Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is the recently revamped
National Kandawgyi Gardens
, a huge botanic garden where neat
beds of tulips thrive alongside half-wild groves of teak trees. Further afield, it's possible to
float away in the plunge pools of the
Anisakan Falls
and stroll through
Peik Chin Myaung
Cave
's humid cavern, making Pyin Oo Lwin an excellent place to linger.
The town centre
The 1936
Purcell Tower
marks the centre of Pyin Oo Lwin's compact town centre. More
down to earth than the posh suburbs, the centre is home to large ethnic Indian and Nepali
communities, the descendants of soldiers and labourers from across the subcontinent who
moved here under British rule. Today, many run shops selling the fruit wine, jam and woolly
jumpers for which Pyin Oo Lwin is known, and mosques and Hindu temples abound.
AsMaymyo,thetownwasanimportant
militarycantonment
fortheBritishBurmesegov-
ernment and, while the regime has changed, the military connections remain - the Burmese
Army's Defense Services Academy (training the “Triumphant Elite of the Future”) is just
west of the centre.
Governor's House
1km southwest of Purcell Tower, Mandalay-Lashio Rd • Daily 8am-6pm • $2 • 085 21901
Built in 1903, the British governor's summer residence,
Government House
, stood for just
forty years before it was destroyed in World War II. Rebuilt in 2005 according to the original
blueprints, today it is part of the
Governor's House Hotel
and run by the
Htoo Group
, which
has been subject to international sanctions. The mansion has been set up as a small
museum
,
filledwithgreenishwaxworksofcolonialpersonalitiesanddecoratedwithsepiaphotographs
of the original - not terribly exciting, but it's one of the few colonial-style buildings open
to visitors and a favourite with domestic film-makers. If you're feeling seriously plush, the
five-bedroom house (complete with indoor pool) can be yours for $2175 a night.
