Caldicot by Train

On Wednesday, the 1st May 2019, I made a journey by train to Caldicot for a meeting. The timings of the outward trains I used were:-

Wolverhampton-Cheltenham-Caldicot	Arrive	Depart
Wolverhampton		07:16
Cheltenham	08:24	08:46
Caldicot	10:36	11:02

My journey started at Wolverhampton, joining a Cross Country service from Manchester to Bristol, reporting number 1V43, as far as Cheltenham. The 'Voyager' was crowded but made good time to Birmingham and continued on the Camp Hill line until the approach to Kings Norton where we had to wait for a Class 323 to cross in front of us from the Bournville Line to the slow line to Bromsgrove.


Kings Norton Station with foliage on disused island platform obscuring an EMU heading for New Street (Caldicot by train).

We had no booked stops and were soon descending the famous Lickey Incline at speed. Suburban 25 kV a.c. electrification now extends as far as Bromsgrove and it still seems strange to me to see Overhead Line Equipment on this stretch. Even odder is the new multi-platform Bromsgrove Station, so different from the previous modest facilities.


Bromsgrove Station, expanded and rebuilt (Caldicot by train).

Just over an hour after leaving Wolverhampton, we slowed on the approach to Cheltenham Spa station. Looking left, I was surprised to see a GWR (that's the modern 'GWR' title adopted by FirstGroup plc) 'bi-mode' Class 800 in green livery waiting on the adjacent line. I left the 'Voyager' and made my way to the footbridge to take in the layout of the two-platform station set in a cutting on a gentle curve. By that time, my 'Voyager' had left and the Class 800 had moved into platform 1, to form the next London service. I didn't take much notice of the Diesel Multiple Unit arriving in platform 2 but afterwards I realised that this was the terminating Transport for Wales service from Maesteg which would form my connection to Caldicot. The line I'd seen the Class 800 waiting on is now a 'turnback siding', and is frequent use bu both GWR and Transport for Wales services.


Cheltenham Spa Station view from footbridge looking towards Bristol, showing GWR 'bi-mode' Class 800 in platform 1 and DMU from Maesteg arriving in platform 2 (Caldicot by train).

I exited through the automatic barriers on the Queen's Road side to briefly explore. The station road approach is at the level of the footbridge so the neat, stuccoed buildings are not particularly impressive.


Cheltenham Spa station building, facing Queen's Road (Caldicot by train).

Cheltenham formerly boasted a number of stations. Perhaps best-known (and most conveniently-located) was the long-gone G.W.R. terminus Cheltenham Spa St. James, starting point of the famous 'Cheltenham Flyer' express. I don't believe I ever visited this station but I remember the road bridge and junctions adjacent to the surviving station which was then called Cheltenham Spa Lansdown. The Queen's Road Bridge is still in use, now carrying the road over an urban cycle track. At 'Lionsmeet 2015', I saw a splendid 4 m.m. scale model of Cheltenham Spa St. James built by the Guildford Model Engineering Society and mentioned in my report here.

A view of part of the 4mm scale layout of Cheltenham Spa St. James.

After my brief excursion outside the station, I caught reporting number 2L49 (Transport for Wales service from Cheltenham to Maesteg) and alighted at Caldicot. It's a leisurely journey, stopping frequently, but not without interest. The first stop is at Gloucester which for a long time had separate Midland and Great Western stations. Closure of the Midland station and its connections meant that Birmingham-Bristol trains then needed to use the triangle from the main line in order to call at the former Great Western station and then change direction. For some years, I remember most Cross Country 'Voyagers' making this detour but changes to the timetable mean that it now may be necessary to change to reach Gloucester. Because of its importance, Gloucester was equipped with a Western Region style power signal box which remains in use.




Gloucester Power Signal Box (Caldicot by train).

Leaving Gloucester, there were good views of the medieval cathedral before the line crossed the River Severn near Over, later turning south west to run close to the broadening River Severn at Newnham.


Gloucester Cathedral (Caldicot by train).


The River Severn near Newnham (Caldicot by train).

Caldicot station is less than 1 kilomtre east of the better-known Severn Tunnel Junction. The double-track route from the Tunnel runs in a cutting just north of Caldicot station and in the picture below, you can just make out, in the distance, the Overhead Line structures on the parallel tunnel route.


Caldicot Station, looking towards Newport (Caldicot by train).

I don't believe I'd visited Caldicot before - it's an interesting, rather modern small town. The two halves of my meeting were divided by a visit to a cafe within walking distance which furnished a very enjoyable all-day breakfast. When the meeting finished, I was driven to Caldicot station to make sure I didn't miss the return service.

The return timings were:-

Caldicot-Cheltenham-Wolverhampton	Arrive	Depart
Caldicot		15:42
Cheltenham	16:31	16:41
Wolverhampton	17:48

The return train was reporting number 2G52 which had left Maesteg at 14:15. After off-loading its passengers, the empty stock went through the facing crossover on the main lines and entered the 'turnback siding', under the control of Gloucester signal G45, a 3-aspect colour light with a line-of-lights route indicator reading to the Up Goods Loop when lit. The movement to the turnback siding was authorised by a subsidiary aspect of two diagonal white lights and an illuminated 'S'.


Cheltenham Spa: View from platform 2 showing signal G45 displaying a subsidiary proceed and 'S' allowing the stock from my arrival to cross to the Turnback Siding (Caldicot by train).


Cheltenham Spa Station: View of platform 1 from platform 2 (Caldicot by train).

After a down Cross Country Voyager had paused briefly at platform 1 and noisily deported, the Transport for Wales stock emerged from the turnback siding to form train reporting number 2L65, booked to leave at 16:46 and due in Maesteg at 19:08. Whilst 2L65 was boarding passengers, my own up train, another Cross-Country 'Voyager' arrived in platform 2. I managed to find a seat in the heavily-loaded train so the journey back to Wolverhampton was not too bad, then a taxi returned me home.

Related Posts on other Websites

Cheltenham (Wikipedia). Population around 117,000
Gloucester (Wikipedia). Population around 129,000
Caldicot (Wikipedia). Population around 11,000


Book References

[1] 'Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Vol. 11, Thames and Severn' by Rex Christiansen (ISBN: 0715380044)

My pictures

I'm sorry, taking pictures in a modern train often gives poor results. Where necessary, clicking on an image above will display an 'uncropped' view or, alternately, pictures may be selected, viewed or downloaded, in various sizes, from the albums below:-
Caldicot by Train

Gradient Diagrams.

A Second Weekend at Bagan Medical Clinic (part 2)

Saturday, 18th May 2019

Like the previous day, I spent Saturday observing the activities of the Bagan Medical Clinic but there was also the excitement of a morning trip by car to make a stationery distribution at Htee Pu school, and a visit to a famous Mountain Pagoda, Tuyin Taung, on the way back.

The school at Htee Pu is in a fairly remote village in the Mount Popa area which Doctor Hla Tun and the Road to Mandalay Social Contribution have supported for a number of year. This assistance includes new school rooms, toilet facilities together with donations for school uniforms, stationery and teaching support. I'd first visited Htee Pu in 2009 (that report is here) and been impressed with the local Abbott's drive in trying to improve the lives of local people and I've subsequently been back a number of times:-

Opening of New School Building at Htee Pu (Saturday, 4th September 2010)
Mount Popa to Bagan (Saturday, 29th October 2011)
Htee Pu School Visit (Saturday, September 22nd 2012)
Visiting Bagan Schools (Monday, 28th April 2014)
Visit to Bagan Schools, 2015 (Monday, 27th April 2015)
Bagan (Day 4) (Monday, 2nd May 2016)
Visiting Schools in the Bagan Area (Monday, 1st May 2017)
A second weekend at Bagan Medical Clinic (2) (Saturday, 5th May 2018)

Initially, Doctor Hla Tun had intended to accompany me to Htee Pu for the distribution described below but, on reviewing the numbers of waiting patients, he decided he'd continue with consultations and send me with the monastery car and driver to Htee Pu. The stationery to be distributed to the pupils was loaded into the car and the driver and I set off on the familiar route at about 8.00 a.m. The final two miles to the village is still over an unsurfaced road but, as I've commented in previous posts about Htee Pu, improvements have been carried out, including a bridge over a section which formerly frequently flooded in the rainy season. The village is now more accessible.


Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019: The new bridge on the road to Htee Pu.

In the village itself, I noticed new concrete poles with electric lighting. Electrification remains an important ongoing project in Myanmar. On my early visits to Htee Pu, I'd seen locally-installed wooden poles each supporting two electric conductors simply notched into a wooden cross arm with periodic dangling lamps. All this was powered by a small diesel engine driving an electric generator at the monastery. Because of the cost of diesel fuel, hours of operation were very limited. Numerous electrification projects are slowly improving the picture but the mains electricity supply in Myanmar remains notoriously unreliable compared with what I can expect in England.


Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019: Htee Pu Village, showing new concrete poles with electric lighting.

On my visit in 2017, I'd admired a new open-sided pavilion erected in the school yard in front of the monastery. As we arrived in 2019, I was surprised to see that this pavilion had been joined by a second, much larger pavilion, with a framework of blue-painted tubes supporting a banana-leaf roof. The new pavilion was large enough for a 'top table' with refreshments, space for all the children to sit in the shade on woven mats and even room for our car to be parked in the shade!


Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019: The 'top table' with local dignitaries and waiting pupils enjoy the new pavilion.


Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019: The Headmistress and pupils enjoying the new pavilion.

The stationery was unloaded from the monastery car and the monastery driver supervised the teachers as they made up the 'kits' of stationery to be presented to each pupil. Since it was not a School day, I knew that only some of the pupils would be able to attend but we try to leave spare materials for teachers to distribute afterwards. The children waited quietly seated on the mats under the pavilion until preparations were complete and then teachers formed up the pupils, class by class, to receive the stationery. With teachers supervising the line of waiting students and another teacher passing each 'kit' to me, it only took a few (rather frantic) minutes to complete the distribution.





Stationery Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019.

The discipline of students in Myanmar is always impressive but their individuality is also notable, like young people anywhere. Some will confidently say "Thank you" in English, others, prompted by teachers, will mutter an approximation, whilst a third group remain over-awed at having to approach a stranger. I do my best to appear friendly and unthreatening, usually keeping up a continuous patter in English which is intended to be soothing.

I was then expected to make a short address to the pupils in English, which was translated by a local businessman, with the Headmistress and the Abbott carefully watching. Once again, I relied on the "Never give Up" theme. There was then a presentation of packets of tamarind and sugar lozenges made at the businessman's local factory - delicious.


Jan addresses the pupils at Htee Pu, May 2019

A short walk around the school compound followed, with a number of new toilets pointed out and concluding with an inspection of the classrooms donated in 2010 (report here).


Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019: View of classrooms donated in 2010.

Finally, we took pictures with the teaching staff and a 'group shot' in the pavilion.


Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019: Jan and the Teaching Staff.


Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019: The 'group shot'.

After a brief pause for refreshments, I said 'good bye' and left the good people of Htee Pu, who have made quite an impression on me during my various visits.

Before we'd left the Clinic, the Doctor had suggested that, after the distribution, I might enjoy a side trip to Mount Popa or elsewhere. Mount Popa is a fascinating and historic area which I'm always happy to re-visit but we agreed that a trip to a famous mountain pagoda called Tuyin Taung which I'd not visited might be more appropriate.

Each time I'd travelled on the road between Nyaung Oo and the direction on Mount Popa, I'd been aware of a long mountain range which thrusts itself from the plain parallel to the main road. Particularly noticeable is one gilded pagoda which crowns the high ground, sentry-like, near the Nyaung Oo end of the range. Now, I was to visit this important shrine. Not far short of Nyaung Oo, the car made a left turn to head across the plain to the base of the mountain, followed by a long zig-zag ascent of the mountain finishing in a busy car park a little way below the summit. The popularity of the site was obvious from the number of pilgrims, as far as I could tell all Myanmar people. My driver indicated the daunting flight of concrete steps leading to the unseen pagoda at the summit and said he would look after the car. I slowly hauled myself upwards, clinging to the stainless steel tubular handrail often found in such location as crowds of cheerful pilgrims passed me in both directions. The hot sun bore down and my progress was slow but at last I came to a complex of pavilions with a final broad set of steps on the left leading to the pagoda platform.


Burma 2019: Broad steps leading to the pagoda platform at Tuyin Taung.

The views in all directions from the pagoda platform showed the extent of the Bagan Plain, with the Ayeyarwaddy River glistening in the distance as it arced from my north to my west.


Burma 2019: View from Mountain Pagoda across the Bagan Plain.


Burma 2019: View from Mountain Pagoda, with the Ayeyarwaddy River in the distance.

Looking south-east, the mountain range continued but it was clear that Tuyin Taung Pagoda was on the highest part of the outcrop.


Burma 2019: View looking south-east from Tuyin Taung Pagoda.

The sun had made me a little giddy so, slowly and carefully, I started my descent of the steep steps to the car park. Seeing my caution, two smiling middle-aged Myanmar lady pilgrims formed up on either side of me, took each arm in a firm grip and made sure I reached the car park safely. It's these small acts of kindness that make Myanmar such a special place for me. My car and driver was waiting so I was back at the Bagan Medical Clinic in less than 30 minutes.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 14th visit to Myanmar. The post Return to Burma is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma 2019 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma 2019 reports.

My pictures

My pictures including this part of the trip are in the albums:-
Burma 2019. Distribution at Htee Pu, May 2019.
Burma 2019: Tuyin Taung Mountain Pagoda.

All my pictures on this trip are in the collection of albums also called Burma 2019

[01-Jul-2019 Visit to Tuyin Taung added]

A Second Weekend at Bagan Medical Clinic (part 1)

Friday, 17th May 2019

Friday was a day around the Bagan Clinic, although I did travel as far as Nyaung Oo Airport by car.

I was out and about the clinic about 7.00 a.m., taking photographs. The Clinic staff provided me with a fried egg, congee and a can of Coca Cola in the Staff area of the original clinic building while the satellite television was showing “Nim’s Island”. The sound was turned down and the subtitles were in Myanmar language but I was surprised to find the plot was fairly obvious, although I’d never seen the film. However, to protect cultural sensibilities, from time-to-time a small area of the screen would be deliberately ‘de-focussed’. On various programmes, I found this technique applied to smoking, drinking alcohol and too much female cleavage. Confusingly, on other channels, extreme violence, lesbianism and three-in-a-bed activities seemed acceptable (even at eight in the morning).

Doctor Hla Tun took his breakfast and started his ‘list’ by treating a number of monks. Doctor Hla Tun’s mother also had her breakfast, prior to flying back to Yangon. Hla Win Ko interrupted his work in the Dispensary to drive her to Nyaung Oo Airport and I went with them. We stopped near the airport so that she could buy some mangoes from a roadside vendor.


Buying mangoes at a roadside vendor in Nyaung Oo, en route to the airport.

This (plus various prior purchases) made her baggage overweight and at first I feared that the stern-faced man in charge of KBZ Airline check-in was going to levy an excess charge. But eventually it was all smiles, the pieces were labelled ‘Fragile’ and passed through.


Check-in at Nyaung Oo.

Hla Win Ko had another task before we returned to the Clinic. Medications are often shipped using an 'express parcel' service and he intended to collect two parcels of medication expected for Bagan Medical Clinic from a Freight Forwarder in Nyaung Oo. The parcels depot was a dusty, fenced yard with a couple of large trees, around which a number of cartons were arranged. A man relaxed under one tree with various handwritten records.


Freight Forwarder's Yard in Nyaung Oo.

The man searched through his records and concluded that one parcel for the Clinic was there – the second was yet to arrive. So the one parcel was signed for and loaded into the car.



Collecting medication at the Freight Forwarder's Yard in Nyaung Oo.

Knowing my fascination with the ancient pagodas spread across the Bagan plain, Hla Win Ko asked if I'd like to stop to look at pagodas during the short journey back to the Clinic. We selected a group of minor restored pagodas without visitors allowing me to explore alone. It was not yet 10.30 a.m. but the temperature was in the mid thirties.








Pagodas of the Bagan Plain.

We were back at the Clinic in time for me to participate in the distribution of the Free Lunch to patients and their companions.

I spent the rest of the day either sitting in on Doctor Hla Tun's consultations or wandering around the site watching the various activities. I still find it hard to believe how the site has expanded since the opening of the original, modest Clinic in 2011 (described in the post here).

The original Clinic in 2011, just before the Opening Ceremony.


Bagan Medical Clinic, May 2019: The original Clinic building is now just one of a complex of buildings.

Once the Clinic was opened in 2011, local and overseas donors could see the work being done and they were encouraged to contribute towards supporting and expanding the Clinic. However, the Reception and Dispensary area of the original building remains the 'nerve centre' of the whole complex. On arrival, it's where patients register to be seen by a Doctor and, after consultation and treatment, it's where patients collect any prescribed medication.


The Reception/Dispensary Area at Bagan Medical Clinic 2019

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 14th visit to Myanmar. The post Return to Burma is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma 2019 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma 2019 reports.

My pictures

My pictures including this part of the trip are in the album Burma 2019.

All my pictures on this trip are in the collection of albums also called Burma 2019 (apart from 'specialist' railway pictures: confusing, eh?).

[Text added, pictures added 21/24-Jun-2019]

Exploring Shan State (part 4)

Thursday, 16th May 2019

Sometime during the night, the noise of torrential rain woke me up but I was comfortable so I soon went back to sleep. On Thursday morning, everywhere seemed refreshed by the rain. Of course, because of Kalaw's altitude the weather is more moderate which is why the British developed Kalaw as a Hill Station, to get away from the unremitting heat of the plains in summer.

Around 6.30 a.m., we loaded up our car and drove from the Ramonar Hotel into Kalaw Town to have our breakfast.


Ramonar Hotel, Kalaw, Shan State.

The Doctor chose a tea house run by an Indian family in a busy area off the main road. Nearby, I noticed the 'Talkie House'. I presumed that this former cinema, now an Indian Restaurant, was one of the British innovations.


Kalaw, Shan State, Burma, 2019

After a pleasant meal, we headed north, initially following Highway 41 which, if continued, would have taken us back to Pindaya but instead we turned left onto Highway 411. After a further 20 kilometres, a ragged mountain appeared on our left with a row of large, standing Buddha images.


First view of Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain.

I was told that the legend tells of a bride who, refusing to marry, threw herself off the mountain. A short access road took us to the base of Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain and we took the customary group photograph.


Our Group at Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain.

The morning was already warm and I realised I'd not be able to fully explore the site, but I followed my friends up the steep, concrete steps (fortunately provided with a central, stainless steel handrail) as far as the 'first level', which gave splendid views over the surrounding countryside.


Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain: Red, white and gold pagodas, each set in a boat-hull shaped base.

Each of the large, standing Buddha images shows a different formal pose. There's an introduction to the significance of these poses and the different hand positions on the commercial website 'Buddha Statues Now' here.
Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain: The nine large standing Buddha images, each in a different formal pose.


I didn't explore the upper levels at Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain, Shan State.

We returned to the car and continued north for around 45 minutes to reach the town of Ywangan. Although I knew that the administration of Myanmar is complicated by the recognition of 135 ethnic groups, it was only afterwards that I discovered that Ywangan Township and our destination the previous day at Pindaya Township together form the Self-Administered Zone of the Danu ethnic group, together administered as part of the Taung Gyi District. One source quotes the total poulation as 115,000 and the Danu language is generally regarded as a dialect of standard Myanmar language. There's a little information on this coffee-growing Self-Administered Zone in 'Wikitravel' here.

I was told that we were near a well-known waterfall and Blue Lake. We parked by a small market that appeared to be for tourists, next to a lake that was pretty but certainly not blue. We set off into the woods passing more vendors' stalls and a tea shop.


Tea shop near Blue Lake, Ywangan, Shan State.

We were then on an undulating walking track that was immediately difficult and so the Doctor decided that it was not practical for us all to walk to the main waterfall. Instead, we walked to what appeared to be a bathing pool at a very pretty location.


Bathing Pool near Ywangan.

Nearby, a modern undershot water wheel was spinning merrily. The water wheel was designed to work two water pumps which delivered the water via blue HDPE pipes to some remote location but I was puzzled that the drive belts had been removed so the water wheel was spinning uselessly.


Ywangan: Water wheel near bathing pool.

We made our way back to the tea shop and decided to take lunch (the Monk is not allowed to take food after noon). Despite the rather basic conditions, the cheerful lady proprietor quickly produced food for us which was both attractive and tasty. It was a very pleasant interlude.


Shan lady preparing food at the tea shop near Blue Lake, Ywangan.

After the meal, the Doctor led us to the Blue Lake via a broad track which ended at the entrance to a narrow ravine in the woods. Steep concrete steps provided with a wooden handrail led down to a small viewing terrace overlooking a small pool, no more than 40 feet long and less in width, surrounded by trees.

Sun shining through the canopy of trees showed the pool to be a water-filled cleft in the rocks, quite deep, with a number of fallen tree trunks underwater and various fish languidly patrolling. But the most remarkable feature was the vivid, ethereal blue colour of the water, almost as if it were emitting blue light. The effect was hypnotic. I was reminded of film I'd seen of cooling ponds containing radio-active materials where a rather similar blue colour could be seen but the Blue Lake seemed somehow different. I expected to be unimpressed by the Blue Lake but, in fact, I was quite moved by the experience. I can quite understand why numerous local beliefs grew up around this phenomenon.


The Blue Lake, Ywangan, Shan State.

We walked back to our car as a second tourist bus was arriving. I noted that all the visitors appeared to be Myanmar people.

We continued north, passing Myo Gyi after about one hour. I was told there was a dam here but it wasn't until I returned home that I discovered the Myanmar Government website for the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (English version here) which gives comprehensive information on electricity generation and distribution in Myanmar, state by state. The water feeding the dam at Myo Gyi is dammed at Zaw Gyi further east in Shan State. There are now two hydro-electric power plants at Zaw Gyi Number 1 (opened in 1995 with three 6 Megawatt turbines) and Zaw Gyi Number 2 (opened in 1998 with two 6 Megawatt turbines). The water discharged at Zaw Gyi then enters the Zaw Gyi River, flowing through the mountains on a very convoluted course generally heading west until empounded by the dam at Myo Gyi to feed Myo Gyi hydro-electric power plant (opened in 2016 with two 15 Megawatt turbines). The Myo Gyi turbines are vertical Francis type. Francis turbines were designed in 1848 using a scientific approach to improve efficiency and remain the most common turbine used in hydro-electric installations. There's a Wikipedia article here.

About 5 kilometres beyond Myo Gyi, we came to the border between Shan State and Mandalay Region. On our right, the Zaw Gyi river discharge from the dam came close to our road and had the appearance of any fast-flowing river.


Zaw Gyi River near Shan State/Mandalay Region border.

The map showed that it would eventually join the Myitnge River, south of Mandalay. On our left, was a village with tea shop but it was too early for afternoon tea so we pulled up on the right of the road, under the shade of large trees, to rest and watch the river. Two or three other vehicles had paused here, one a police cruiser which departed with a lot of noise a few minutes later. A few wooden tables and chairs were laid out under the trees and it was remarkably relaxing. There was a little conversation between ourselves and with the other travellers but mainly it was a companionable silence.


Shan State/Mandalay Region border.

Doctor Hla Tun had been watching two local ladies and, eventually, he drew my attention to their activities. They had come from the buildings on our left and had probably been shopping. One lady had a young baby perched on her shoulders, the other had what looked like a bag of shopping balanced on top of her broad-brimmed hat. Both calmly descended the river bank, waded into the water and crossed the river. The force of the current meant that they emerged on the other side some distance downstream from their point of entry, baby and shopping intact. They then climbed the opposite bank and plodded off across the fields to where we could see a few simple houses.


Ladies crossing Zaw Gyi River near Shan State/Mandalay Region border.

After an enjoyable break in our journey, we climbed back into the car, left Shan State and headed west in Mandalay Region for around two and a half hours until we came to the town of Myingyan, a few kilometres from the confluence of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers. By now it was late afternoon so we stopped at a large teashop in the town for a cup of hot, sweet tea.


We stopped at a large tea shop in Myingyan.

I discovered that Doctor Hla Tun's mother intended to make a brief visit to a relative in Myingyan so it was arranged that I would be dropped off at the railway station, to allow a brief photographic survey. However, the Doctor insisted on our driver staying with me as a 'chaperone'/Whilst Doctor Hla Tun's mother visited a nearby relative, I made a quick survey of Myingyan Station. Of course, there was no train but each visit to a station gives a little more information.


Myingyan Railway Station.

A final 75 kilometers driving south west would take us through Nyaung Oo to the Bagan Medical Clinic, where we were received by the Abbott to give a brief account of our adventures before moving to the staff area of the original building for refreshments.

The Doctor said that about 100 patients had already registered and that he intended to undertake consultations for a few hours on Thursday evening before going to bed. However, the combination of walking and climbing throughout the day in often high temperatures had left me exhausted. Even at 9.00 p.m., I noticed that the outside temperature at the Bagan Medical Clinic was still 35 degrees Celsius so I retired to my room to work on my laptop computer.

Related posts on this website

This is one of a series of posts describing my 14th visit to Myanmar. The post Return to Burma is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma 2019 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma 2019 reports.

My pictures

Burma 2019.
Main Ma Ye' Tha Khin Ma Mountain.
Ywangan and Blue Lake, Shan State.
Myingyan Station.

All my general pictures on this trip are in the collection Burma 2019.

[Text added, pictures added 19/20/21-Jun-2019]