Burma forum

ohmytravels - I have a feeling your information about not being able to pre-book trains in advance these days in correct. When I was there in December and also March on both occasions the guesthouses I stayed at said it was necessary to go to the train station in person to book (you need to pay in US dollars and remember to take your passport) whereas they readily assisted with booking flights, buses and hotels. Once in the country I've used Exotic Myanmar a couple of times, mainly for flight tickets but they seemed pretty efficient so you could try emailing them (their website is easy to find).

I don't agree that train is "a lousy way to travel in Burma" - sure they're incredibly slow, rickety and bumpy but I've had some of my best experiences on Burmese trains. That said, steviej may have a point regarding the train journey from Yangon to Mandalay - it's a long one. I don't know what the rest of your itinerary involves but if there is the opportunity for a slightly shorter train journey you may want to consider that instead ...... I've never taken the sleeper from Yangon to Mandalay but a day train full of locals and their produce may be more interesting and have more opportunities for interaction .......