As Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon is a decent place to explore before you venture to the rest of the country. The city’s most famous landmark, Shwedagon Pagoda, a beautiful golden Buddhist stupa, is definitely worth a vist. However, while Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, has developed greatly since the country opened up to the world for business and travel at the beginning of this decade, much of the city is a little underwhelming and there isn’t much famous landmarks once you see Shwedagon Pagoda. That said, the city has some bustling streets as well as very impressive colonial-era buildings, though most of them are not in use.
After I arrived in Yangon, right away, I got a sense of how “exotic” Myanmar was when I saw local women at the airport with very noticeable brown layers of what I thought was some kind of religious powder dabbed on their cheeks. It turned out that it was thanaka, a type of local sunscreen worn by women and kids. I would see this on almost every woman in the street.
I also saw many men wearing long skirts tucked into their waists. This was the longyi. A lot of women wore long, form-fitting skirts too which were beautiful. It made a lot of women, even older ones, look quite enchanting as they strolled the streets in these skirts. It’s really interesting to be in a country in which Western fashion like jeans, skirts, trousers and regular makeup wasn’t dominant, but as Myanmar develops, this may not be the case anymore.
But to counter this, I quickly encountered a very Western and modern form of phenomenon – vehicular traffic. On the ride from the airport to my hotel in Yangon, what surprised me were the many cars on the road and the heavy traffic, which seemed more appropriate for a more developed or prosperous nation. Part of this is because of the country’s recent economic opening up which has seen an influx of cars being imported and relaxation of car ownership restrictions, as well as a strange rule that bans motorbikes and bicycles from being ridden in the city. I say strange because motorbikes are a common sight in many Southeast Asian cities. Indeed, when I later went on to Bagan and Mandalay, I would see a lot of motorbikes.
The city’s most famous attraction Shwedagon Pagoda features a massive gold Buddhist stupa surrounded by dozens of smaller stupas, ornate shrines and halls. It is Southeast Asia’s largest such Buddhist stupa and the city’s premier tourist attraction. In person, it didn’t disappoint. It was large and beautiful, covered with various sculptures featuring legends from the past including King Okkalapa, a Burmese ruler who ordered the pagoda built.
Shwedagon Pagoda is said to have been built over 2,500 years ago (that’d be in the BC era, though modern archaeologists think it’s much less older) by the Mon, a Myanmar ethnic group which has a very long and illustrious history. Since then, it has been rebuilt and repaired.
The pagoda stands on top of a short hill with four stairwells leading up to it. At the ground, you have to take off your shoes, a common requirement when visiting the country’s temples, and then go up the stairs with vendors on both sides.
At the top, freelance guides will approach you asking to give you a tour for a charge. One guy actually said US$20 which I politely declined, but had to hide my annoyance. I declined others as well, but in general I didn’t mind if they were upfront about the fact they were guides. I even had a short talk with one guide after I declined him.
In Myanmar, especially Yangon, a lot of people spoke some English such as these guides. Unfortunately I had a slight run-in a little later when a bespectacled gentleman in his 50s came up to me and offered to show me something along the stupa. He then led me to a giant bell and I realized he was a guide. I politely tried to leave him but he then told me to give him a dollar. I refused and while the amount isn’t much, I get annoyed when people come to talk to you or show you things, then try to charge you money. I experienced this in Cambodia as well at Angkor when people would approach you in temple ruins and offer to show you specific parts of the ruins, then demand money.
I was struck by the number of locals relaxing or strolling around the complex. Inside the shrines or halls, they’d be sitting in groups or even lying down. As a result, I felt awkward going inside the shrines though the people didn’t seem to mind and I’d often just step in then come back out quickly.
Guidebooks suggest visiting Shwedagon Pagoda in the evening when it shines brightly but it is also just as attractive during the day.
Other notable places to visit include the national museum, which is underwhelming and can be missed if you are going to Bagan to see the great shrines, and the mausoleum of the last emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the Mughals, who died in exile in Myanmar in 1862.
The mausoleum is inside a small Islamic shrine which people regularly worship. The emperor’s tomb is actually in the basement, where the women’s service is held, and when I went there, one was actually going on so I didn’t proceed to the tomb. The mausoleum is not clearly marked and it’s so small and unassuming it’s easy to miss. It’s a sad memorial that mirrors the sad end of the emperor, who was deposed from his throne by the British after the Indian Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, and exiled to Myanmar to see out the last of his years.
One of several ornate shrines at Shwedagon Pagoda
Shwedagon Pagoda’s main stupa 
Mausoleum of Bahadur Shah Zafar, last emperor of India who died in exile here in Yangon
Kheng Hock Keong temple, Yangon’s oldest Chinese temple built in 1861
National Museum of Myanmar
Street florist in downtown Yangon
