It's a flower festival in Pyin oo Lwin and the owner of my hotel tells me it is something I should not miss. He is right! The gardens were originally landscaped and designed by experts from Kew and they really are experts. The town is an old British hill station to enable the administrators to move away from the searing heat of the plains to the cooler air here. There are many Myanmar visitors and very few western tourists. It is a colorful and joyful atmosphe...

Today I take a journey on one of the world's great train journeys from Hsipaw to Pyin oo Lwin across the Shan hills. The old colonial ticket office is still operational and I buy an upper class ticket for the six hour journey for about £2. I am joined by Richard, the Californian who I met yesterday and who is on the same schedule as me for a day or so. Women with fruit and bakery items on their heads service the passengers at the train windows and soon w...