FUN FOR A FIVER. Now, everyone has been to a Botanical Garden before but we thought “oh what the hell if it is like every other botanical garden we have ever been to in the past at least we can find a tree to snooze under for a bit!” But the Pyin oo Lwin botanical garden (National Kanawgyi Garden) vastly exceeded our expectations and is actually a lovely little budget treat.
The entrance fee you pay is $5 US (apr 2013). We were a little confused as the sign also said camera fee 300 kyat but this fee is for the locals, who don’t have to pay an admission fee. Walking up the driveway you can hear the laughing and screaming of kids playing in the pool. This is included in the entrance fee, if you want a dip, otherwise it’s onto the gardens and the lake, which is nestled nicely in the middle.
The gardens are immaculately taken care of and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that this is probably one of the loveliest botanical gardens we have ever been to (insert gasp here).
Some treats at the Pyin oo Lwin Botanical Garden include:
The Walk in Aviary – I’m not entirely certain that we should have been allowed in with some of these birds, but that’s what made it awesome!!! Met a very polite bird that says “hello” as you enter (next youtube sensation for sure!) also got to see a peacock trying to hit on his lady friend…. So that was umm different.
The Tea Garden – pretty colours galore…. Just like in Grans garden. From here you can get some nice shots of the lake and pagoda (of course there’s a pagoda) that’s in the middle.
The Nan Myint Tower – a slight walk to get there but it’s worth it. If you cant be ass’d walking up all the stairs then there is an elevator to the top for your slack convenience (Yeah ok we took the elevator but totally took the stairs back down we swear!!!)
Not so great:
The Swamp Walk Way – it’s a swamp…. What do you expect? Some random gators would have been cool. But sadly no, just swamp.
Timber Elevated Walkway – umm should be condemned, there is a barrier that stops anyone walking too far, but even up to that point I was wondering if the walkway would collapse beneath us (and wishing I had got that tetanus booster like the doctor said).
Rainbow View Fountain – only because it wasn’t actually going….. Maybe it’s kickass?
If your in the area of Pyin oo Lwin we highly recommend a trip to the Pyin oo Lwin Botanical Garden (Also know as Maymyo National Kanawgyi Garden), it’s a nice day out where we didn’t encounter any dust (its EVERYWHERE in Myanmar) or any other foreigners….. but there was one local trying to convert us to Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, random!
