The road to Hsipaw, pronounced 'see-por', continues with a 6 hour train journey. Well they said 6 hours, I was sceptical when I first heard it and immediately added an extra couple of hours. At 60p, not only was it the cheapest way to travel to Hsipaw, it was supposedly the most scenic. Having now been there and gotten the shirt, I can firmly agree. When I arrived at the station, at 7 o'clock in the morning, the station master gave me the choice of carriage I'd like to sit in; either upper or lower class. Going for the 'gap yah' experience, I went for lower class. It wasn't quite the animal carriage, as that was the one behind, but it wasn't far off. The locals had packed our carriage full with all sorts; sacks of vegetables, wicker baskets, clothes, anything imaginable from a Burmese market. The train itself felt like it was the next step on from a steam train- it was incredibly basic. In lower class we had wooden benches, open windows and a toilet in the form of a hole in the floor. As we clattered through the picturesque Shan mountains, making slow progress beneath a bright blue sky, ladies balancing refreshments on their head catered for all needs. One had drinks, another had fruit, another had a huge tray of fried noodles. Despite having all sorts on offer, the views along the way we're enough to keep us busy. The highlight of the journey was the Gokteik Viaduct that spans almost 700m across one of the Western Shan valleys. It was built for the British by the Americans and opened in 1900. Apparently at the time it was built, it was the highest bridge of that kind in the world and its still the highest bridge in Burma today. Without any doors on the carriage, looking down at 350ft drop was hair raising. The train tiptoed over at a snails pace that made it more nervy. Both the bridge and the train creaked under the strain. It hadn't looked as if the 115 year old bridge had changed since it was built. We eventually reached Hsipaw, unsurpringsly, a little later than expected but it was without doubt a worthwhile leg of the journey.

One of the main reasons I came to Hsipaw was to do some trekking. What I hadn't considered was the rainy season, the floods and the incoming rainstorm. During rainy season a lot of the trekking routes are closed and even more so due to the recent floods. Originally I had wanted to do a couple of days trekking with an overnight stop somewhere. Unfortunately, these routes weren't open and neither were the villages where I would have stayed. The best the trekking company could offer was a 10 hour, 18 mile trek with a lunch stop in a minority village, home to the Palaung Tribe. It had been a week since I saw rain, which was in Yangon over a week ago, so I should have known we would be expecting some soon. On the morning of my trek, I woke early to rain, monsoon rain. There was supposed to be a few others on this trek but because most were put off by the torrential downpours, it was myself and Simon, an Englishman from Paddington. Although he didn't look particularly outdoors-y, he had all the gear which was more than what could be said for me. He was there with trekking trousers, his North Face raincoat and his sturdy walking boots. I had some swim shorts, trainers and a poncho left over from Vietnam. Comparing us both it was like good trekker/bad trekker. What to do and what not to do.

Our guide took as from the lowland paddy fields to 4000ft into the mountains. The heavy showers meant the visibility wasn't great but at least the rain kept us a bit cooler. It kept raining until we reached the village. We had covered about 9 miles before lunch and 90% of it was uphill- it was reassuring to know that the next 9 miles would be downhill! Just as we approached the village, rather wearily, out from the bushes came an armed soldier of the Shan State Army. At first he looked tentative (I'm sure we must have too) but later he was full of smiles and shaking our hands, asking our guide where we were from. Our guide told us that he was there to protect both us, the tourists, and the villagers from the militia that have been seen patrolling the Northern Shan hillsides. It was all very exciting. We met our host family who had prepared a feast of vegetable curry, along with a variety of side dishes. We ate well and after dinner we were invited to smoke cigars with the men. I offered to help but it was left to the women to wash up. With full stomachs, the next and final stages took us along the tracks around Tea Mountain, where the villagers make their living, and eventually back down to the rice fields. The rain gave way to a great sunset that we watched on our way back to the hostel. On our return we celebrated with a few beers but with everything closing not long after 9, we only had time for a couple.

With time pressing, (same old story) I've got to push on and leave Hsipaw for Inle Lake. I've heard a lot of good things about Inle so I'm looking forward to a change of scenery but first, I've got another 13 hour bus ride to get through. In other news, one week until I'm home!