According to wholevehicles, Yangon is the former capital and cultural center of Myanmar. Here is the Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the world’s famous religious monuments – it is said to contain the eight hairs of the Buddha. The view of the pagoda is impressive: it rises to 98 meters and is covered with 60 tons of pure gold. Among the many museums in Yangon, the most famous is the National Museum of Art and Archeology. Other “must sees”: the local market and the “Royal Floating Barge”.
Infrastructure
A bustling Indian city with colorful colonial architecture, busy labyrinths of streets where broken shops with mountains of dried beetles coexist with modern supermarkets and luxury restaurants.
Markets and souvenirs
A place where you can buy everything from carpets to precious stones is Yangon’s central indoor market on Bogyoke Aung San Street.
Cuisine and restaurants
There is a nice street with a variety of cafes in Chinatown. Address: 15st. Fish dishes from 3000 MMK. Grilled Octopus Salad costs 2000 MMK. A mug of local beer – 500 MMK. If you miss chicken and french fries, the direct road to Tokyo Fried Chicken on Anawrahta Rd. or Maha Bandoola Rd.
On the eastern shore of Kandavgui (Royal Lake), a stunningly beautiful float restaurant Karaveik (or Karaveik Hall) awaits visitors. By the way, Karaweik is a mythical bird endowed with a beautiful voice. You enter the restaurant hall by passing the entrance, guarded by Nat with a sea shell and Nat with the royal sword. Every evening, dinner is spiced up with a national dance show. Cuisine – Burmese, Chinese, Oriental and European in some places. Entrance costs 12 USD per person, the system is a buffet.
4 things to do in Yangon
- Participate in an exciting ritual of decorating the temples of Yangon by buying the thinnest gold plates in a shop and carefully laying them out on the walls of Shwedagon in a designer way.
- Take a ride on the ring railway line, which covers the historical center of Yangon and the suburb of Insein, called “mu pe le”. Trains start running at 4 am, the last one leaves at 10 pm. A full circle will be about 50 kilometers, three hours of time. The price for local residents is 10 MMK, and for tourists 1 USD, but with such a ticket you will be allowed into a specially designated compartment for foreigners, where there are chairs.
- Dedicate one day to a trip to Mount Popa, where the monastery is located, erected on top of a volcano and observe the life of the mythical nagas. The journey takes about 2 hours.
- Taste the Burmese fish soup “mohinga” with rice noodles, which is cooked at every turn.
Entertainment and attractions of Yangon
The bulk of the Shwedagon temple complex, and especially the gigantic pagoda, covered with gold, decorated with diamonds and sparkling bells, is undoubtedly what it is worth starting a tour of the city. According to legend, there are eight hairs of Buddha at the base of the pagoda. The temple is squeezed into a strong embrace of the stupa and smaller temples. The entrance fee is 5 USD.
Sule Pagoda
In the very center of the city, it is impossible not to see the Sule Pagoda (from “su-wei” – meeting) – a local oasis of calm in a sea of honking cars and endless streams of people. It was built in the typical Burmese “Mon” style, that is, it has four entrances on the four cardinal points. It is unusual, first of all, for its octagonal shape. The entrance is paid, it is $ 2, it is worth remembering that you need to take off your shoes when entering any Buddha abode.
Chauthazhi Temple
Not far from the beautiful Shwedagon is the Chauthachzhi Temple with a reclining Buddha, decorated with a unique mosaic on the feet, representing 108 features of the Buddha, his attitude to life and teachings. Around the structure you can find many “salons” of fortune tellers, astrologers, palmists.
Temple of Nga Tha Ji Paya
Across the street from Chauthazhi Paya, Nga Tha Ji Paya is worth a look, with a beautiful image of a seated Buddha in gold and precious stones. No less interesting is the skillfully carved wooden throne of the Buddha inside the temple.
Botatung Pagoda
The Botatung Pagoda pierces the sky with a golden spire. The name “botathaun” means “thousand commanders”. Numerous ancient artifacts are stored behind transparent glass showcases.
National Museum
Not far from the center there is the National Museum, on Prom Road, in which stands the Lion Throne of the last Burmese king Thibault (Konbaun dynasty), here you can also find royal regalia, objects from different ancient periods, arts and crafts, weapons, musical instruments, paintings.
Monastery of Alain Na Sen
At the entrance to the monastery of Alen Na Sen lined up a detachment of stone warriors behind bars and lions. A group of green Buddhas is surprising and dumbfounded. Inside a small courtyard is the crypt of a dry monk.
Neighborhood of Yangon
After the whirlwind of Yangon, plunging into the magical atmosphere of the neighboring town of Bagan is a real pleasure. Moreover, this is the ancient capital of the first Burmese kingdom and more than 3,000 Buddhist temples managed to settle on an area of about 40 square kilometers. This is a true wonder of the world, located on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River.
Golden stone on Mount Chaittiyo
A unique attraction of the local environs is the Golden Stone on Mount Chaittiyo, miraculously hanging on the very edge of the abyss. A giant boulder with a height of 7.6 m has been swaying from winds and bad weather for 2,500 years, but does not fall. Therefore, the pagoda on the Golden Stone is one of the most revered shrines in Myanmar, but at the same time the most inaccessible. To get to the top, you need to overcome 16 km along the mountain serpentine. But once you get to the top, you can touch the shrine and even try to push the stone. So local pilgrims offer tourists to see for themselves the stability of local pride.
By the way, women are not allowed to approach the Golden Stone closer than 10 meters.
Siriam
The town of Thanlyin (Syriam) is an hour’s drive from Yangon, and the curiosity is, first of all, the building of the 14th century, built by the Portuguese, a romantic walk will turn out along the bridge over the Bago River. On a high hill rises the Pagoda Kyeik Khauk, remarkably similar to the Shwedagon.
Bago and Sagin
The road to Bago will take about 3 hours, but on the way you can turn into the British War Cemetery Htaukkant. In Bago, the main goal is to visit the huge Shwemawdaw Pagoda and the stunning Royal Palace. On the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy, the city of Sagain beckons with calmness, built up to capacity with monasteries: there are about 600 of them here.
