Adventure railroad in a tropical country
We had heard it from friends and read it in some blogs: Rail travel in Myanmar is nowhere near as comfortable as in Thailand and even more exotic than in Vietnam. You need a lot of time and seat meat. But it is incredibly cheap by our standards. The trains are not on time, but uncomfortable. What you see and experience is so fascinating and moving that you quickly become a repeat offender.
Tour with the Circular Train
Yangon Central Station 
Maintenance personnel 
the Circular Train 
Looking forward 
Train driver is a tough job here 
The transport of goods is exhausting 
well balanced 
individual menu preparation 
just according to your taste 
the bump of the train loosens everyone well 
it still can be poorer 
every platform is also a sales area 
Waiting in the heat makes you sluggish 
look back 
most passengers wait for the train to stop 
There is room in the smallest hut 
Telephoning or dozing off 
Track construction by hand 
The barrier is pushed by hand 
un train peut en cacher un autre … 
Man and engine 
traditional or modern? 
in the evening light 
Jay-Walkers on the tracks 
at the finish
From our hotel in Little India we walked the almost 2 kilometers to Yangon Central Station and wanted to get in the mood for the Burmese railway system first with the circular train. While we crossed the length of the impressive steel structure of the waiting hall, we were asked by several helpful people where we were going. So we learned that you have to buy the tickets for the suburban train on platform 6 directly.
So we went over a long bridge over the tracks over there. As soon as I took the last step down onto the platform, a girl jumps up to me and asks “Circular train? You want tickets?”. I say “yes” and she says “follow me”. She takes me to an ordinary platform kiosk, where you can buy drinks, not very tempting looking sandwiches – and tickets. We learn that a construction site is preventing the Circular Train from circling the city. You can only go either east or west.
We do that then. And get impressions that we won’t forget.
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