It has been an epic trip to get here. I could have done it easier on a bus but I wanted the train.
Yangon to Shwenyaung for Nyaungshwe and the Inle lake.
I tried to book the tickets in Yangon a few days ago and they said I could only book them 3 days in advance. (this is at the ticket office at the train station) I came back a few days later to book for tomorrow and they said come back tomorrow. Eventually I booked 5hr before the train was to leave. I could only book Yangon to Shwenyaung as 'upperclass seated' but it was a 24hr ride so I wanted sleeper. I could only book sleeper to Thazi and they wouldn't book the rest of the trip I had to book as I go. We left Yangon at 15.11 or 11min late.
The sleeper cabins are different to the ones I have had before. Four people share a cabin, 2 upper bunks are always there and the lower bunks are made by folding out the 4 chairs. The lower bunks are uncomfortable cos they never line up. Bunks are up and down the train not across as usual everywhere else. The cabin also has its own toilet and you cant move to another part of the train unless you go outside when the train stops.
I arrived at approx. 03.25am.
Cost from Yangon to Thazi in sleeper 26/aug/2013 $27 paid in USD.
Thazi to Shwenyaung
I booked this about 2 hours before the train. Again we left late at approx. 06.15am. Upper class seats are assigned a seat number. ALL the seats are broken and stay in the recline position, and the wagon is filthy. The first hour you travel through some picturesque farming country, then when you get to the hills you are surrounded by jungle. This train is very slow, not much faster than walking pace. I had fun interacting with the locals and looking around when the train stopped. At some stations the stop is a few seconds, at some it is a few minutes. They blow the whistle when it is time to go and start moving but it is OK you can still catch up. Most stations have food for sale and it appears to be OK, I ate at a couple and I am fine. After the train tops over the hills the scenery improves again to farmers working the fields.
We arrived at approx. 16.35 so it had been 25 1/2hr trip.
Cost of this ride $7 again paid in USD.
When I got to Shwenyaung a taxi driver approached me as I got off and asked if I was going to Nyuangshwe? I asked him, how much and he said 7000kyat, the going rate, so I agreed. About half an hour later I was booking into my hotel for the next couple of days.
It was a long, slow journey but I am really glad I did it.