YANGON
From Calcutta to Singapore to now Yangon (which I openly wish was still called Rangoon; I love the change from Burma to Myanmar but Rangoon is such a cool name, anyway) I have a fascination with old British colonial outposts. It's that travel back in time architecture that creates a the perfect backdrop for a photo or watching the world go by as you drink a beer. For me, the obvious comparison to Yangon would be Calcutta and I thought Yangon was overall a more impressive city. I could be completely wrong but it seemed like the British threw a little more money around in Yangon then they did in Calcutta. Yangon doesn't seem as "worn" or "beaten" as Calcutta. There was the occasional broken sidewalk but there was a sidewalk. I stayed somewhere in the 13th - 16th street range just off Maha Bundala, which was a great area to walk around.
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The walk from the hostel to Sule Pagoda (first photo) then up to Bogyoke Market was fascinating. You know what's even more fascinating? A Myanmar taxi ride. Look at the photo to the bottom right and tell me what's wrong? Answer below.
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What's wrong with that photo is that the steering wheel is on the right hand side of the car (vs. the left) AND the driver is driving on the right hand side of the road. So it's a British car driven like it's on an American road. Pretty crazy. I was in the cab because I was on my way to Chauk Htat Kyi Pagoda, aka the Reclining Buddha.
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I wasn't too crazy about the golden neck rolls but a 200 foot long Buddha is impressive enough. Marks of the Buddha presence and his enlightenment cover the statue's feet.
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In a country that's 90% Buddhist it shouldn't come as much as a surprise that a ten minute walk away is another large Buddha statue in Ngar Htat Gyi Pagoda, aka the Sitting Buddha. This Buddha is only 45 feet tall.
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From here I cut through General Aung San Park and Kandawgyi Lake on the way to Shwedagon Pagoda. I passed through a Buddhist commune style community - there wasn’t a monastery but the homes and apartments in the area were filled with monks, so I'm saying it's a Buddhist commune style community.
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Shwedagon Pagoda is a massive complex and set a high bar for all the other temples to follow. The main pagoda is enormous and rises 100 meters. The main pagoda is surrounded by many smaller but equally impressive pagodas. I spent the rest of the day at Shwedagon Pagoda to catch sunset and see the gold pagoda shine when the lights were turned on
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I'm also under the impression that sunset brings a lot of worshipers to Shwedagon Pagoda and that seemed to be the case. This was one of those times where you visit a religious site and there's a lot of locals their being religious.
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For dinner I had Kyay Oh which was noodles, broth, pig meatballs, and pig organs - definitely a pig brain in there - at 133 Latha Street. Myanmar has restaurants that appear at night outside of closed storefronts. These establishments tend to be frequented by the locals over traditional sit-down restaurants. After dinner I went to 19th Street for a beer. 19th Street is another popular dining street and I had a few meals there during my stay in Yangon.
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The next morning I went for a ride on Yangon’s Circular Train. At the train station, the ticket office was adamant I pay with a US $1 bill, not a Myanmar 1,000 KYAT note - so I headed back to the hotel and returned with the appropriate currency. The train was slow but still bounced around quite a bit. There were some newer cars but the older cars were more interesting - wooden floors and jammed with locals. I took the train up to Hledan Street to check out Yangon University. I rode in the local car on the way back and people were selling food, cigarettes, and all sorts of products. There’s a sign in the car that said - Welcome and Be Kind to Tourists. Several locals offered me there seat but I politely refused.
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The next morning I took a bus ride up to the Inya Lake area. It was a fun ride - the buses seemed like converted trolley cars. There was a wooden floor and benches along the side. Everytime the bus would start and stop all the passengers would slide back and forth. A few helpful locals ensured I boarded the correct bus. I walked from Yangon University to Inya Lake and stopped for a burrito at Sai’s Tacos. The homes in the area were incredibly nice - they were all individualized and reminded me of the distinct styles I found in Manhattan Beach…but no sand or ocean. Inya Lake was a nice area but there wasn’t much activity on the lake so I turned around and headed back to the hotel. Next time I'm back in Yangon, I'm going to explore more of this area.
I also visited a newish mall that was relatively nice. It's my understanding that Myanmar, due to a slightly smaller population than it's Thailand and Bangladesh neighbors, and it's natural resources, is a slightly wealthy country in the region - at least it felt that way. But then I Googled "GDP of ASEAN Countries" and on a per capita basis Myanmar was dead last behind Cambodia. It was even well behind Laos. I don't know what to say but it didn't feel poorer than those countries.
I also visited a newish mall that was relatively nice. It's my understanding that Myanmar, due to a slightly smaller population than it's Thailand and Bangladesh neighbors, and it's natural resources, is a slightly wealthy country in the region - at least it felt that way. But then I Googled "GDP of ASEAN Countries" and on a per capita basis Myanmar was dead last behind Cambodia. It was even well behind Laos. I don't know what to say but it didn't feel poorer than those countries.
For additional Yangon photos see FLICKR ALBUM.