guilty and gladly leave a tip=)

After a night in Kalaw, we continued the next leg to Bagan by minivan. Compared to the train ride, this ride was an absolute horror. We probably had the worst daredevil driver we've ever encountered anywhere, and after half an hour, I (and three other backpackers) was so nauseous that I seriously considered vomiting in the bus to show the driver how terrible his driving style is. But then we would have had even less fun, so it was a matter of closing our eyes and enduring for 7.5 hours...