Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital was described by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda as “a city of blood, dreams and gold”. Bedecked with caroling street-vendors and honking, rustbucket buses, Yangon is intoxicating.
It is also full of contradictions. The residents wear big smiles. The street corners are garlanded with barbed wire. The stupas twinkle; the streets have seen horror. The pagodas are bedecked in gold-leaf; many people struggle to eke out a living.
Myanmar was once trapped in time. Development stagnated as successive military juntas marched along the “Burmese way to socialism.” In this backwater, Yangon was the most vibrant pool. In this city was Myanmar’s rich ethnic diversity, from Chin to Chinese, Tamils to Tai. Today, as history repeats itself, the city and its people strain to free themselves from their old tawdry clothes, and step with more confidence into a brighter future.
One of the best things to do in Yangon is visit the 2,500 year old ‘winking wonder’, Shwedagon Pagoda. Both religious pilgrimage site and social haunt for Yangonites, a good chunk of a travellers first day can be spent wandering about this masterpiece of Buddhist architecture.
Besides Shwedagon, Yangon also boasts the resplendent Sule Pagoda in the heart of downtown and Botataung Pagoda on the banks of the Yangon River. Visitors to Yangon can admire the colonial heritage of Yangon along the Strand Road and Pansodan Street, as well as when wandering down “Cinema Row” on Bogyoke Road.
Visitors to Yangon can enjoy the sizzling samosas and refreshing lassis on the streets of the Indian Quarter while the hooting boozers of Chinatown will attract those looking to wet the whistle at sundown. Travellers seeking a spicier night may opt for the hip bars of Sanchaung where the young, cool things of the city host poetry slams and Ska sets.
History-wonks visiting Yangon should make their way to the National Museum, the House of Aung San, and the bizarre Drug Elimination Museum where the displays are questionable at best, pure propaganda at worst. Burmese boxing at Thein Phyu Stadium and the derelict racecourse offer an insight into Rangoon-past, while the chic restaurants and art galleries of Bo Aung Kyaw and Bogalay Zay Street share a glimpse of what this city is becoming.
As a day-trip from Yangon it is possible to visit the old capital city of Bago – home to Myanmar’s tallest pagoda – and see the European architecture at Thanlyin – once the fiefdom of a Portugeuse privateer. The magnificent Secretariat Building and “open-air libraries” of 37th Street are also Yangon must-sees.
The Circular Train that loops around the city is a pleasant way to see the leafy environs of the urban sprawl. Intrepid travellers to Yangon can disembark at Insein and peep into the train-building yard and the tumultuous market stop of Mingalar Bazaar.
All this and more can be arranged by Sampan Travel. Get in touch with one of our travel consultants and we will help you unlock this remarkable city.
One of the best things to do in Yangon is visit the 2,500 year old ‘winking wonder’, Shwedagon Pagoda. Both religious pilgrimage site and social haunt for Yangonites, a good chunk of a travellers first day can be spent wandering about this masterpiece of Buddhist architecture.
Besides Shwedagon, Yangon also boasts the resplendent Sule Pagoda in the heart of downtown and Botataung Pagoda on the banks of the Yangon River. Visitors to Yangon can admire the colonial heritage of Yangon along the Strand Road and Pansodan Street, as well as when wandering down “Cinema Row” on Bogyoke Road.
Visitors to Yangon can enjoy the sizzling samosas and refreshing lassis on the streets of the Indian Quarter while the hooting boozers of Chinatown will attract those looking to wet the whistle at sundown. Travellers seeking a spicier night may opt for the hip bars of Sanchaung where the young, cool things of the city host poetry slams and Ska sets.
History-wonks visiting Yangon should make their way to the National Museum, the House of Aung San, and the bizarre Drug Elimination Museum where the displays are questionable at best, pure propaganda at worst. Burmese boxing at Thein Phyu Stadium and the derelict racecourse offer an insight into Rangoon-past, while the chic restaurants and art galleries of Bo Aung Kyaw and Bogalay Zay Street share a glimpse of what this city is becoming.
One of the best things to do in Yangon is visit the 2,500 year old ‘winking wonder’, Shwedagon Pagoda. Both religious pilgrimage site and social haunt for Yangonites, a good chunk of a travellers first day can be spent wandering about this masterpiece of Buddhist architecture.
Besides Shwedagon, Yangon also boasts the resplendent Sule Pagoda in the heart of downtown and Botataung Pagoda on the banks of the Yangon River. Visitors to Yangon can admire the colonial heritage of Yangon along the Strand Road and Pansodan Street, as well as when wandering down “Cinema Row” on Bogyoke Road.
Visitors to Yangon can enjoy the sizzling samosas and refreshing lassis on the streets of the Indian Quarter while the hooting boozers of Chinatown will attract those looking to wet the whistle at sundown. Travellers seeking a spicier night may opt for the hip bars of Sanchaung where the young, cool things of the city host poetry slams and Ska sets.
History-wonks visiting Yangon should make their way to the National Museum, the House of Aung San, and the bizarre Drug Elimination Museum where the displays are questionable at best, pure propaganda at worst. Burmese boxing at Thein Phyu Stadium and the derelict racecourse offer an insight into Rangoon-past, while the chic restaurants and art galleries of Bo Aung Kyaw and Bogalay Zay Street share a glimpse of what this city is becoming.
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