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India and Nepal 2022
I decided to see a bit more of Yangon and the outlying areas on my day off from work. The best way to do this is by a train route which circles the city and beyond, and stops at 39 stations on its three hour circular journey.
It it costs just 200 kyat (15p) and if that isn't unbelievable value for money, I don't know what is!
Yangon Central is a fading old British colonial station and just fills you with a sense of nostalgia. The line itself was constructed by the British and a double track constructed when this route opened in 1954, just as I was being born!
It is used extensively by the local population and the fares are heavily subsidised by the government. Japan is also donating huge sums of money to help with transport modernisation projects in Yangon.
All of of life exists along railway tracks in developing countries and here is no exception with people living in very basic conditions with little sign of sanitation or rubbish collection. Houses are constructed with wood and corrugated metal and every item from the city is reused. I saw some car bumpers holding up part of a house.
I initially shared my carriage with a Buddhist monk and a few men and then women with huge sacks of vegetables climbed on board and after that, the furniture men arrived!
When the monsoon rains poured down, I noticed many people working in the flooded fields, up to their waists cultivating their crops.
I was the only foreigner on the entire train and two men who could speak only a few words of English asked me about where I had come from. One shared his pack of birds eggs with me and the other clasped my hand firmly and wished me "God's blessings, always"
These two small human interactions from people who live a totally different to me is why I love travelling so much.
It it costs just 200 kyat (15p) and if that isn't unbelievable value for money, I don't know what is!
Yangon Central is a fading old British colonial station and just fills you with a sense of nostalgia. The line itself was constructed by the British and a double track constructed when this route opened in 1954, just as I was being born!
It is used extensively by the local population and the fares are heavily subsidised by the government. Japan is also donating huge sums of money to help with transport modernisation projects in Yangon.
All of of life exists along railway tracks in developing countries and here is no exception with people living in very basic conditions with little sign of sanitation or rubbish collection. Houses are constructed with wood and corrugated metal and every item from the city is reused. I saw some car bumpers holding up part of a house.
I initially shared my carriage with a Buddhist monk and a few men and then women with huge sacks of vegetables climbed on board and after that, the furniture men arrived!
When the monsoon rains poured down, I noticed many people working in the flooded fields, up to their waists cultivating their crops.
I was the only foreigner on the entire train and two men who could speak only a few words of English asked me about where I had come from. One shared his pack of birds eggs with me and the other clasped my hand firmly and wished me "God's blessings, always"
These two small human interactions from people who live a totally different to me is why I love travelling so much.
- comments
Marilyn Willwohl We did a train journey in Burma too and found out that the word 'shunting' entered the Burmese language thanks to the British building railways there.