Myanmar Journals

Myanmar Time Warp

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A September 2006 trip to Myanmar by jabela

Quote: My business trip to Myanmar with half a day sightseeing around the capital.

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Myanmar Time Warp

Overview

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Going to Yangon is rather like stepping back in time, a time before the hustle and bustle of Asian Metropolises, when there was space for cars on the roads, people had time to go about their business and the buildings were less than 20 storeys high. The most interesting aspect of Yangon is the style of architecture, which represents the way that buildings were made in Colonial times. There are some wonderful Art Deco buildings still around and plenty of Colonial style houses to be seen. The other thing you notice coming from other parts of Southeast Asia is that the Government have left the trees in-tact. The number one attraction is definitely the Shwedagon Pagoda is a Pagoda gil...Read More

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Traders Hotel

Hotel

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Okay, with a name like Traders Hotel I really thought I'd be in for some terrible 1 star hotel. I couldn't have been more wrong... This is a 5 star hotel by Shangri-La and right in the middle of the city. There are some nice touches, for example the complimentary jogging route map which hangs around your neck and the foldable city map.They also have the usual facilities, although this being a business trip I didn't get chance to use anything but the breakfast bar and the real bar! The room was very comfortable with everything you'd expect, including 30 channels of satellite TV, most of which were in English, but there were also French, German, Malay, and Chinese channels. I firmly...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 20, 2006

Traders Hotel
223 Sule Pagoda Road
Yangon, Myanmar
95 1 242828

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Theik Di Shin Traditional Restaurant

Restaurant

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My local guide, Anna, took the simple approach to choosing a restaurant for lunch... she chose her favourite place to eat and what a fine place it was too. By Myanmar standards this is an upmarket restaurant with air-conditioning and very comfortable tables and chairs. It has the feel of a British-Colonial restaurant and a number of very pretty local pictures on the wall.The food itself is spicy, my taste buds have adapted in my time in Malaysia, so I can't give you an accurate guide, but let's just say traditional Burmese cuisine is going to be difficult to enjoy if you can't take some chili. We had a big variety of dishes with every type of meat except beef (beef is not eaten by a lo...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 25, 2006

Theik Di Shin Traditional Restaurant
331-333, Cor. of 1st St., & Anawrahta St., Lanmada
Yangon, Myanmar
(01) 223503

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Shwedagon Pagoda

Attraction

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Imagine you've been told what a poor country Myanmar is, I ask how far the city centre is from my hotel and I'm told... THAT IS THE CITY CENTRE! Oops... The buildings and roads all seem to be remnants of a bygone age, when the British ruled the world... I'm told there's a Pagoda that's worth visiting. Err, yeah ok...

So imagine my surprise when in the middle of this city is a 5 tonne Pagoda, with 1/2 a tonne of Gold in it! There's so much Gold that the whole place shines! On what would otherwise be a very dull day, every speck of light is captured in this Pagoda area.

It completely blew away my perspective of Yangon. However I was right about one thing, it isn't new... In fact it's 2500 years old! The present version largely dates back to 1774 although many parts of it are older. There are a plethora of statues of the Buddha and each is worth seeing in its own right. My favourite is one that wasn't even mentioned in the guide. (Pictured below) There is a Jade Buddha, sun-moon Buddha, Kassapa Buddha and many other golden statues. Also look out for the King Okkalapa statue, because he is credited with building it in BC600 and it is fairly well hidden in the Saturday corner. Also if you have time, have a look at the showroom and museum.

You are of course expected to remove your shoes and socks (Stockings etc) before entering the Pagoda and I'd suggest leaving them in your bus or car if you can or putting them in a bag, because it would be very easy to lose your shoes in this complex.

This is an active temple, so please act respectfully, I'd suggest wearing trousers for men and a knee length (or longer) skirt and sleeves for women. Cameras are allowed and you can take as many pictures as you like, but be careful with the use of Flash, so that you don't disturb worshippers.

If you are Buddhist and wish to worship, please remember the day of the week of your birth, because in Myanmar the temples are divided into 7 areas according to the day of the week you are born on.

There's a lot to see in the Pagoda and I'd suggest spending at least 2 hours here. It's the best attraction in Yangon, I'd have liked to have more time here and would have happily have dropped the other items in my itinerary to make that time. If I go to Yangon again, I shall be sure to drop by! They also have a Website at: http://www.shwedagon.org/ Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 25, 2006

Shwedagon Pagoda
Shwedagon Pagoda Road
Yangon, Myanmar

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National Races Village

Attraction

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I think the best part of this attraction is that the tower gives you a great view of the river and the city beyond. The attraction itself is somewhat rundown and isn't particularly well presented. There's meant to be a crocodile farm, bird sanctuary, Golden Deer and Handicrafts... I didn't see any evidence of any of those things, except the odd bird in a cage.The houses themselves look like they've been neglected somewhat and even the children's playground was deserted. Admittedly we didn't go in good weather and might have had a better impression in sunny weather, but this White Elephant certainly doesn't seem worth a trip out of Yangon. What was quite interesting was the brid...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on September 25, 2006

National Races Village
Tharketa Township
Yangon, Myanmar