Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gets chilly after dark and can be downright cold at 5am when buses depart and markets
are at their candlelit best.
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Pyin Oo Lwin
085 / POPULATION C70,000 / ELEV 3445FT
Founded by the British in 1896, the town was originally called Maymyo ('May-town'),
after Colonel May of the 5th Bengal Infantry, and was designed as a place to escape the
Mandalay heat. Following the Indian-raj terminology for such places, it has been known
ever since as a 'hill station', although in fact it's fairly flat (just at a raised elevation).
After the construction of the railway from Mandalay, Maymyo became the summer cap-
ital for the British colonial administration, a role it held until the end of British rule in
1948. The name was changed after the British departed but numerous colonial structures,
ranging from impressive mansions to churches, remain. So too do the descendants of the
Indian and Nepali workers who came here to lay the railway line.
In later decades, Pyin Oo Lwin was famous mostly for its fruit, jams, vegetables and
fruit wines, as well as for the huge military academies that train the officers of the
Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army). Now, with the rise of the Myanmar version of the nouveau
riche, Pyin Oo Lwin is once again becoming a popular weekend and hot-season getaway.
The town is seeing a burst of investment, roads are getting busier and new construction is
beginning to fill up the once generous tree-shaded spaces between mansions in the
wealthy southern quarter. Get here quickly to experience what's left of the old charm and
calm.
