Yangon - September 2014
Colin booked a weekend away in Yangon (formerly Rangoon). As a city it is... interesting. It really divides into four parts: the famous bit is the historical temples. The second part is the classic noisy, smelly, busy Asian city. The third part are shanty towns that would not be out of place in Mumbai or Soweto. The last part is the most unique part - the abandoned and decaying colonial buildings from the British era. Sort of like a Jane Austen novel meets 28 Days Later. The huge number of stray dogs does nothing to reduce the atmosphere. It is not necessarily a nice feature of the city, but it is haunting and memorable.
One other impression that the city leaves you with is the friendliness of the Burmese people. The experience of having lorry drivers jump out to offer an umbrella to shelter from the rain under in the middle of a downpour is a warm memory that should linger for a long time.
The most famous site in Yangon is the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is 2,400 years old and (allegedly) has a coating of 70 tonnes of gold.
One other impression that the city leaves you with is the friendliness of the Burmese people. The experience of having lorry drivers jump out to offer an umbrella to shelter from the rain under in the middle of a downpour is a warm memory that should linger for a long time.
The most famous site in Yangon is the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is 2,400 years old and (allegedly) has a coating of 70 tonnes of gold.