Circle Train, Rangoon / Yangon, Rangoon

2 more images

The Circle Train is a great way to get close to the ordinary people of Yangon. It takes 3 hours to go around Yangon.

We caught the train at the central depot. You have to pay for the ticket on the platform at a separate booth reserved for foreigners. They will identify you and call you in. You will need your passport number and US$1.00.

Once you go onboard it is an unforgettable experience. You will be confronted with various sights and smells such as people selling betel nut, cigarettes, buns which are spread with condensed milk and coconut, small eggs, people on the way to the market with huge baskets of various goods, beggars and people simply going from one station to another. Make sure that you sit near a window so you can also see what is happening outside.

It is very easy to work out where you are as the station signs are quite clear. You just need to stick your head out on both sides as the train pulls in to each station(see pics).

What we did was catch the train to Paremi and walk to the Gem Centre.

Look also at the article on the Circle Train on the Air Mandalay Site. See http://www.airmandalay.com/english/current.php

this picture depicts the tenderness of ordinary people of burma. he sells water in the circular railway line and she is his wife and has brought their son to see the father and bring him his lunch. I watched for the time she was in the train and the love and tenderness between them all and was quite touched. She got off at another station when he finished her lunch and they had chatted or a while. and he continued on his water selling route.