Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar (Burma)

At 4 AM on 29 November we caught a train to the mountains and spent three days in Pyin Oo Lwin also called Maymyo after British Colonel May in the late 1800's.

Not exactly the most modern of trains, it was not a smooth ride as the train swayed back and forth.

Very inexpensive sleeping accommodations!  But we chose a hotel.

We splurged and got reserved seating.  Total price $1.85 each for a four-hour train ride. Actually pretty comfortable. Individual climate control is accomplished by opening or closing your window.

Look closely at the blue arrow indicating our location on the railroad tracks.   Yes, the line accurately depicts the path of the train going up the mountain and gaining over 3000 feet in elevation via "switchbacks".  The train travels forward up the mountain until the tracks end.  It stops, they adjust the tracks, and then it travels backwards up the mountain until the tracks end, again. The train zig-zags its way, in this manner, to the top of the mountain.

Great scenery from the train.

At the higher elevation air conditioning was no longer a reqirement, but a heater and warmer clothes were!

The National Botanical Gardens were very impressive.

First time we had ever heard of a takin, a type of goat-antelope found in the eastern Himalayas.

Lots of bamboo.  Notice Paul in short sleeves and Georgi in a coat.  Finally, a cooler climate!

Now that's some big bamboo!

A deer native to Myanmar.

We were kindly asked to join a group photo.

Eventually, we had to try to eat something.  For a few bucks, the food just kept showing up on our table.  We must have been an unusual sight. Before we knew it, we were asked to take a picture with the whole family.

We had to check out the kitchen!

Several horse-drawn carriages in Pyin Oo Lwin.

Pyin Oo Lwin is the primary military training center for Myanmar.

These Chinese-made trucks are everywhere.

Here is a convertible version.

Technology equivalent to the Model-T, these smoking, noisy, underpowered pieces of junk are still being manufactured in China and imported by Myanmar!

A coffee roasting business with modern equipment.

The higher elevation lends itself to growing some good coffee.

We took a stroll through the suburbs.    Some very durable bamboo-weave walls on houses throughout the country.

There are a few big waterfalls in the area.

Georgi (left) was our driver that we linked up with via Facebook.  He and his dad, Khin, speak excellent English and were fantastic guides, sharing their insight into Myanmar.  The stamp collection in the picture includes the very first Burmese stamps and also those used during Japanese occupation in World War II -- which Khin experienced.

A local swimming hole and laundromat, combination.

We shared a drink or two with these three young guys at our hotel on our last night in town.

We have several "scooter photos" that show the impressive amounts of things you can stack on a scooter.  In addition to being a vehicle for a family of four, the cargo-carrying capacity of scooters is incredible.

On our way to the airport, Georgi and his dad insisted that we see one more pagoda.  Despite our skepticism, it was worth it, as this one is made of jade.

After spending two weeks in Myanmar we flew back to Thailand for a few days before returning home to the U.S. on 7 December.

Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma)

On 26 November we took an 11 hour boat ride up the Ayeyarwady River to Mandalay.  We boarded the boat at 4:30 AM and soon after experienced a very impressive sunrise. 

Fortunately for us, the boat from Bagan to Mandalay was nearly empty. (the boat we passed traveling the opposite direction was packed) It was a very peaceful and relaxing trip without any near head-on bus collisions.

As we approached Mandalay, it became clear that there were still MANY more temples and pagodas to see.

Another really big Buddha.

The skyline was filled with golden-domed pagodas.

By this time in our trip, we were "templed out".  After visiting dozens up to this point, we weren't interested in seeing dozens more.  And dozens more there were, in Mandalay!  Drive-by's would be good enough.

As we pulled into the dock in Mandalay, we must have encountered the latest project from the Myanmar TV show, "Pimp My Barge".  This is an over-the-top bling'ed out hotel on the water complete with golden dragons and elephants.

Getting off the boat, there is absolutely no escaping taxi drivers demanding to give you a ride.  Naturally, we told our taxi driver that we were not in a hurry to get to our hotel.  Something must have been lost in translation since he sped up and honked his horn more as he passed every scooter and vehicle in front of us.

"World's Largest Book"  At the Kuthodaw and Sanamuni Pagodas there are 729 of these small stupas.  Each contains a stone "page" containing Buddhist teachings.

More "pages" from the World's Largest Book.

We wisely chose to pay a dollar each for a ride to the top of the very tall Mandalay Hill where we had a great view of the city.   Kassie could not pass up ringing the bell.

In addition to covering your legs, going barefoot is another requirement in all temples and pagodas.  It turned out to be a half-hour walk down hundreds of steps to descend Mandalay Hill.  We were very happy to put our shoes on again.

A young nun.  A large number of nuns and monks are orphans and Myanmar has the most of any country, we're told.  Becoming a nun or a monk is one way to obtain an education.

Young, and fashionable, monks.

We visited the 1.2 kilometer-long U Bein Bridge .

Longest and oldest teak wood bridge in the world built in 1850.

Several fishing boats.

Two more innocent victims of Kassie, "May I take your picture?"  We have an enviable number of monk pictures!

These are wedding pictures taken before the actual ceremony.

The traditional dress is very beautiful.

One of the primary tourist attractions in Mandalay is the Mahagandayon Monastery at lunch time where approximately 1000 monks and nuns line up for their last meal of the day.

Overall, we found it difficult to find something good to eat.  Almost no English is spoken or written on signs in most restaurants. We didn't even come close to eating anything cooked by a street vendor in Mandalay. And that's after eating street food nearly exclusively in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Also, it was rather difficult to get around without a personal driver.  There are taxis, of course.  However, they only hang out near the handful of tourist attractions or your hotel can arrange for one.  Mandalay was hot, dirty, and had a lot of traffic.  We're glad we went, but the negative reviews you read about visiting Mandalay are fairly accurate.