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Published: July 30th 2012
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We had only one more place to visit in Burma –
Yangon and we only managed to save 2 full days in town but according to what we had read it should have been enough. We arrived very early in the morning (took overnight bus again) and took a local bus to
Sule Paya, downtown (bus 59, 500K, 45 minutes ) in search for some budget accommodation. We walked around and checked many hotels/guesthouses but prices were never below 25$ and still most of them were full. We finally managed to find
Smiles Inn Guesthousewhere they offered us double room with a bathroom and breakfast for only 15$ so we were happy. It is located near the bustling Muslim and Indian Quarters that are just such pleasure to wander around. We did not have any major plans for things to do in Yangon with the exception of famous Shwedagon Paya. We really wanted to see in the early morning and then around sunset so we left it for the next day. In the meantime we walked around downtown, admired colonial architecture, ate at really nice Biryani place and spent time with locals drinking coffee with lime in local coffee shops (old
fashion, cigarette smoke filled place not the Starbucks kind of experience).
We really got to like Yangon and I am not sure why people say it is quite a horrible place. Maybe when you got scammed on money changing or mugged than it seems far less appealing but the looks of this place are very nice. On top of it the mixture of cultures leaving next to each other, nice markets and food stalls make it all a great place to be – we think. Transport in Yangon is very efficient and you can get everywhere by local bus for 50-100Kyat. We took the whole morning next day to visit
Shwedagon Paya and we were just amazed by the beauty of this place. It is so vast and so majestic that you just want to stay there for a whole day and watch it. Not only this is a 2500 year old cultural relict that consist of more than 80 structures within a complex but the main Paya (where Buddha relicts are said to be hidden) is decorated with tones of gold and thousands of diamonds and other precious stones, donated through centuries by kings and queens. It is
a masterpiece of art – no doubt!!!
We spent a few hours walking around (you can get free drinking water within the complex) and then decided to sidetrack a bit and take a
circle train around Yangon to see some of its neighborhood and countryside. It takes like 4h to circle the city as it is painstakingly slow but you get to spent some time with local people, interact, being offered drinks and cigarettes and watch simple city life from the window of your carriage (2$ per person tourist price, locals probably pay like 200K). We loved it and we were so happy we did this trip. After this it was almost 5:30 pm so we returned to Shwedagon for sunset and last admirable look at this incredible Paya. As Golden Rock was the most perfect beginning of our trip in Burma, then golden Shwedagon Paya was the best possible ending…. We were ready to move on!
Additional notes about Yangon: *We heard so many different prices people pay for taxi to the airport but local price is 6000K and that is what we paid so no need to pay more
**if you have loads of
time you could combine the ride on the circular train which stops nearby the airport (we could see the runway from the train) and then you can catch a rickshaw or simply take a bus 51-53 from the University of Yangon to the airport
*** if you want to revisit Shwedagon the same day remember to keep your ticket and sticker (stickers are the most important for them) to enter again ;-)
**** the best Burmese food in Yangon we were served in a small restaurant on the way up to the Shwedagon – you can eat like a king for 1500K tops – really recommend it.
Additional Note - Summary of Burma: • 22 days, 8 towns and villages
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our favourite place: must be Bagan and Golden Rock second
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our favourite food: none I am afraid ;-(
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our favourite landscape: mountains on the way from Mandalay and Hsipaw
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our favourite activity: hiking up to see Golden Rock and spending whole evening with locals
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our favourite hotel/guest-house: one around Inle Lake, generally choice is poor
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least favourite thing about Burma: laud and horrible music when travelling on
overnight buses;-)
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our cost per day incl. visa and transport: 28,5£/45$ per day for both of us
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The Travel Camel
Shane Dallas
Gorgeous reflection
A wonderfully creative photograph - you should be proud of this one!