Yangon 2015 - Part One

Yangon, Myanmar was once Rangoon, Burma. Rangoon literally means "end of strife". It is the capital of the country and used to have a population of 5 million but I was told they seemed to now have 7 million. Yangon was first founded as Dagon circa 1028-1043. Today, they say Myanmar is the last frontier in South East Asia. Here I am, in the capital of the last frontier.

They were once known as the garden city of the east. At one time, their public services and  infrastructure were reported to be on par with London. I got a sense of new development as I saw some extension to the airport and a temporary car park.

Welcome to Yangon, the sign says.

It was busy as the roads were congested. Signs of progress.

There were derelict buildings but...

It has the largest number of colonial buildings in the region.

Passed by a hotel that has a name that perhaps says it all.

I saw a church.

And more colonial buildings.

 Finally a local residential area.

When I got out from the car, I felt a sense of excitement - like Indiana Jones arriving at an exotic place. I felt the tingle on my skin as the sun hit me. My ears were bombarded by the noise of everything coming at once, of traffic and people. The smell of street food was in the air.

Mobile phone shops everywhere when once it costs a lot to have a phone card.

Traffic was relentless and unending but there were no motorbikes. I learned that Yangon do not permit motor cycles.

Buses were crowded and an assistant will shout out destinations when passing a bus stop. At traffic junctions, sometimes either the assistant or a passenger will jump down to control traffic to clear the way for the bus.

Offices and homes in the mix. 

New buildings and construction are sprouting out.

A foreign language school in an old building.

Time for lunch at the Rangoon Tea House. 

Not easy to order a simple teas as you can see so I asked for their best seller. 

I noticed they used a lot of lentils here in their cooking.

I wanted to know what their curry and spicy food taste like. 

And I was told that here in Myanmar they still used such a stove for their cooking.

The refurbished interior of an old colonial building.

Turning it into a modern tea house.

All the lightings, fans and ceiling were created modern with a touch of antique.

Very interesting street food. I saw only one roadside stall peddling meat. It looked like our char siew and siew yoke, just very simple and a strip of meat each.

Back travelling on the streets.

You got to use your head when at work. 

A fabulous hotel. Formerly Traders Hotel now the Sule Shangri-La.

It was a hot, humid and tiring day. Fortunately, they have a bar that resembles our Cricketeer. In Yangon, the Tiger and Myanmar beers go for a song, cheaper than anything that you can drink. Nothing better on a hot day.

To Be Continued...