Although India and Myanmar share a fairly lengthy border, and I think enjoy decent international relations, for some reason there is no international border point of entry from one country to the other. As I planned to visit Thailand later on, and the option of a long train journey from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was available, I opted to fly from Yangon to Chiang Mai, and then catch the 10 hour train ride to Bangkok. From there, the plan was to get to Bangkok airport, fly to Kolkata and then get a connecting flight to Guwahati, which is the capital of Assam.
This was an expensive option, but it seemed the most useful, especially given that I wanted to visit Thailand, and the return flight facilitated that opportunity. I'd always been fascinated by North East India, that strange collection of small states that seems geographically so removed from mainstream India with its usual tourist haunts, and the opportunity to visit more nature reserves and to return to the mountains in the border areas of Bhutan had a definite appeal.
So I caught a flight from Mandalay to Yangon, and on the same day caught a flight to Chiang Mai, arriving in the evening and staying in a place very close to the railway station. The next morning I caught the Chiang Mai train at around 7.30am, and it was a really good experience with marvellous views, particularly at the Chiang Mai end of the journey. At times the train passed through national park areas, and the rivers were wonderful. The railway infrastructure and vehicles were so much more modern than facilities available in Myanmar, with uniformed staff at stations and comfortable seating, all very different.
It was relatively straightforward getting from Bangkok station, which wasn't as vast as i'd imagined it would be, to the airport. From there I caught the flights to Kolkata and then onto Guwahati. It had been a long journey, and I was glad to get some sleep at the hotel, even though it was disturbed by construction work on an upper floor.
This was an expensive option, but it seemed the most useful, especially given that I wanted to visit Thailand, and the return flight facilitated that opportunity. I'd always been fascinated by North East India, that strange collection of small states that seems geographically so removed from mainstream India with its usual tourist haunts, and the opportunity to visit more nature reserves and to return to the mountains in the border areas of Bhutan had a definite appeal.
So I caught a flight from Mandalay to Yangon, and on the same day caught a flight to Chiang Mai, arriving in the evening and staying in a place very close to the railway station. The next morning I caught the Chiang Mai train at around 7.30am, and it was a really good experience with marvellous views, particularly at the Chiang Mai end of the journey. At times the train passed through national park areas, and the rivers were wonderful. The railway infrastructure and vehicles were so much more modern than facilities available in Myanmar, with uniformed staff at stations and comfortable seating, all very different.
It was relatively straightforward getting from Bangkok station, which wasn't as vast as i'd imagined it would be, to the airport. From there I caught the flights to Kolkata and then onto Guwahati. It had been a long journey, and I was glad to get some sleep at the hotel, even though it was disturbed by construction work on an upper floor.
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