lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

ToursMany high-end hotels offerexpensive day tours. We listsources for less expensive,private guides throughoutthis book. Also see p 30 fortips on organising a ‘DIYpackage trip’.TrainThere are as many opinions ofMyanmar’s oft-maligned trainservice as there are peopleriding it. For some a train rideon narrow-gauge tracks is likegoing by horse, with the oldcarriages rocking back andforth and bouncing everyonelucky enough to have a seaton the hard chairs – sleep ispractically impossible; othersdig it, as some routes get toareas not reached by roadand the services provide achance to interact with locals.‘It’s not as bad as some peoplesay, not as good as youhope,’ one wise local told us.What’s certain is thatcompared to bus trips onthe same routes, taking thetrain means extra travel time,on top of which likely delays(over 12 hours is not unheardof) have to be factored in. Italso means extra expense.A 1st-class seat betweenYangon and Mandalay is$35; a bus ticket on an airconditionedbus is about $10.If you’re concerned aboutavoiding government-ownedbusinesses (see p 21 ), thentaking the train will also notbe on your to-do list.The NetworkFirst introduced by the Britishin 1877 with the opening of the163-mile line between Yangonand Pyay, Myanmar’s railnetwork continues to expand.According to governmentmouthpiece New Light ofMyanmar, in 2010 there were3357 miles of 3.3ft-gaugetrack and 858 train stations.Extensions to the network,adding another 2264 miles oftrack, are currently under constructionfrom Sittwe in thewest to Myeik in the south.The 386-mile trip fromYangon to Mandalay, viaBago, Nay Pyi Taw and Thazi,is the most popular trainride visitors take – thoughthere are plenty more routesfor the adventurous. Othersworth considering are Baganto Yangon, Mandalay (or PyinOo Lwin) train to Lashio (orHsipaw), which takes in hillyterrain the roads miss (PaulTheroux managed to do thisback when foreigners weren’tsupposed to, as described inhis book The Great RailwayBazaar), and the Yangon-to-Mawlamyine route.You can also take thepoke-along the line fromPyinmana to Kyaukpadaung(31 miles south of Bagan) orthe Thazi-to-Shwenyaungbranch (7 miles north of InleLake). From Yangon lines alsorun northwest to Pyay, with abranch to Pathein; from Bagothere’s a branch southeastto Kyaiktiyo (the jumping-offpoint for the Golden Rock)and on to Mottawa, a shortferry ride from Mawlamyine.An express line connectsBagan or Nyaung U with Mandalayfrom where there arethree other branch lines: onerunning slightly northwestacross the Ava Bridge andup to Ye-U, one directly northto Myitkyina in Kachin Stateand one northeast throughPyin Oo Lwin to Lashio in thenorthern part of Shan State.Note also that Myanmartrains are classified by anumber and the suffix ‘Up’ fornorthbound trains or ‘Down’for southbound trains. Trainnumbers are not always usedwhen purchasing tickets.Classes & FacilitiesExpress trains offer twoclasses of passage, upperclass and ordinary class,while many trains also offersleepers. The main differencebetween ordinary and upperis that the seats recline andcan be reserved in the latter,while ordinary class featureshard upright seats that can’tbe reserved. Some trainsalso offer another class ofservice called 1st class, whichis a step down from upper incomfort.Sleeper carriages accommodatefour passengers,have air-conditioning thatmay or may not work, linensand blankets and their owntoilet. We had one to ourselvesfrom Bagan to Yangonbut it was also sealed off withno through corridor to therest of the train. If you’d preferto move around the trainand meet fellow passengers,an upper class seat will bebetter.Long-distance trains havedining cars accessible topassengers in 1st, upper andsleeper class. The food isn’tbad – fried rice and noodles.Attendants can also takeyour order and bring food toyour seat or pass it throughthe window.Trains stop pretty oftentoo, with vendors on platformsoffering all sorts ofsnacks. Bathrooms are basic;there are also sinks to washhands and brush teeth. Attendantssometimes hire outbamboo mats to spread onthe floor in aisles or underseats if you can’t sleep upright.It can get cold at night,so bring a jacket and/or ablanket.The express trains are farsuperior to the general run ofMyanmar trains. Other trainsare late, almost by rule – takingone 12-hour train trip thatends up running as muchas 15 hours late is enoughfor most travellers. TheMandalay to Myitkyina route,though scheduled to takearound 24 hours, can takeup to 40 hours. Even on thefar-more-travelled Yangon–Mandalay route, delays arecommon particularly in therainy season when the tracksare prone to flooding.ReservationsFor most major routes youshould be able to buy ticketsdirectly at the train stations,using the same ticket381TRANSPORT TOURS