Friday, April 5, 2013

Burma Part VII: Train to Kyaukme

There is no understanding tourists.  We decry the slow trains in Myanmar, and then we all insist on taking the most dangerous and slow route to get from Pyin Oo Lwin to Kyaukme.  And why do we insist on doing this?  Because you get to go 5 miles an hour across the Gokteik Viaduct, a bridge built in 1901 from PA steel and not well maintained. 

But I do love me a train trip.  And scary bridges are definitely a highlight for me!  This may have something to do with my sister's fear of heights -- as her fear increased, my desire to go higher and higher grew.

So off we went...

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To add to our "danger quotient" they had to do some last minute repairs on our train before we could leave.

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This is my fancy "upper class" car. "Upper Class" just means we had some padding on our seats. But that padding was actually much appreciated as we bounced quite a bit on the 5-hour trip.

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We also needed to add cars to our train before we could leave.

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Finally we are moving (note old school bell being rung by train employee as we leave the station)...

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Don't look down...

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We wandered the market in Kyaukme after we arrived.

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Shampoo...

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