If you think 26 hours on a train is crazy, think again!

When we decided to take the slow boat from Mandalay to Bagan, we didn’t know what was in store for us. We asked our driver to take us to the ticketing counter and he gave us a warning. “The boat is very slowww. You might get stucked if the water level is low. The boat is very smelly! There are a lot of locals. They bring fresh produce with them. Maybe you should take the fast boat.”

Yes, we know all of that. The slow boat is the one which the locals take, it departs twice weekly from Mandalay to Bagan while the fast boat is the one for filthy rich tourists, costing more than three times the price of the slow boat. Nope, we’d rather rough it out. After all, it would be fun to join the locals ain’t it?

The boat departs twice weekly and tickets are only on sale the day before departure because it would depend on whether the boat arrives in Mandalay. Yep, some boats don’t make it until a few days past the arrival date. We got to the ticketing counter, dodgy! everything is covered in a thick layer of dust as if nobody uses them, with only 2 people working. Our driver told them we wanted to buy boat tickets (we were probably the first people), guy went to the back to check, we wait, wait, we were told the boat from the day before has not arrived, panic! what about the one for tomorrow? wait, wait, wait. Ahh…yes, the boat has just arrived. Wheww! Gave our passport details, paid in crisp new USD notes and got our tickets! Half the battle won.

We had to be at the harbour by 5am. Had the same driver pick us up at 435am, freezing cold! It was total darkness at the harbour except for a row of fluorescent lights. Our driver told us to go upstairs and grab a plastic chair. Walked down the unpaved slope in darkness and got on the boat. Chaos! Lost backpackers were trying to figure their way around. Locals were unloading goods. People everywhere.

Found the stairs, went up, and luckily our friend has already “booked” 3 seats for us in a corner. Yay! Now, to chuck our bags somewhere… There wasn’t enough space as more people came onboard and marked their territories. Finally resorted to shoving our backpacks underneath our plastic chairs. Then, we waited as the chaos went on and all of us freezing our asses off. Kept adding layers of clothing.

The boat finally departed slightly before 6am. The captain honked PBBOONNNGGG! And off we went! Couldn’t really see anything until the sun rose. The weirdest thing was it started to get colder the more the sun came out. As we went along the river, we could see all the temples and pagodas on the hills around Mandalay which really stood out. After that, everyone resorted to taking a morning nap.

You could really see the difference between the “foreigners’ section” compared to where the locals are. The “foreigners’ section” is on the upper deck and we had the privilege to sit on plastic chairs. The locals were scattered on the lower deck and some on the upper deck. They had to camp out on the floor, but they were prepared. They had blankets and food supply. Plus, they had free entertainment – watching the foreigners!

Things started to get more interesting when we docked at the first village. Tons of people were already waiting by the riverside, or rather, the entire village was out to wait for the boat. Families waiting for loved ones to be home. Merchants waiting for their goods to be unloaded.

And then there were the food peddlers. They waded through the river and came towards the boat even before it stopped completely. There was this lady who was selling corn. A girl on the upper deck wanted to buy one. And you know whatttt? The lady threw the corn onto the upper deck and it was a perfect aim! The entire boat got so excited that everyone wanted to buy something 😐 When the boat finally docked properly, all the food peddlers rushed onto the boat and jostled their way to the “foreigners’ section”. More chaos! I suddenly noticed that the floor was wet and wondered why. Then I realized, it was because those ladies got wet while wadding through the river water earlier. It reminded me again how hard life was for them.

Moving on, it was always exciting everytime the boat docks at another village. People will wake up and cameras will start flashing. We stopped by a few throughout the journey. It was heart-warming to see such simple lifestyles and how cooperative everyone was in helping each other out. A sense of camaraderie we rarely see in big cities now.

Realistically, there is no fixed time on how long the boat journey will be. Coz it really depends on the water levels. If you’re lucky, it might be 9-10 hours. Or 12 hours. Or 14 hours. Or get stucked overnight on the boat. All the travelers on the boat were told different durations when they bought their tickets.

So, this is the challenge of traveling on a budget: Test your skills on entertaining yourself! I slept for a while, woke up to read some guidebooks, went back to sleep, stared blankly at the river, people-watch, eaves-dropped on random conversations, eat, move around, eat, drink, sleep, read, play with my scarf, wiggle my toes, read, eat, sleep, stretch, keep checking the time…

After more than 12 hours on the boat, everyone started getting restless and debated on when we will arrive. Nobody knows man. Well, at least we got to see the sunset on the boat which was pretty scenic. As night time falls, we had new friends on the boat – mosquitoes! By this time, the boat was almost empty as the locals have already disembarked earlier.

We were all ready to pull our hair out! How far more?! We kept on asking the boat attendant and when he said we were pretty close, everyone immediately packed up! We finally saw some lights, heaved a sigh of relief, stood up, wore our bags and waited for the boat to dock.

So, how long did our boat ride take? 16 hours! On a plastic chair. Yep, 16 hours on a plastic chair.

Will I do it again? Hell, yeah! Nothing beats experiencing life like a local and you definitely don’t see this everyday.