Page 116 - Experience Thailand and More

PYIN Oo LWIN

City of Flowers

The climb from Mandalay up onto the Shan Plateau is breathtaking with
golden pagodas and giant Buddha images popping up amidst the foliage
on the limestone slopes. The road has been expanded to four lanes, from
Mandalay to Laisho and on to the Chinese border, and the traffic can get
confusing and congested with all the right-hand drive lorries and cars
ascending and descending in their own right lane.

Pyin Oo Lwin is a welcome change from dusty Mandalay. The former colonial
th
hill station, known then as Maymyo, was established at the end of the 19
century to serve as the hot season escape and administrative center for the
British till they left in 1948. Many of the red brick mansions and government
buildings of that era still remain with their chimneys as evidence to how low
the temperatures can fall. And then there are the amazing, colorful botanical
gardens, recreating the charms of England missed by the residents of those
bygone times.

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