iSee Kyeemindaing Station

Colonial train station

The red-brick Kyeemindaing Railway Station is one of the oldest in the country. It was built in the late 1870s with the opening of the 262 km Yangon to Pyay line by The Irrawaddy Valley State Railway revolutionised transport and spearheaded the Burmese economy.

Train stuff

Each green disk on this signboard represents a carriage of the train and the writing tells you whether it is first class, normal class, for the post or for luggage. Also, check out the benches, one of the station workers handcrafted them out of old train tracks.

Work and play

There is often a group of rickshaw drivers right outside the station, huddled over a board. They’re playing Carrom, a locally popular Burmese game. Carrom is a hugely popular table game of Eastern origin. You play by using the striker disk with a flick of the finger to move the lighter disks called carrom men and propel them into one of four corner pockets. You win when you’re the first to pot your nine carrom men and the Queen disk before your opponent.