Hang your head out the open windows at your own risk! There's a good chance a tree limb will lick you on the side of the head. Nevertheless, I cannot help but stick my head out. I watch the car in front of us slide to the side. It looks like it is changing tracks, but it is connected to the car I am in! The car I am in sways from side to side and jolts up and down. If you want to read or drink something, it is almost impossible! This 7 hour train ride rivals the van trip to Pyin Oo Lwin I took yesterday, and reminds me of riding the Bamboo Train in Cambodia!!!  http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/usatexan/1/1363279211/tpod.html

I took my passport to the train station . Myanmar is the only place I have travelled where you have to show your passport to get on a train or bus. In all the other countries, about the only time you need to show your passport is when you enter or leave the country, or check into a hotel. But, Myanmar is new to the tourist industry, the country having been cut off from the world by sanctions for so many years, until recently. So, things work differently here.

I stand in line at the train station ticket window. When my turn comes, the person at the window looks at me and then calls out to someone in Burmese. 

I am taken aside to a separate small room. A Burmese, English speaking man, talks to me about my travel plans. I assure him I am just a tourist that came to see his country and am interested in seeing Hsipaw. 

He takes my passport and looks it over. He reads every visa on every page. (I have an extra thick passport with over 50 pages .) He finally fills out some forms. I pay enough Kyat to equal about $3 for the 7 hour train trip to Hsipaw (See-Paw), and finally get my train ticket.

One reason most tourist ride this train to Hsipaw is to see the "Gokteik Viaduct". It is Myanmars most stunning man-made marvel. It's a 2,260 foot long bridge that is 320 feet high over a gorge. 

There are mostly local Burmese passengers on the train, though. I am not sure why they use the train, maybe because it is the cheapest transport to Hsipaw and beyond? You can get from here by bus or auto in a fraction of the time. This trip by train will take me most of the day. But, with only $3 for the all day trip, anyone can afford it, I guess.

One of the reasons tourists endure the long train ride is to see the "Gokleik Bridge". The bridge was designed by an American firm and shipped by the Pennsylvania Steel Co overseas in 1901 where it was assembled .

The bridge was once the longest railway trestle in the world. It's located about 100 miles from Mandalay, the capitol city. It is 4 1/4 mile long from end to end and from the rail to the bottom of the gorge is 335 feet. 

The trains stops before reaching the bridge and, while passengers are getting on and off, you can quickly jump ouside to take a photo of the bridge the train is approaching. 

I had read that photos of the bridge were not allowed, because the Burmese considered it of strategic importance. But, I asked the guy that interrogated me for my train ticket, and he said now it was permitted to take photos.

A few minutes later, the train moves very slowly, going across the bridge. (The bridge has not been updated since the 1990's.) This works out good for hanging your head out the windows for photos and views as the train moves at a snails pace .

But, as impressive as this historic bridge was, the real prize, for me, was in the train ride itself! The old adage that 'it's not the destination, it's the journey' proved true in this case!

The train runs on 117 miles of tracks through the hills of Myanmar. We rock side to side and bump up and down. In the very beginning of the trip when this happened, all of the foreigners looked at each other, wondering what was happening. Was the train wrecking or the cars coming disconnected? The train jerks from side to side while you try staying in your seat. Sometimes your bottom clears the seat! I guess this would not be a good trip for someone with back or neck problems, though.

However, after a few minutes, we realized this was just the nature of this train. The locals don't seem alarmed by it at all. I think it's wonderful, but not good for those wanting to sleep or read! I had no plans to do either . I watch the scenery on my trips. I many never be this way again!

I could stick my head out the open window (no air-conditioner or fans) and see the cars in front of the one I was riding, dash from side to side. The train is a relic from the 1950's! Nothing restored or improved. You get what you got then, just with all those years of wear and tear added in! It's wonderful!

I read where the train jumps the tracks on occassion. Part of the reason it moves along so slowly, I guess. When it jumps the tracks you may spend a couple of days beside the tracks waiting for it to get put back on!

In spite of the bouncing and knocking around, everyone, (the locals especially), were in a great mood. Some carried picnic foods and made little tables out of small pieces of cardboard to place on their laps. They brought games to play and were very jovial. For most of us, it is an all day trip .

Food was never a problem on the trip. The train would stop at stations to pick up and let off passengers. Vendors, selling all sorts of food and drinks, would be right next to the train. The train would stay 15 or so minutes to pick up passengers. So, you had plenty of time to get off and look around at the food. You could even stay on board and just buy things through the open windows! For about 50 cents they would pass you a styrofoam plate full of food or a bag of fresh cut fruit, or a drink.

The train ride was like being in another time period. I am glad to come to Myanmar now, when they just recently opened their borders to Americans, before they become too developed and 'civilized'.

Next: "The No-Go Zones in Myanmar!"