Pyin U Lwin

Pyin U Lwin (formerly Maymyo) is a city in the Mandalay Division of Central Myanmar.

Understand
Once the summer capital of the British Raj in Burma, Pyin U Lwin retains some of the hill station look that cities like Darjeeling and Simla in India used to have in the 1960s and 1970s. Because of its history as a summer capital and a military centre of the Indian Army during British times, it has both a large Indian population and strong Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indian communities. As a town near the border of China, many Chinese are also settling down in this pleasant hill town. It is also an important market centre for goods from the Shan State and Kachin territories. It is home to the Defence Academy of the Burmese military, and an important military base. At an elevation of 1,070 m, there is an abundance of flowers, as well as strawberry and coffee plantations.

History
The British "discovered" Pyin U Lwin after the capture of Mandalay at the end of the Third Burmese War. An early Englishman wrote: "Pyin U Lwin, a charmingly situated village of some five and twenty houses, with a market-place and a gambling ring, won our hearts." (Herbert White, A Civil Servant in Burma). The British soon established a military post there and the village was renamed Maymyo (May Town) after the commander of the post, Colonel May, a veteran of the Indian Mutiny. Within a few years, after it was connected to Mandalay by rail, it became the summer residence of the British government in Burma (in the hot season, the civil service, almost to the man, would move from Rangoon to Maymyo). A little later, it was made the headquarters of the Burma Division, a largely Gurkha and Indian division, and the remnants of that division forms the core of the Nepali population of Pyin U Lwin today. White goes on to say that: "Without pretension to the picturesque, it is a place of great charm and quiet beauty, with no palm trees and few pagodas, conspicuously un-Oriental, more like a corner of Surrey than of Burma." While the Surrey analogy will seem a stretch to anyone who has visited Surrey, Pyin U Lwin still seems less like Burma than almost anywhere else in the country.

Climate
Cooler, relatively speaking, than the plains and the temperature rarely goes over 30°C in summer. Winter temperatures often fall below 10°C at night, so be prepared.

Read

 * Ellis, Beth, An English Girl's First Impression of Burmah, Bangkok, Orchid Press, 1997. First published in 1899, Beth Ellis's book is an irreverent look at the British Empire set in the hill town of Maymyo (she calls it Reymyo), Pyin U Lwin in modern times.
 * Theroux, Paul, The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia, Penguin Books, 1995. In his rail travel classic, Paul Theroux did the journey from Mandalay to Maymyo, meets the caretaker of Candacraig, and then stays in the lodge itself. His journey, set during a time when Burma was an impossibly closed country, is a lot easier today but is still recognisably the same. A recommended read.

By train
The train station is north of the city and there are services to and from Mandalay, Hsipaw and Lashio. Trains from Mandalay (upper class 1,200 kyat, ordinary class 550 kyat) leave at 04:00 arriving at 07:52 (but delays are common). Four hairpin bends and a steep ascent make this an interesting, if rather long, ride. You can get out and walk at various points while the train switches direction or makes its slow way up a steep ascent. There is one train daily to Hsipaw and Lashio (08:34) the journey is about 6 hours and 10 hours respectively and goes over the famous Gokteik Viaduct. To Hsipaw, upper class 2,750 kyat, ordinary class 1,200 kyat. The train from Hsipaw and Lashio arrives at 16:05 and departs for Mandalay at 17:40. The Pyin U Lwin train station is a bit far from the town centre and most accommodation, but horse-carriages and taxis are there to meet the trains.

By bus
There are no scheduled bus services to/from Pyin U Lwin. Buses to and from Hsipaw will drop you off but you have to pay the fare for the entire trip. The buses tend to be full so it is unlikely that you'll get a seat on them when leaving Pyin U Lwin.

By pick-up
There are two pick-up stations in Pyin U Lwin. Frequent pick-ups to/from Mandalay (1,500 kyat for a seat in the back, 2,500 kyat in the front) depart throughout the day from near the gas station, on the Mandalay-Lashio Road about 600 metres south-west of the clock tower. Hsipaw and Lashio bound pick-ups leave early in the morning from the Shan Market west of the town.

By taxi
Shared taxis to/from Mandalay (8,000 kyat) and to/from Hsipaw (10,000 kyat) will drop or collect you at your hotel. The Mandalay-bound shared taxi stand is across the clock tower while the Hsipaw/Lashio shared taxi stand is across from the Shan Market if you want to arrange the trip yourself. It is best to arrange a shared taxi the previous evening.

Private taxis between Pyin U Lwin and Mandalay should be about 30,000 kyat (central Mandalay) or 35,000 kyat (Mandalay airport). Negotiate.

By plane
An airstrip is under construction nearby.

Get around
It is easy to get around on foot or on bicycles (1,200-2,000 kyat per day from your hotel) or even on foot in the city centre. Or hire a gharry, old garishly painted horse-drawn Victorian carriages that live on in Pyin U Lwin. For far-flung places, frequent pick-ups ply the Mandalay road, motorcycle taxis are available in the market, as are taxis. You can also rent a motorcycle to get around from a shop near the mosque. Ask at your hotel.

See
Pyin U Lwin is relatively free of the ubiquitous pagodas. Some colonial Tudor-style houses still stand (mostly around the National Kandawgyi Gardens), albeit in poor condition, and walking around is an interesting way to see how the Raj lived. There are many churches as well, the oldest dating to about 1910.





Do










Buy
Pyin U Lwin is famous, in Myanmar that is, for strawberries, coffee, flowers, sweaters and damsons. The market is full of shops selling these products. In spring (late Feb, early Mar), flower stalls line the road to Mandalay. The Golden Triangle Cafe and Bakery sells organic coffee from local plantations (ground and whole beans, all vacuum packed). Strawberry jam is readily available (it'll show up in your breakfast). And many stores around the clock tower sell sweaters, the speciality of all old British hill stations everywhere.

Eat
Pyin U Lwin has quite a few Indian sweet shops with the usual complement of Indian sweets (barfi, laddoo, gulab jamun, etc.). If you have a sweet tooth, this is the place to indulge it. There are several shops close to the Mandalay pick-up stand (on Lashio Rd by the Clock Tower), and at least one near the Central Market.



Drink

 * A local grape wine is available in addition to the various beers. A bit sweet for Western palates, but worth a try.
 * Pyin U Lwin is the centre for coffee plantations in Burma.

Sleep
Pyin U Lwin has a few magnificent colonial houses restored as hotels. Unfortunately, almost all of these are run by the government. Candacraig, the place immortalised by Paul Theroux, is worth a visit, but don't waste your money on a meal there.

Connect
For some reason, international calls are cheaper in Pyin U Lwin and you can call overseas to the UK and U.S. for about US$3-4 a minute by shopping around. Try the call office just before the cinema on the road from Grace Hotel I to the clock tower.


 * There are a few Internet cafes in the city. One is T.Net around the corner from the Golden Triangle Bakery, 400 kyat/hour. Another is on the first street to the right after the bakery, Day and Night Internet.

Go next

 * Gokteik - the Gokteik Viaduct, a famous bridge, a marvel of British ingenuity and American engineering, is a couple of hours away by train. Most tourists stay on the train to see it and head for Hsipaw and/or Lashio, but it is also possible (and well-worth the time) to make the trip there and back in a day. Train leaves Pyin U Lwin at 08:30.
 * Hsipaw - laid back Shan town a few hours to the northeast, and a good place for trips to Shan and Palaung villages.
 * Kyauk Me - a Shan town that is much less touristy than Hsipaw, also a good base for trekking in Shan and Palaung villages.