Most people arrive here in the afternoon of one day and leave the next on the train to Hsipaw. That is a mistake I love Pyin Oo Lwin. Today we decided to go for a stroll in the countryside guided by Zay. We were picked up in van. I climbed elegantly into the back, Shiela needed a plastic stool and there we sat being bumped and laughed at by locals. Twenty minutes later we arrived at a local village and the walk started. The morning was through farmland with a ...

We heard about a waterfall that you can swim in that was close to town so off we went in a Tut tut to have a cooling dip. I was expecting very little water as it is the dry season and peace and tranquility where I could sit and contemplate the meaning of life, the universe and everything. What we found was plenty of water, must be great in the wet season, and people everywhere as it is the local swimming pool, gathering place, boy meet girl ..... No other touri...

We have used several modes of transport while in Myanmar and generally have been impressed. The VIP buses are very comfortable and night or day they are on time (ish) and very clean. Today we stepped off the tourist trail and used a local shared taxi to get from Mandalay to Pyin Oo Lwin. We were picked up at 9.15am and the taxi driver kindly spent the next hour showing us the other side of Mandalay while he filled his taxi - first with parcels and letters from ...