Pyin-Oo-Lwin - Pyin Oo Lwin, Republic of the Union of Myanm
Pyin Oo Lwin, Republic of the Union of Myanm
Pyin-Oo-Lwin is a small town about 70km east of Mandalay, at an elevation of approximately 1100m. Formerly known as Maymyo, the cooler temperatures of the region were appealing to the British, who used the hill station as their summer capital until independence in 1948 to escape from the searing heat of the plains. Nowadays the town carries a pretty legacy of its colonial days in the many churches and other old buildings dotted around town, as well as representing populations of Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. The town is well-served by the trainline from Mandalay to Lashio, and has seen an influx from tourism in the past decade. To get to Pyoo-Oo-Lwin we first had a six-hour bus journey from Bagan to Mandalay to contend with. The passengers seemed to be made up of half Burmese (who were all sick) and half western travellers (who weren't). There is nothing dodgy about the driving in Myanmar, and the roads are better than others we've experienced, so we're still unsure as to why the Burmese are such bad bus travellers. It was not a pleasant journey, especially for Dave who only had one working headphone, and along with the heavy rock music coming in his right ear in an attempt to drown everything else out, had to listen to a mixture of chundering locals, awful imitation pop and brash Burmese comedy coming in his left. After arriving in Mandalay... Hang on, I'll start that sentence again. The bus dropped us at the bus park, which, in a growing trend, was a good 10km outside the city centre. This created a problem, as there were no buses going to Pyin-Oo-Lwin, and we would have to make the journey into town in order to find a pickup. Despite paying K7500 each for a six-hour journey from Bagan, were resigned to paying K5000 to make the final 10 minutes into town. The consolation was that we didn't pay the K7000 originally asked for, and we were taken to an unsigned and innocuous street corner where the pickups to Pyin-Oo-Lwin departed from. Our pickup was already loaded high with bags and other luggage, the two benches down each side mostly filled with people. Our bags were promptly tied to the roof, we paid our K1500 each (how can a three-hour journey cost us less than a 10minute one?) and found ourselves a seat near the back. Pickups in Burma are used to transport all sorts of things around the country, and it is usual to see the luggage on top stacked to twice the height of the vehicle, with more than twenty people in the back, hanging off the side, or sitting on top. Thankfully our ride left before it resorted to too much of that, and we set off out of Mandalay. The ride began on the flat before beginning the climb up the hills after an hour or so. There was actually two roads up he hillside, one for each direction of traffic, meaning that we only had to contend with the odd rogue overtaker. We stopped for the obligatory tyre-wash twice, the second time in a small service station where we tried a greasy snack which appeared to be kernels of corn shaped into circles with batter and then deep-fried. We were non-plussed. We arrived into Pyin-Oo-Lwin sometime before 5pm, a successful day's travelling complete, and were quickly descended on by a couple of motorbike-taxi drivers. We had no idea where we were, but when he mentioned the name of Grace Hotel - the only budget hotel we'd heard of in town - and that it was 3km away, we agreed to hop on the back for the K500 ride. After a quick altercation where Jenna tried to demand a helmet (one of the driver's eventually conceded hers) we made the two minute journey to Grace Hotel. 3km? More like 500m. Well played sir. Dangerously, we've become used to paying $25 for a hotel room, something we wouldn't have dreamed of doing in Vietnam or Cambodia, so when Grace announced those were the room charges, we didn't blink, and agreed to stay. Happily however we had a spacious room with a double bed and warm shower and....great Internet! We quickly set about doing the things we hadn't had the opportunity to do in weeks - travelpod blogs, upload photos etc- before heading down into town for some dinner. The town was pretty and unhurried, a mixture of old buildings, a clock tower dating back to 1936, a buzzing night market and various shops and restaurants. There were also almost zero tourists. We wandered though town - in our jumpers, as it was quite cold - until we found a small outdoor restaurant serving Myanmar food and warm jasmine tea. Whereas Dave tried a bowl of Shan Noodles - the noodle soup of choice in these parts - Jenna fared less well, with a spicy tea lead salad and a plate of greasy fried rice that she hadn't asked for. A packet of digestives on the way home cheered her up. The following morning, after the worst breakfast we've had in a long time, we continued the a bit of admin before setting off around lunchtime for a walk through town and the surrounding areas. We walked north, through the train station and across the tracks and into a small collection of bamboo houses before turning south back through town, stopping briefly to try a small snack we've seen a lot of. They are small fried dollops of rice batter cooked on a grill with lots of small craters in, a bit like creating mini Yorkshire puddings. Then a small amount of veg is added - in this case sweetcorn and spring onion - before another mini yorkie is placed on top creating a ball. They were great, and at four for K100 (10c, 6p), incredibly cheap. Where's the profit?! We continued into town, and happened upon another shinbyu parade such as we'd seen while leaving Bagan. There were men and boys on horses, colourfully-dressed women lined up with matching parasols, and trucks carrying huge sound systems with a band playing in the back. It was incredibly entertaining, and lots of people were happy to smile and pose for us. We stopped for a glass of creamy fresh milk and a bowl of egg custard (yum) before coming across two processions of a different kind. First, a long line of monks passed us, in height order from tallest to shortest, dressed in red robes, carrying a matching umbrella and chewing gum. Next, it was the turn of the female equivalent, dressed in pink and collecting alms in baskets balanced on their heads. The youngest couldn't have been more than four years old. We continued down through the busy market area, passed fruit stalls and hardware shops, heading east away from the centre, past more churches, eventually finding our way to one of the more famous colonial buildings in Pyin-Oo-Lwin. Candacraig carried a date of 1904, and was used by the Bombay Burma Trading Company as a rest spot. The old red building was still in good condition, and is now used as a hotel, having been renamed Thiri Myaing. We headed south, out of town for half an hour or so, to where the town has a beautiful Botanical Garden. We've seen a few of these in Asia and haven't been overly impressed, so were pleasantly surprised after paying our K5000 entrance fee to find a well-manicured, peaceful lakeside setting with several museums and specialist gardens. The downside was that we hadn't arrived until 4pm, with any exhibits closing at 5pm and the site at 6pm. We set off to explore, heading towards the 10-storey viewing tower. After taking the lift up, we were treated to panoramic views over the town, the gardens and the hills beyond. Although it was a bit hazy, the late-afternoon sunshine covered the trees in an autumnal glow, the different colours creating quite a spectacle. After descending we made our way to the butterfly museum and an orchid garden before retiring to the lake area for sunset. While sitting and enjoying the sun set over the trees, we began to be approached by locals asking for photos, first the odd one or two, and then large groups. We felt like celebrities. Whereas in India we complained about this, as phones would just be thrust in our faces (mainly Jenna's) at inappropriate moments, this was different. There was no sense of entitlement, and we would be asked almost apologetically if it was ok to have our photo taken with one, two or many people at once. There was always a thank you, we weren't just papped then ignored, and it was all quite fun. People looked happy that they had their photo taken with us, rather to an giving us the impression it was for a more seedier use. The difference between Burmese and Indians. We wandered back into town, arriving after dark, for another feast of rice, vegetables and grilled something (soya?). Full, we took the long way back to our hotel, past excited groups of men in bars showing the Chelsea-Arsenal match (6-0 - a good match for Sue and Rob to attend back in the UK) before retiring to bed. In the morning we were up early, packed and ready to go by 7.45 having munched down a quick breakfast. We were given a small scare when our motorbike-taxis we'd arranged failed to materialise, but we were soon at the station in plenty of time to catch our train to Hsipaw. We decided to take the luxury option (at $6 compared to $3) of comfy seats, having heard about the bumpiness of Burmese trains, and after buying some strawberries for the ride, we set off northeast, into Shan state.