Pyin U Lwin aka Maymyo

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The coming of the  railway brought Maymyo, named for Col. May, commander of the 5th Bengal Infantry, within easy reach of Mandalay. Only 67 km east of the city at an elevation of 3510', it's  cool temperatures,  fresh air and lack of winter frosts made it an ideal choice for a Hill Station. Many of the former colonial homes still stand in 'English' gardens 

Candacraig

          

           

The former Bombay Burma Trading Company Chummery.  Presided over in it's heyday by Mr. Bernard, manager and chef,  after the war he stayed on refusing to allow changes to the buildings or menu.  His daughter Margaret is now  in charge of administration and little has changed We came here for the roast beef dinner.  The hotel is obviously cash starved but the young waiter did his very best to provide a traditional Raj era service which can have little relevance to his lifestyle

         

            

  

The Clocktower

The chimes of Big Ben still ring out the hours  from the Purcell Tower since it was:

a) donated by Queen Victoria

b) Marked the 1934 silver jubilee of George V

In 2002 the optician whose family has been responsible for keeping it running for decades, was very kind to us 

I had been looking forward to seeing Mr Ache again but sadly he died the year before.  He was a gentleman of his time and recalled the British using prisoners of war to build the Botanical Gardens.  Our elderly Samaritan had been a history professor before retirement.  His store is now run by his nephews

 

      Benny Ache and his cousin                                                                   

           

A veritable feast at the 'Family Restaurant' 

Myin Yahta a somewhat eccentric way of getting around                                     

The National Kandawgyi Gardens

         

Glorious and very familiar to we Brits.   There was nothing we hadn't grown over the years.   Nothing exotic, although I have to admit a lot of our 'English' plants came to us via The Raj.   However the Strawberries for which Maymyo is famous seem to have been brought to Burma by a young English woman visiting her sister just prior to the arrival of the railway
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