Yangon and the crazy circular train

I'm in Myanmar or Burma if you prefer (it changes every so often based on the political situation) but the local people seem to favour Myanmar. I arrived in Yangon after the bus to Bangkok. Firstly the airport was impossibly pristine - not what I was expecting at all. The friendly lady checked my passport and waved me through - so far so good. I managed to grab a taxi with a guy who I met at the ATM heading the same direction too.

Yangon is a very busy city with a lot of British Colonial influence to the buildings. Compared to the well trodden path I've been in SE Asia so far there are very few tourists here, so the feel is quite different. I can walk for an hour or so and I'm unilkey to see a Western face - it makes it feel far more authentic. The locals are very curious too and many will stop and talk to you without always trying to sell you something - unbelievable!

On the first day I visited Shwedagon Pagoda, a beautiful temple that defines Yangon and can be seen from most areas of the city. It's made of thousands of gold leaves and carved into intricate shapes. I had to wear a longyi - basically a sort of long skirt: all the men wear them here for some reason - not many people wear anything else. Many people also like to sport tannika, a kind of sunscreen slash make-up that's bright yellow made from a certain tree bark. They just slather it on their faces. It looks a bit silly and clown-like to be honest but it works here as everyone has it. It's weirder to see the people without it.

On the second day I went with a few people on the local circle train around the city - it's basically a three-hour train ride that circles the entire vicinity and shows you a real local insight. Well, what an experience... firstly we had to locate where the platform for tickets was - that took about half an hour of backwards and forwards with the station staff. We eventually got them and waited for another half hour. When the train pulled up it might as well of been something out of the eighteenth century. It was hilarious - decrepid, smelly, busy, noisy and slow - but it cost about 30p for the whole trip so can't really complain.

We clamboured abroad and set off - a friendly local man decided to chat to us for ages. He was very knowledgeable about lot of things and it was nice to talk to him - he gave us all various history lessons on Myanmar and other countries and also seemed fascinated by James Bond for whatever reason. The journey itself was fairly eventful too. At every stop literally dozens of people rushed on the train shouting all sorts and yelling to sell stuff; food, toys, toiletries - you name it they sold it. It was so bizarre, it was like a market on the train. At each stop people would just throw stuff out of the window and new people would board the train balancing things on their heads or carrying various items that really didn't belong on a train. Dead crickets, grapes, lottery tickets, rice, party poppers were all on offer. Others would rush down the carriage handing items out and peddling their wares. If you were to try that in London or another Western subway system they would probably get stuck on the train due to the amount of people squashed in - it would be anarchy. We all bought some corn on the cob from a guy and sat and munched it along with the locals feeling amused and watching the city role by.

The next day I wandered around the city a bit more and went to the market - zero foreigners again and a lot of colourful textiles and materials - mother would have loved it. I then ate some tasty noodles and headed back. On the way I stopped at Sule Pagoda, basically a temple in the middle of a roundabout. I also passed a lady who had loads of seeds and was surrounded by hundreds of pigeons - she waved and chucked a load of them into the air laughing - the birds went mental for it - I wouldn't want to be caught in that swarm.

I'm heading back on the road to Bagan now, the ancient city with thousands of temples. Getting to the Yangon bus stop was ridiculous though - it was two hours away from the city, what kind of nonsense is that? Eventually got there and registered for the bus. Nearly ended up on the wrong one again thanks to a guy that directed us to a similar service. I booked the VIP bus for an extra four dollars and what a dream - it's probably the best bus experience I've had on the whole trip. The Burmese know how to manage night buses. Firstly you check in like an airport, then there is a little bus stewardess that directs you to your seat and announced the bus itinery in Burmese and broken English (not sure the need as there were no Burmese on the bus, but whatever). She then brings a little snack around for you and a towel - absolutely quality, the roads however not quite the same experience. Bumpy, twisty, loud - typical SE Asia.Read more