Yangon

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Yangon, Myanmar 19th Oct 2009

Hotel Classique Inn is true to it's name a classical house in a very nice area called Golden Valley Rd. Somewhat out of the town but in amongst some beautiful houses, hotels and art galleries. The area probably reflects Yangon in that it is a mix of old dilapidation and stunning wealth.

Having left our hotel in Bangkok at 4am yesterday had a few hours sleep when we arrived then walked to the fabulous Shwedagon Pagoda. This amazing Buddhist temple is far grander and more beautiful than you would ever believe.

Being Sunday it was full of families using their day off to visit and pray or to just hang out. The locals seem to have a well balanced attitude to the place by letting the kids climb on everything, enjoy themselves, have a picnic and pray!!

Like Bangkok it is very hot and humid here. We can't be wearing the right clothes because we are literally dripping with sweat but the Burmese look cool and serene!! If the sauna principle works we'll go home sylph-like.....lol as they say! The majority of men and women seem to wear longyi's and look really nice. They do seem a bit like sarongs in that they come loose every so often. It is a bit disconcerting at first when a man looks as though he is about to whip his off but is in fact just retying it. Should get one really.

We have seen only a few foreigners here so far. About 10 yesterday and the same today. You do feel very safe here. People seem pleased to see you and if they can speak English they seem to want to chat like the young monk we kept bumping into at the Pagoda.

Today we went downtown and the only hassle we had was from guys offering to change your money. Apparently there are a few scams going on so we went to Tamarind Travel at the Trader's Hotel. Cho Cho was brilliant at getting our 'Visas on Arrival' and was there to meet us at the airport. She even gave us a lift to our hotel. (What a lovely lady). Anyway she got us a good rate of exchange and gave us cool drinks too!

The worst hazards so far are the heat..... and the pavements. You could break your neck easily on them and if not careful could disappear down a hole into the sewer. Not looking forward to going out at night! Must take a torch.

Unfortunately the market was closed today so we just wandered around downtown and took in the atmosphere. This morning Ann was stopped by a 75yr old woman who spoke brilliant English and claimed to be half British. She warned us about the dangers of the 'so-called' pavements and looked over her shoulder before daring to complain about the lack of repair and the fact that buildings were being sold off to the Chinese.

Lonely Planet let us down when the restaurant they highly recommended had morphed into a Karaoke Bar. Found another nearby which was fine and ended up remeniscing with a local music lover who serenaded us with 60's pop songs........ Cliff Richard and the Everly Bros!!!

Impressions of Yangon after 2 days…....busy, loads of traffic, clapped out old cars, dirty, roadside stall everywhere cheek by jowl with modern high rise stuff, mostly neglected, quite expensive considering (but you can get HP sauce in the supermarket), everyone friendly and keen to try out their English.

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Photos

Yangon
Shwedagon Pagoda

Girl with an umbrella
Girl at the Shwedagon Pagoda

Yangon
Man at prayer

Comments

[Jill Hughes]

What do you want HP sauce for?
Enjoyed reading the blog David but thought typically English or should I say (Welsh) got to seek out a a little bit of Aston in finding the HP sauce! No seriously know you must be experiencing some very nice and different food and the Classique Inn looks very posh. Don't envy the humidity though - bet you'ld look good in longyis - will expect a photo if you venture into them. Amazing to me that so many people speak English and nice to know how welcoming folks are. Looking forward to your next bit of hols - takes me away from work and cold and now rather wet miserable autumn and darkness with clocks going back this weekend. Continue to have a great time x Jill