Myanmar: The Yangon Circle Line


Just like London, Yangon has its own circle line. However the similarities stop at the name. We took a trip on there to get a glimpse of local life on the outskirts of Yangon.

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The train ticket for the 3 hour circular trip is $3 and tickets can be bought from the office on platform 6/7 of the main railway station (not from the main ticket office, just the platform). Once you have a ticket just jump on any waiting train and prepare for the ride.

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Everything kicked off pretty slowly. There were only a handful of people on board but everyone was happy enough and we got a few smiles from locals. As we started round the 38 stops things picked up a little. A few more people got on including a guy who was literally carrying a whole household goods store over his shoulder and a woman with a whole noodle salad kitchen on her head.

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Things still weren’t too busy though. We got towards the furthest point out feeling it might be a bit of a let down. But then at Danyingon station everything changed as a bag of vegetables came flying in through the window. Suddenly the train was a hive of activity as men and women moved quickly to pile in a shedload of fruit and vegetables. In just a few minutes the train was full, and I mean no-remaining-floor-space-and-sacks-stacked-three-high full. We were crammed in with an entire vegetable market it seemed.

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Once we started moving again the new passengers wasted no time in preparing their goods; cleaning up their produce and putting things in bundles. Noodle-head lady started churning out plastic bags of noodles to hungry customers. A betel-leaf maker got on and was making and selling betel leaves to chew. It was great to watch!

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Further round the line a lot of the fruit and veg got offloaded; no doubt there was a market nearby. As we neared Yangon station again everything quietened down again and the only clues as to what had just happened were a few stray leaves on the floor of the train.

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I think a journey on this circle line was a great way to see a bit of real Burmese life. Everyone is so happy and friendly and they all chat away to each other, even complete strangers; it’s a far cry from the London line of the same name!

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