Travel Day 1156 – Pyin Oo Lwin to Hsipaw, MYANMAR
It would have been really great to spend more time in Pyin Oo Lwin with its colonial charm and Indian culture, but unfortunately it was already time to move on…
Crossing the Gokteik Viaduct on the way to Hsipaw
In this case moving on meant catching a train to Hsipaw, further north-east and right into the Shan State. Hsipaw itself which once might have been a royal Shan city was famous as a starting point for local village hikes in the surrounding area. Those guided hikes to supposedly unspoiled Shan and Palaung villages where visitors were offered to stay with local families, had been the highlight of many travelers I had talked to and I obviously couldn’t miss that experience. But the best way to get to get there was apparently the train…
Since I already had one experience with the Myanmar rail system on my Crazy Train Travel to Naba and Katha, at least I knew what to expect from it. The scenery during the ride up to Hsipaw and Lashio was supposed to be splendid and initially I even wanted to join the full ride starting in Mandalay. But when I realized that the train was departing Mandalay at the unholy hour of four in the morning, I rather opted for the limited scenery package between Pyin Oo Lwin and Hsipaw only…
Slowly approaching the Gokteik Viaduct in Myanmar
Luckily there was still enough to see on the train journey because the main attraction, the Gokteik Viaduct, lay smack in the middle between these two places. Additionally the scheduled departure time of 8.22am was more than convenient and allowed us to undergo all the lengthy booking formalities for foreigners without any stress. The reason why foreigners had to pay in brand new US dollar bills was still beyond my understanding, but so was why the train from Mandalay was taking 4 ½ hours to get here when a car took only 2 hours…
But it was even harder to understand how on earth this 4 ½ hour train could have been late by another 8 hours yesterday, when some of the foreigners, who were boarding the train with me today with me, tried to leave. The train system in Myanmar really seemed to be the worst that I ever come across around the globe, but today we were at least in luck and the train departed with only one hour delay. And so we were off again, jumping up and down or swaying left to right with the entire train cabin, to reach the famous Gokteik Viaduct…
Valley view from the Gokteik Viaruct in Myanmar
This bridge-like structure used to be the second highest in the world when it was constructed in 1901 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and until today it was the longest in Myanmar. Our train was slowly winding its way down to the correct elevation of the Gokteik Viaduct, which actually turned out to be rather a stilted passage way than a bridge. Not least impressive were the views of the mighty superstructure and its freshly painted steel girders from afar or up close as we were snailing across the surprisingly deep valley below…
In the end it was also not surprising that the slow train ride to Hsipaw took up the entire day and only by the late afternoon we finally managed to arrive at the local guesthouse. But the once more crazy train ride with its excellent views of landscapes, villages and the unusual Gokteik Viaduct was definitely worth the time. And the fact that we were still able to arrange a two-day hike to some local villages around Hsipaw simply made this a really successful travel day in Myanmar…
Find all Hsipaw Train Ride Photos here.
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