The day we caught a train!

  Gokteik, Shan, Myanmar Tuesday, November 4, 2014

We checked out of hotel at 3:45am and hurried to the railway station across the road. We found our seats and put on a brave face as it wasn't very clean. Bryan instantly got his pillow out and went to sleep as he had had a really sleepless night and wasn't feeling too good. We had bought a ticket to Nawnpeng which was the first station after the bridge and still 8 hours away so he had plenty of time to catch up. Goktiek bridge is quite famous here as it spans a deep gorge and was once the highest railway trestle bridge in the world. The bridge is between the two towns of Pyin U Lwin, the summer capital of the former British colonial administrators of Burma, and Lashio, the principal town of northern Shan State. It is the highest bridge in Myanmar.  It is located approximately 100 km northeast of Mandalay. We were hoping that this train journey would be much smoother than the one to Bagan ... but of course it wasn't.  Several hours into our journey a large group of what we can only describe as SAGA holiday makers got on the train with us and as the train bounced and bobbed along you could see all their heads bobbing and their squeals of delight as it is amusing for the first 5 minutes. After that you could almost hear the sound of hip joints groaning and slipped discs popping. It wasn't so funny for them 5 hours later! The beautiful scenery rolled passed we saw mountains, jungle, fields of flowers and rolling hills. All of it beautiful and hardly a soul or a building to be seen anywhere. During the journey Bryan was feeling much worse and just slept. Now we all know how easily he nods off at the slightest chance but this was different and he could barely keep his eyes open.He was determined to see the bridge however so we stayed on the train. Jody didn't think we should attempt the journey back by train as planned though as it didn't get back to Mandalay until 11pm and he really needed to get to bed and we even discussed whether he needed a doctor. So at about midday, the bridge rolled into sight. It is quite a sight too when you are sitting on the train as you can't quite believe the train has to go over it. Knowing how much we had been thrown around and seeing how narrow the track was, we all had visions of wobbling off! Luckily the train slows right down and we all got to lean right out of the windows and get a good view of it. Here are some bridge facts for the geeks The viaduct stretches 689 metres (2,260 ft) from end to end with 15 towers which span 12 metres (39 ft) along with a double tower 24 metres (79 ft) long. The 15 towers support 10 deck truss spans of 37 metres (121 ft) along with six plate girder spans 18 metres (59 ft) long and an approach span of 12 metres (39 ft). Many sources have put the height of the bridge at 250 metres (820 ft) but the true height of the bridge is 102 metres (335 ft). The cost of the bridge construction was £111,200 Due to its technical and natural condition it was considered as a masterpiece of the world standard. So we arrived at our destination Nawnpeng around 1pm and got off. We had made the decision to try and get a car back to Mandalay which would be much quicker for Bryan. So with Bryan sat with our bags Jody went from bus to bus (all private tour buses) to see if any were heading back and if so, did they have any spare seats and if so, would they take us? A lot of ifs and only 5 buses. None were going our way unfortunately but there were a couple of cars so she tried those next. No luck their either. There was only one vehicle left but it was empty. In the meantime, the guide with the SAGA group and one of the ladies accompanying the group had tried to intervene and speak to the locals for us. A lad sped off on a moped to see if he could find a driver for us. By this time Bryan was feeling so much worse and Jody really was getting anxious as this was such a small town and she felt he needed a doctor in Mandalay. The only other option was to get on the southbound train when it arrived and get to Mandalay at 11pm as planned. Not the end of the world but not ideal. Then a man said he was the guide of the last vehicle but the family in it had just gone for a walk and he would ask them on our behalf if they would not mind taking us. To our huge relief, they said yes they would take us. As they were on an organised private tour they had a few stops lined up but we said even if they could just get us to a bigger town, then we could get a car from there which would be brilliant. The guide even said he would make some calls and try and get a car to meet us at some point and we could go from there. Joan & Craig said they really didn't mind us going the whole way back with them but we really didn't want to intrude on their trip any longer than was necessary. So with a rough plan in place we gratefully jumped in the back of the luxury 7 seater they were in. Joan and Craig were two Americans from New Jersey and were on a 3 week whistle stop tour. They both love travel too and we swapped a few stories whilst Bryan slept. It was around this point their guide said there were no taxis available from Mandalay as there was a festival on and all the cars were out. Joan and Craig said it wasn't a problem for them but we felt bad to have intruded on there trip as long as we had already but we didn't have a choice at this point so we all settled back for the long ride. They stopped at some caves and Jody jumped out with them as Bryan needed to sleep still. The caves were huge inside and full of Buddhas. It felt like a Buddha theme park inside :-) Nearby are some very beautiful waterfalls so we got a few pictures of that too although Bryan didn't see any of it. With all this sleep he was getting. Bryan started to feel a bit better and indeed he did actually look a bit better too. We're sure the comfy car and AC helped a lot too but when Joan & Craig stopped for lunch Bryan felt well enough to get out of the car too. One huge banana split with ice-cream later and Bryan had really perked up. Thankfully. We eventually rolled into Mandalay and the driver took Joan and Craig back first. They were staying at the top hotel in Mandalay and it was nice to get a peek at it. Refusing to take any contribution for the journey, we promised to tip the driver and guide well and waved goodbye to them. Joan and Craig, if you ever read this, the the biggest thank you goes out to you as Bryan really wasn't as well as he looked and after a really, really bad night, we got the doctor out to him the next day. Thankfully as we write this he is much better but if we had had to get the train back then he wouldn't have held out for sure. Joan you wanted some good karma in the bank and we are sure you can afford to be very naughty without it affecting your credit now! :-) Thank you XXX At a later date, you will be able to see a clip of the train ride here XXX [gallery columns="4" ids="9214,9215,9216,9217,9219,9220,9221,9222,9223,9225,9226,9227,9228,9229,9230,9231,9232,9233,9236,9239,9241,9242,9247,9249,9251,9253,9255,9257,9260,9263,9270,9275"]