On Track

So we loved the train travel in Burma, with its excitingly bumpy and rocking ride, but this does not help when you want to use the toilet! Indeed, I avoided it as much as I could, sometimes waiting for our destination to use the station toilets. I had surmised they would be a measure of clean, or at least a little bit more so, but it was not always the case.

The bumping and swaying made it challenging enough for me to hover, and for Rob to aim ("I nearly pissed on my shorts!"), never mind the near complete darkness in some lavatories. It's enough to make you obsess over the damp soles of your shoes or flip flops.

Then, there's the heat of day stagnating that windowless metal box, warming the misfires so you return to your seat, sniffing your clothes and asking your travel partner if you still smell like loo.

Oh! What about station stops? The train would be stationary, won't it? I can hear you ask. Well, yes... But the thing is, there's a toilet, but no septic tank. That's right, your waste goes directly to the train track. This is something to consider, a dilemma Rob was faced with during a brief stop at a station. "I wanted to do a number two," he told me quietly when he returned to his seat. "But I couldn't because there are kids playing next to the carriage. I could see their shadows through the bottom of the toilet."

Be like Rob. Don't leave poo at the station.