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Published: March 10th 2015
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Myanmar, considered as the-want- to-visit- country for many tourists around the world for several decades back, is slowly opening –up . Great news for adventure travelers including myself in love with rich history, culture and traditions of that area.
During the stop-over in Myanmar, the only city I could explore a bit was Yangon and here is how I saw it for the time being in the end of December 2014.
Walking the streets of Yangon (the biggest city in Myanmar) was like walking though the historian past of the country and National Geographic - all in ones. From the golden pagodas, various markets selling everything from local fruits/ vegetables, though the textile and clothing typical for the area and the jewelries – great idea for yourself or presents to the beloved ones, food and tea corners , temples of any kind of religion, representing the religious diverse in the country, to the colonial- style Hotels and other significant buildings from that time, the modern business parks, shopping malls and many more - the street culture and life in Yangon is so fascinating, so I couldn't wait to go out and explore it.
Went briefly though some of
the touristic pages of travel journals and others, just to point several of the main sides, I wanted to see such as the Schwadagon Pagoda, The Sule pagoda, Scott’s market, the Strand Hotel ( emblematic hotel build at the beginning of 20
th century), the beautiful Kandawgyi Lake and having a coffee break in some of the coffees overlooking the imposing Karaweik, All the rest I saw on the streets was just the bonus I sign-up for when visiting Yangon.
Once you are close to the “Strand Hotel”, overlooking the river actually, it’s quite easy of walking in Yangon- take any of the streets around going “up”, admire a bit the architecture of the houses in that area – some of the building still with pretty facades, some need renovation, but still keeping the charm of the time built, just to reach the squire leading to The Sule Pagoda – one of the city – landmarks , a golden pagoda, surrounded by lots of governments_ and other religious buildings and really loots of street life.
As walking near the Sule Pagoda, my attention was cached by the many, many little “workshops” with fortunetellers offering astrology and palm- reading at
once, as it turned out that both – astrology and palm reading in Myanmar are very popular. I, as the many other visitors in the city, couldn’t resist it and on the way back to the ship, I was on, I paid a quick visit…
My goal for that first afternoon was reaching the symbol of the Yangon and the oldest pagoda in Myanmar- the Schwedagon Pagoda – the impressive golden pagoda, visible from all corners of the city, shortly before sunset to be able of capturing the pagoda by day light and enjoying the lightened pagoda in the night. Next to the many many visitors, there were quit number of local people coming to the pagoda to perform a series of rituals depending of the day they were born.
The morning of the 2nd day, I kept it for visiting the Scott Market - built in 1926- colonial designed market center, hosting more then 2000 shops. There are an outdoor and an indoor sections, popular for selling gemstones, diamonds and other kinds jewelry, Burmense style of clothing, handcrafted souvenirs and my other favourite - Thanakha powder and paste ( the natural beauty secret of the Burmese women
Breakfast at "Barboun"Cafe"
..just nexto to Scott's market and Parkson mall and men, protecting their skin from the sun and keeping it smooth) ;-).
As the time was pressuring a bit, there was only time left to grad a quick coffee and breakfast and the place choosen was the "Barboun" cafe just outside of Scott Market situated in the first floor of the Parkson Mall ( the department store, hosting some well known and luxury brands).
A quick tipp regarding the currency and payment methods: The official currency is Burmese Kyat, appr. 1 USD = 1,034.50 MMK ( Burmese Kyat). Any kinds of credit/ debit cards were widely not taken and most of the locals would prefer to take new us- dollar bills ( preferable unfolded).
Rather then that...Have a great time exploring, as the country has a lot to offer....
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