As a rule, I like to do something different for my birthday each
year. For my birthday this year, my lovely wife has obliged and treated
me to one of the 'great train journeys of the world', a journey back
into the jungle, and back in time, and scary as hell! Built by the
British by jove, the journey is now a rickety ride in the original
carriages, through the densely vegetated hills, hugging cliff edges, and
over a terrifyingly huge part-timber bridge. I've been thinking about
my little brother's Dad, Roy, who served in the Malay War, and what a
crazy time that must've been. I'll have to find out from my comrade
Richo who also served here with the Gurkhas.
It has been a bit of a surprise with the current military coup, not to
have seen more of them. We’d expected to see more guns on the streets,
curfews, and alike. But finally here, in this old hill station outpost,
where the British themselves had struggled to tame the local Shan tribes
back in the Burmese War, the current day army also struggle to have
power over independent militia groups. Hence the reinforcements I
suppose. I heard you can get into a tonne of trouble taking photos of
the police or army. I’ve never been a big one for rules. I’ve also never
been to prison on my birthday yet.
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| Omen? |
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| Arriving at the collonial hill station Pyin-Oo-Lwin at 2am with no hotel! |
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| Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got...It's just Beryl from the trek?? An 'all time low' caption. Small world in travelling circles. |
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| This kid was deliriously excited at the passing of the train - you'd think it'd get old right? |
It has been a bit of a surprise with the current military coup, not to
have seen more of them. We’d expected to see more guns on the streets,
curfews, and alike. But finally here, in this old hill station outpost,
where the British themselves had struggled to tame the local Shan tribes
back in the Burmese War, the current day army also struggle to have
power over independent militia groups. Hence the reinforcements I
suppose. I heard you can get into a tonne of trouble taking photos of
the police or army. I’ve never been a big one for rules. I’ve also never
been to prison on my birthday yet.
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