Maymyo Things to Do

After sunset another market occupies Zeigyo Street, the night market. There are dvd stalls and so on but most of the stalls sell food, which is cooked "sur place". There are many locals having dinner there in those “improvised restaurants” so it’s almost impossible to resist the temptation :-) I bought some of these “salty cookies” on the picture which tasted like spicy mini pizzas . . . yummy!

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If you are looking for British Colonial Architecture, Multi Office Road is your place. This shady road is lined with grand colonial administrative buildings, many of them used today by schools or the government. It is like a trip back in time! Don’t miss other impressive examples of colonial mansions not far from this road : Thiri Myaing Hotel (former Candacraig Hotel), Gandamar Myaing Hotel (formerly Croxton Hotel) and Nan Myaing Hotel (formerly Craddock Court). Walking around in the south eastern area, I also found an empty house that still has some of its past grandeur. Although the iron gate was closed, I asked some locals who were taking some tea not far from it if there was someway to visit it. They opened the door for me and let me go in. It was like entering in a phantom house. It was not difficult to imagine how life was in these elegant saloons downstairs and beautiful sunny rooms upstairs.

This is an unique place in all Myanmar! After 2 weeks of eggs + jam and banana for breakfast it was a pleasure to find a bakery with a long choice of teas, coffees and pastries. Organic coffee from the Shan Hills is also sold here. I really enjoyed my exotic tea and croissant, it was like a dream. This café and its nice stuff made my day lol.

This is one of the most interesting markets that I have seen in Myanmar, with different spaces for fish + meat, fruits and spices. It is a good opportunity to see a little bit of local life as well. I took a quick look very early in the morning, before 8.00 am and it was already very busy. It is opened until 5 pm

The rebaptised Candacraig Hotel, immortalised in Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar, is the most impressive colonial building that I found in Pyin Oo Lwin. This hotel, which once hosted good British families looking for some fresh air, is today abandoned. There is a special atmosphere of “enchanted place” since the moment that you cross the main iron gate. The hotel is closed but through its windows you still can see large and warm rooms with its chimneys so it’s not difficult to imagine how life was there many years ago. When I was leaving I met a local family who have occupied few back rooms. Kindly, they let me have a look inside their new "home". I saw a big bathroom with its original bath in wood and a bedroom with a huge bed also in wood.

Created in 1915 by Alex Roger, a Forester Officer, the National Gardens feature more than 480 species of flowers, trees and shrubs. Inside, there are also a lake and a pool where people can bath. Green + shade are expensive for tourists in Myanmar: we have to pay an entrance fee + a camera fee to enter any park in the country. This money goes, of course, directly to the Governement. Having much more beautiful parks in Paris and for free, I decided not to pay.

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This is a nice half day trip very easy to do from Pyin Oo Lwin. The best way to go is by taxi. Once there, you can arrange with the taxi driver to pick you up in 3-4 hours. Usually he stays there waiting for you.
There is a 45 minutes hike down to reach the falls. The path is steep and very slippery with beautiful flowers. There are few signs so at junctions, keep always to the right and avoid all the Buddha signs. The falls are very impressive, especially during the rainy season. It is not possible to take a bath, water runs very fast! But this is a fresh place to chill out for a while

Purcell tower is like a Queen Victoria’s label as she had the (nice?) habitude to send this kind of present to her colonies. You can find similar towers in places like Cape Town or the Seychelles. The tower is in the main intersection in Pyin Oo Lwin so it’s a kind of meeting place in town. You cannot miss it.