Historical Bit:
Yangon, formerly Rangoon, was the capital of Myanmar until it was superseded by Naypyidaw in November 2005. Today, with a population of over 5 million people, it remains the largest city and the main economic hub of Myanmar.
The city is a mixture of British, Burmese, Chinese, and Indian influences, and is known for its colonial architecture. New high-rise buildings were constructed from the 1990s as the government began to allow private investment, but when the capital was shifted to Naypyidaw, most of these buildings were left abandoned.
Yangon continues to be a city of the past, as seen by its longyi-wearing, betel nut chewing and spitting pedestrians, their friendly or even familial attitude towards strangers, its street vendors, and its pungent smells.
The country is having its identity crisis, with the changing capital, city names, and even flags, which was recently redesigned in 2010, replacing the old one which replaced another few decades earlier.
According to local legend, the Shwedagon Pagoda was built during the time of the Buddha, and Yangon was built around it. What’s for sure is that it was a Mon village, named Dagon, since the 6th century AD. It was renamed Yangon by the Shwebo based King Alaungpaya when he captured it from rebel Mon leaders in 1755 when the port city began to crow. However, the city became more important when the British occupied it and chose as the capital of British Burma and the trading and commercial centre of Burma. The British called the city Rangoon, which was an Anglicized form of “Yangon.” -Wikitravel
I love travelling. I love every moment of it. I love smelling the air as I come out of the airplane after landing at the airport. I love the distinct smell only that specific country can give. I love that special smell of hope and excitement. At Yangon International Airport, it was definitely foreign, and I’m not trying to be cheesy, but it held the sense of nostalgia even without any memories I have of Myanmar.
And here I landed in Yangon. You guessed right: It was hot and humid. The airport was already so stuffy and hot. I was wondering why there were no air conditioners, but as soon as I stepped outside, I realized that the A/C was functioning, perfectly well.
It was March but already 40 degrees. I think my body got confused because, while I was definitely feeling the heat, for the first 15 minutes or so, I didn’t actually feel hot. Oh well.
If you compare the price of hostels around Myanmar, Yangon seems to be the most expensive. Then again, most foreigners land in Yangon, so you might as well charge them a little extra since they will stay anyway.
I stayed in a dorm room at YAMA Guest House. The rooms are clean, with air conditioners working very well (:D!) and spacious bathroom in each dorm room. Each bed (bunk beds) has curtains and light stands that are very bright. No complaints. But the kitchen area somehow didn’t feel too clean in comparison, with bread crumbs everywhere and everything out in the open to be shared. The big table in the middle was greasy too. However, for someone who just landed in Myanmar, I went out to eat some local food, instead of bread and jam.
Unfortunately, since my friend and I were shown around in A/C van (thanks to my friend’s connections), I was unable to take many pictures. First of all, I don’t like taking pictures through a window, and second, the window was tanned. That won’t prevent you from getting tanned, though.
I’m going to be mainly uploading pictures that I feel have the most Myanmar-feel. I will also put bits and pieces of information I remember from the trip. Most would be what I heard from the locals so I can’t guarantee the accuracy. I won’t be uploading too many pictures of myself, in hopes that anyone reading the posts can better enjoy the scenery there.
So before I upload the pictures of my trip, let me introduce myself and my friend.
Rangoon Tea House
Rangoon Tea House was the very first place we went to after checking in at the guesthouse. We had our first meal here.
Rangoon Tea House is one of the high-end, Westernized cafés/restaurants in Myanmar. That being said, there are not that many locals and the focus seems to be more on the display than the taste. It’s the number one place to go according to TripAdvisor so I thought why not.
After our meal, we headed to Chauk Htat Gyi.
Chauk Htat Gyi
Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda is one of the most well-known pagodas in Yangon with 65m-long reclining Buddha image. At the bottom of the feet are images for the characteristics of Buddha. There is also a mural of the followers of Buddha near the feet. Sadly, it is fairly difficult to take a picture of the whole Buddha.
Mind you, there is a LOT of stray dogs in Myanmar. Some are super friendly, and some I don’t think have had any interactions with people. Like most Burmese people I’ve seen, the dogs are generally very sweet and gentle. On a side note, they have such dark eyes, which are like bio sunglasses for them. The people really don’t mind them and I felt that the Burmese people treat these dogs in the same respectful manner as they do with each other.
This is me again, trying my first dragon fruit juice at Sharky’s. (Honestly, it tasted like grass. Then again, I like dragon fruit for its texture, rather than the taste.) Apparently, Sharky’s is said to have the best chicken in Yangon.
It was too much heat for the first day already so we decided to rest and recharge a bit before heading out in the sun. Then we decided to actually go back to our guesthouse, rest there with full air conditioner on, and come out right before sunset for Shwedagon Pagoda. No shoes or socks are allowed in pagodas and I didn’t want to burn my feet on marble floor tiles anyway.
Shwedagon Pagoda
8 USD or 8,000 kyat, 6:30am — 10pm
Shwedagon Pagoda is the most famous and the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar. There is a gilded stupa 99m tall.
The marble floor tiles weren’t too hot at this time, compared to other pagodas I’ve been to in other cities in Myanmar. The trick is to find the tiles that are less hot. You’ll get a sense of which ones to step on after a while.
There are 8 zodiac signs in Myanmar, 1 for each day of birth, except for Wednesday, which is split into a.m. and p.m. hours (Monday-tiger; Tuesday-lion; Wednesday (a.m.)-tusked elephant; Wednesday (p.m.)-tuskless elephant; Thursday-rat; Friday-guinea pig; Saturday-king cobra; Sunday-bird). I was born in Wednesday morning so I get the cool tusked elephant as these nuns.
Burmese people don’t pay the entrance fee so there are a large number of locals resting, chatting, dating, roaming –chilling. For a place considered so sacred, it was somewhat surprising, but this may be what a “sanctuary” should be. There may be countless people around but there was still a sense of calmness and admiration. As the sun set, everyone was seated and facing the golden pagoda.
