Blogs from Yangon Region, Burma, Asia - page 6

Day 6 & Day 7 Monday-January 18- We arose early this morning at the Dhara Dhevi Resort and had a quick breakfast prior to our pick up by Nok and Poi for our drive to the airport to get on our Bangkok Air flight at 11:00 for Yangon. We arrived in Yangon, went through immigration and looked for our AmaWaterways representative to transfer us to the hotel but no one showed up. A gentleman from the airport finally contacted the Shangri-La Hotel for us and Doug was able to talk with them. They said they couldn’t find the transfer but would have someone at the airport within 30 minutes wearing a red jacket. Doug went outside and was approached by a taxi guy asking if we needed a taxi and it would be $15US, saying no ... read more

Yangon or Rangoon? Myanmar or Burma? Despite these potentially confusing name changes, the largest city in Myanmar is actually no longer the nation's capital city, that accolade having been snatched by the planned capital city Naypyitaw in 2005. Either way, Yangon completed the Myanmar jigsaw, which some would claim is laughably incomplete without a trip to Bagan, but with the sights of Yangon pending, the time felt right to get fully immersed in the whole scene. As with Mandalay, a car plus driver is a wise move for first-time visitors to Yangon, and on this itinerary, the ports of call were numerous, varied, and downright fulfilling. Botataung pagoda was a fine starting point, an exotic jaunt through a warren of golden sparkle, and following this visit up with ... read more

I don't care who named it, or what you want to call it. But Rangoon is one of those city names that stays and stays, at least in my mind. I would compare it's intriguing name with cities like Addis Ababa, Rio de Janeiro, Cartagena, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Wimbledon, and Reims. It certainly sounds more charming than Reno, Denver, London, or Madrid. But this is an old, disheveled work in progress, multi-ethnic, interesting, and even picturesque. The city border to the south and west is the Yangon River, also called the Hlaing River. To the east is Pazundaung Chaung (Canal),which flows into the Yangon River. To the north, the city pens up, spreading along long avenues. The northern end is where most businesses and hotels are located. The two most important townships outside of the ... read more

We travelled from the golden rock to the capital City Yangon. After five hours we finally arrived in Yangon. Our first impression was that the city isn't as big as we expected it to be. The other thing we noticed was that the main part of all the cars in the streets were taxis, so the locals don't really drive a car yet. The first night out we went to the 50th street restaurant/ pub which is really nice good food an nice atmosphere. Finally we could eat something else than rise which we ate for the last week. =) In the morning we went to see the Shwedagon Pagode the biggest Pagode in Yangon and the religious center of Yangon. It's a really nice Pagode and definately worth seeing it. After the we saw the ... read more

Sunday, 9th August 2015 Happy 50th Birthday, Singapore. Day three in Yangon. We were off to the Shwedagon Pagoda after breakfast this morning. Located about 2.5km north of the city centre, the temple was a short taxi ride from our hotel in downtown Yangon. Entry fees was a hefty 8,000 kyats for foreigners. We passed by a few of the souvenir shops at the south gate before making our way to the temple. Surprisingly, the only determined touts we encountered were the flower sellers rather than the temple guides (reminded me of those street vendors that I encountered at the Guanyin Temple in Singapore). It was a hot day when we visited but there were many sheltered spots for us to take cover from the sun. After paying my respects and taken the "been there, done ... read more