Think it would be hard to experience Yangon like a local? Think again – as you ride the Yangon circle train! The train goes around Yangon exposing city, rural and market scenery.
Local vendors jump on and off the ride selling all sorts of food and drink. But you do want to bring your own water, trust me on this.
We cut the 3 hour ride short at about the 2 hour mark, as our Flashpack tour group was heading out to BBQ Alley in Chinatown.
The Nitty Gritty
| Best time of day | Go as early as you can muster so as to stay out of the midday heat. Earliest train is around 6.00am, last one that completes the circle is around 5.00pm |
| Best gear | If you're going with a DSLR, a walkaround lens would work. Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II But the close quarters can mean something more discreet like a point-and-shoot or a phone would be less intrusive. Canon's great new p&s with full manual control - the G9 X |
| Other | Buy the tickets on the platform itself. They should be 200 kyat. Carry your own bottled water. |
Yangon Circle Train
The easiest way to get the train is to go to platform 7 at the Yangon Railway Station (marked on the map below) and buy your 200 kyat ticket from the nice agent.
While you’re at the station – keep your eyes open. I love the lines of train stations, the tracks as well as the platform. You can use that perspective to draw the viewer’s eye.
When this young lady in the vivid red dress walked by, I just had to take a shot to capture the pop of red.
Read more about using lines and color to get a striking photo.
Once you get on the train, it slowly circles through 38 stations with a variety of photo opportunities on and off the train.
You’ll see vendors selling their wares such as quail eggs, sweets, paan and fruit on the train, local markets at the stations selling lunch, fruit and vegetables and everything else.
You’ll also get to see a little of the rural areas near Yangon out the window, as well as some of the poorer areas.
Circle Train Photography
Do you find it hard to shoot people who are 2 feet away with your giant DSLR? Me too!
I really don’t want to be in people’s faces as they go about their daily business. I just think how much I would hate that on my own commute.
So I go all stealth, which usually means I end up using the articulating screen on my 70d and holding the camera at waist height.
Using a phone or a point and shoot is also a good deal less intrusive than pointing a giant camera at your fellow passengers. I’ve since switched to a small micro four thirds camera that is much smaller. Both it, and my point and shoot have articulating screens.
If you point down the length of the train, you can really capture the feel of being on the ride.
Some people may be very friendly and may chat with you if they feel like it – one older gentleman wanted to know what my camera was and that was pretty fun. He said he had a Nikon camera.
One thing I didn’t quite capture is how humid and sticky it was. We took the train around noon – bad move!
Since the train moves slowly, there’s not a lot of wind entering the car as you move.
I really recommend taking the earliest train you can as it should be cooler earlier in the day.
The View Outside
I had read a bunch about the circle train before we went, so I was prepared to be sitting there shooting out the window.
So I was pretty surprised to find that the windows are heavily-tinted at the bottom, and only open up top.
My suggestion? Stand up – you not only get to shoot out the window, but also get to catch a breeze. Which in the sticky humidity is quite a relief.
As you approach the station, get ready to shoot. That’s when you’re most likely to catch some good scenes, vendors, markets.
When you shoot, try to shoot parallel to the scene and not at an angle. Because you’re already shooting from a higher viewpoint, shooting parallel will avoid an awkward perspective that screams “I shot this out a train window!”
By the way, I totally love this lady smoking a cigar. I really wish I could have zoomed in and focused in on her – got to be quick on the trigger from a moving train.
Lunch Ladies
When you stop at the stations, you’ll get a number of vendors getting on and off the train.
This enterprising lunch lady carried a little stool and her tray of food. If a passenger wanted a meal, she’d set down her stool and make a quick lunch for them, starting with grating some fresh cabbage.
It was my second day in Myanmar so I wasn’t quite ready to risk a train lunch – you willing to give a shot?
Final Words
So there you have it – a cheap, easy way to get an authentic, local experience and see a little bit of life from the Yangon Circle train.
The train lasts 3 hours and you can get on and off, but do watch out for the latest train so you don’t miss it.
If you’re pretty close to the city, you can take a taxi back too, which is what we did.
Are you going to take the Yangon Circle train? For more great shots of local life, check out Yangon’s chinatown.
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