Views and impressions from trip: Mandalay – Pyin Oo lwin – Hsipaw – Kalaw – Inle Lake, spring 2013.
Spring 2013. I wake up in a bus around 6am while approaching Mandalay, landscape outside looked drier than past days in Yangon. Highway bus station is well outside Mandalay city. I was only tourist on bus, conveniently, maybe not coincidentally, there was older gentleman with a signboard offering scooter rides to the center. Still sleep in my eyes walking outside the bus, took his offer, and about 40 mins later checked in to my room in downtown.
Before arriving, I associated the name Mandalay to a romantic gone world. World from sepia coloured photographs, noblemen posing with their hunting trophies. Kipling’s world connected by ocean steamers and telegrams. City has interesting sights for visitors: Mandalay Hill, Mahamuni Paya Temple, U Bien Bridge being among them. City is second largest in Myanmar, and street life offers plenty of hustle and bustle watch. Mandalay suffered badly during WW2. Wooden imperial city in the center was destroyed by Allied bombers, attacking Japanese that were occupying the city.
Few locals understand English, older generations seem better speakers than younger. English education was largely neglected in Myanmar since the military take over the country in early 1960’s. Myanmar has its own timezone… Burmese do things their own way.
I tried to continue from Mandalay to Hsipaw at morning by train. State controlled railways is notoriously poorly managed and corrupt. I wake up at 3am, walk to station for 4am train. Waited until 9am for nothing, then had enough and hitched a truck to Pyin Oo Lwin which is about 1/3 of the way between Mandalay to Hsipaw.
Pyin Oo Lwin used to be hill station of British Burma, and it was formerly known as Maymyo. Many colonial-era buildings are still standing. Besides its colonial heritage, town has waterfalls to explore and botanical garden. George Orwell served in Mandalay and Maymyo as a policeman in 1920’s. Here’s description by him, doing the same trip:
FROM Mandalay, in Upper Burma, you can travel by train to Maymyo, the principal hill-station of the province, on the edge of the Shan plateau. It is rather a queer experience. You start off in the typical atmosphere of an eastern city–the scorching sunlight, the dusty palms, the smells of fish and spices and garlic, the squashy tropical fruits, the swarming dark-faced human beings–and because you are so used to it you carry this atmosphere intact, so to speak, in your railway carriage. Mentally you are still in Mandalay when the train stops at Maymyo, four thousand feet above sea-level. But in stepping out of the carriage you step into a different hemisphere. Suddenly you are breathing cool sweet air that might be that of England, and all round you are green grass, bracken, fir-trees, and hill–women with pink cheeks selling baskets of strawberries.
Quote from the Homage to Catalonia. While book was entirely from other topic, Orwell was also reminiscing his time in Burma. Very recommended book! I visited Barcelona few years ago, and read this book while there. Link here.
Long railway bridge over a deep valley
At Hsipaw. Yesterdays train (Pyin – Hsipaw) was late “only” 3-4 hours this time. After checking tickets and done their duties, conductors promptly started drinking for the rest of the way at the back of carriage. Rail tracks seem like same done by the British 100 years ago. Didn’t even know its physically possible for heavy train to jump and tilt so much without falling! But views were great and am glad I chose the train, not the easier bus. Burmese life in the stations and in train was worth many pictures. Train arrived to Hsipaw on sunset, had simple dinner and went bed early. Town is little bigger than in Pyin was.
After visiting Hsipaw, I hopped on minivan heading south to Inle Lake. However at Kalaw while van was stopping for restaurant and toilet break, saw intesting notices about possiblity of doing trek to Inle for the rest of the way. After adhoc decision, soon I found myself walking in countryside with a group of other travelers and our Burmese guide. My big travel bag was transported by the agent to Inle, so didnt have to carry anything but my essetentials. We overnight at Buddhist monastery, that had capacity to host groups doing treks in the region. This trek is permanently etched to my memory, we saw and met some of Burmese different ethnic groups living in countryside of this part of the country. People were smiling genuinely to us, not just for trying to please tourists for the money.
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