Qatu Qatsi!: Taking the train in Myanmar

Finding the booking office was easy. Buying the tickets was not a problem but convincing myself this was going to be a good train ride was another story. Especially not after our train adventure a few years back in Vietnam. That train had the stench of 30 years worth of sweat on the mattress, cockroaches and questionable food. After that, we vowed never to do another train ride like that again. I feared worst than that in Myanmar. We saw the videos on the internet, we heard the stories, yet we committed to move forward. Jason always likes to remind me that whether good or bad, it is still an experience. And well, I always have an interesting story to tell about the Vietnam train! Let's go! ¡Vámonos!

On the day of departure, we had mentioned to a cab driver in Yangon that we were heading to Bagan by train, he laughed, and said "Very bad. Foreigners take the overnight bus, very nice". We all looked at each other and thought, "oh no". Then we were having breakfast and my cousin, Megan mentioned to the order taker we were heading out by train, and she said, "you are brave". If the locals are scared, what are we in for we thought? It can't be that bad, can it? People are still using it...

Waiting at the train station in Yangon

We were scheduled to depart at 4pm but in places like this, we knew that would not be the case. We did not leave the station until 6pm. We booked the sleeper car on the train as it would be the most comfortable. When we arrived to our assigned cabin, we were happy to see we had the place to ourselves. It was actually quite spacious with our own toilet. It wasn't the cleanest cabin, but at least it didn't stink. We stocked up on a few provisions before boarding in case the restaurant car was not something we could stomach. Little did we know that our cabin was enclosed with no access to any other car! What happens now? Before we knew it, a guy assigned to take care of us popped up asking us if we would like dinner later in the evening. We opted out of it, but ordered breakfast for 7am. After he left, we wondered how that would work considering the enclosed car we were in and the moving train?! Guess we will see!

Sign at the train station

As we settled in and tried to adjust to our surroundings, we took a deep breath to prepare for an "interesting" ride and a long one at that. From the moment the train left the Yangon station, the "experience" started. The train cars would slowly move from side to side, and as the speed picked up, there were moments where the swaying became rocking. Left to right and right to left with a force I had never felt before on a train. Then it would be interrupted by moments of "whoa", a bump. Wait, how does a train go up and down? We knew this was coming, and didn't really believe it until we felt it. Then some of the bumps were so forceful that we would actually get some air! Sitting or laying down did not matter, either way, the jarring impact that you felt on the downward motion was a little painful on the back. Our poor, poor backs.

Farmer with his ox & cart

The best part (and what made the experience) was the fact that you could open the windows to get air and take reflection free photos. It got a little dusty in the room but it was worth it. The poverty along side the train tracks as we left Yangon was pervasive. The farther we distanced ourselves from the city it disappeared and the countryside emerged as the sun was setting. No more looking outside, so we all crawled into our respective beds for the night to read. The noise on the train was loud. The normal click-clack noise of the wheels hitting the tracks was there, but also some other strange mechanical noises we could not determine. Hope the train isn't going to fall apart we thought!

Myanmar countryside

After a couple of hours, we all felt the noise was at an excessive decibel level but no one said anything. We had been hearing other strange noise and thus thought nothing of it. As the train came to a stop at one of it's many stops along the way, we could hear the voices of children outside. Boy, those voices are clear we all thought but didn't say anything. Then all of a sudden Megan looked up from her book and noticed our cabin door was open! The lock had broke and the train was starting to move again! With the train in motion (and picking up speed), Jason put his foot on the door to keep it closed and examined the situation. If left open with the way the cabin rocked it could launch us out on the way to the toilet! He called out for his Swisstool (yes, he travels with tools) and promptly began fixing the door as best he could using screws and blots from other parts of our cabin. The rust had eaten away a portion of the locking mechanism and with the aggressive movement of the train, the pressure was finally too much. Jason was able to secure the door again and we were able to sleep as soundly as we could given the noise and erratic dance of the train. Come morning, we were able to open our windows again and view the beautiful countryside. We even watched the sun rise over the landscape.

The door can lock again!

We have no idea how he did it, but come 7 am as we rolled into another stop along the way, our cabin caretaker popped in front of our window asking us if we were ready for breakfast. Seeing him caught us off guard, as we didn't believe it would happen on time. Afterwards, we continued watching the stunning landscape as we had many hours still to go...

When we arrived in Bagan, we needed a taxi to get to our hotel. We negotiated a price, then followed the driver. He brought us to his small truck where we piled into the back with our bags. We were tired, and crammed into this tiny truck bed but it was the perfect way to end the ride.

Taxi ride in the back of truck

The journey from Yangon to Bagan is over 600 km and by train it took more than 18 hours to get there. In the end it was not as good as I had hoped, but not as bad as I had feared. Worth the adventure in our opinion, but not one we will need to do again!

~ Christine

Our journey in pictures: