Horse-drawn carriages are still the most distinctive way to get around Pyin Oo Lwin — a survival from the British colonial period when the hill station lacked motor roads. They wait at the central market and at the entrance to the botanical gardens, and a circuit of the main colonial-era streets takes about an hour.
The carriages clip-clop past Victorian-style houses, strawberry farms, and coffee plantations that line the roads outside the town centre. It is a slow, unhurried way to see the town, and the horses are a visible reminder that this place had its character shaped by a very different era. Agree a price before setting off — a standard town tour costs around 5,000–10,000 kyat, though prices fluctuate.