After landing at the modern airport in Yangon we quickly purchased a sim card with a local phone number. We were told that in the last few years the price of Internet and cell phones have dropped dramatically. One tour guide told us that in the last 10 years mobile phones have gone from costing more then $1000 to now being relatively affordable.
Our taxi driver informed us that traffic in Yangon can be intense – horrific at times – traffic that didn’t exist like this merely several years ago. We found this out the hard way when we had to travel from the center of town out to the bus station (took nearly 90 minutes for what is normally a much shorter drive).
We stayed at the modern Merchant Art Boutique Hotel on a floor that was well decorated with large and colorful images of Audrey Hepburn. For the price and the location, we highly recommend this property. As you face the hotel a small ‘locals’ restaurant is just down the street on the left side – the food is incredible spicy but very flavorful. For three people with more food then we could eat, we spent about $5 USD total.
A must visit in Yangon is the Shwedagon Temple – a gathering place for locals and International visitors coming to experience it’s splendor, to people watch and experience a place of intense spirituality. The main stupa is nearly 100 meters tall and is highly visible from numerous parts of the city, especially at night when it is lit up. One also comes here to be dazzled by the intense monetary wealth that went into creating this temple – the main stupa itself is covered with billions of dollars of solid gold and diamonds. We were here several hours, we could have spent all day.
And if you have time, walk slowly through the streets surrounding the temple – vendors sell a diversity of fruits, vegetables and sometimes unidentified foods. The communal stalls serving a variety of intestines make for a tasty stop (if you have the stomach for this type of food). Intestines on a stick paired with small bowls of soup or noodles and hot chili makes a delicious snack. Your seated neighbors will be happy to see a foreigner taking an interest in some of the street food of their country.
And then the evening started. We popped around from bar to bar – most of it I cannot remember a day later as I write this. At one point I claimed Jimmy Buffet founded the Peace Corps, then I corrected myself and then tried to argue that Jimmy Carter was in actuality the founder of the Peace Corps. Now in my sober state, I obviously realize that John F Kennedy was the founder of the Peace Corps.
During our night of drinking I mistakenly heard someone say that one of our stops was going to be to a Transvestite strip club. In actuality there was none of this illicit behavior. We visited Seven Joints Bar, I attempted to speak to other patrons without success so I started trying to yell the words to songs being sung in Burmese. I was drinking mojitos within 2 feet of the live band and was too lazy to move myself to the other side of the bar so that I would actually be able to hear my voice.
Seven Joints. A place where the first sign you see as you walk in reads, “NOTICE any goats found on these premises will be CURRIED!”
And for our nightcap we hit up the posh Atlas Rooftop Bar & Lounge & were among the last guests when they closed at 12am – otherwise with the amount of drinks we were consuming – we were probably going to be there until 2am! Highly recommended for well-made cocktails and views of the Shwedagon Pagoda in the distance. A good mix of both locals and expats.
The next day we hopped on the Circle Train – a locals train that circumnavigates the fringes of the city making a complete loop. One can get off and on the train as it stops numerous times throughout its journey. The total cost of the three hour ride was about 20 cents per person. It is a great way to connect with locals and try local foods. Vendors hop on and off at the various stops selling a variety of foods, fruits, vegetables and cooked items for passengers.
And just like that, it was off to the bus station for an overnight bus ride to Inle Lake.
Circle train sounds like a fun and cheap way to check out the different parts of the city! I will definitely give it a try next time I visit Yangon.
Chin – definitely the cheapest train ride I’ve ever paid for!
Excellent article, Dave. It brought back many fond memories for us when we were in Yangoon for a week and traveled onward to enjoy more of our trip to Mandalay, Bago and Inwa. Fantastic photos. We would love to go back.
M&G
NYC
Hi Dave
Great blog beautiful places. I love the temples.
Thanks for sharing waiting – for next post 🙂
Michael – thanks! Next time I will check out Bago and Inwa.
Regards,
Dave
Great post! And such stunning pictures! Thanks for sharing this.
Hi, Davas, I really enjoy reading your blog about Yangon Mynammar, Each details about your trip there are very interesting first I like the way yu are telling us your travel story as if we are watching interesting film about Yangon, Second you mention lots of useful tips , information and suggestion about things to do that work as travel guide to Yangon, Third I touch your great talent travel blogging that i cannot wait to read the next line and enjoy your photos Thanks a lot
Dave, Yangon is such a bustling place (and the traffic when I was there was manic), but just walking the streets and digging the scene is highly satisfying on its own. I’m not much for intestines on a stick, but loved the various versions of mohinga (the fish/noodle and a bunch of other stuff) soup.
Hope you write about your Inle Lake visit too—I had a great time there, and the proliferation of temples/pagodas there (as in Bagan) are amazing.
Reem – hope you can visit soon 🙂
Tom – good evening from Provence. I will be sure to write about our experiences on Inle Lake – one of my favorite parts of Myanmar. The food is diverse. So are the flavors. Can’t wait to return 🙂
nice post.
Such a beauty Yangon is. Loved the way you’ve narrated your experience. Cheers!
Have never been to Myanmar…looks like a really amazing place to explore. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad we got to do this experience together! Burma (Myanmar), as you know is one of my favorite places in the world and going during the heated political period also gave us deep insight into the situation outside of the media perspective.
On to our next continent!! Though we are going to Japan the end of year.. Weren’t you talking about bringing Lance?
Markus – yea, put it on your bucket list before the country sees much more tourism.
Hello Ms. Ueng. Yes, I’m glad you were able to join on this epic trip – also glad we survived despite the late night forays into the world of alcohol and strangers and dark alleys. Not sure if Lance is still interested in Japan but I will inquire soon. Northern South America in early December in case you are interested. Miss you guys.
Thanks Simon, appreciate the comment.
Looks like you guys have had a Amazing time soaking up local myanmar culture and eating delicious food! Myanmar is another one to add to my bucket list – and I imagine its a lot cheaper than New York!
Myanmar is the best country to visit. It has so many temples!