SIMPLY (t)RAVELLING

Yangon – A Travel Recap

 

There are so many things to tell about the small town of Yangon, though we only spent a few days there. It is the most interesting town that I’ve visited so far, and yet I’m not a town person. I think living in KL has made me grew tired of all the city atmosphere – the buildings, skyscrapers, the hustle and bustle, the dust, the vehicles, the smell of carbon polluted air etc. Not to say that Yangon doesn’t have it all. It is just that I’m craving for something deep and meaningful, which the world is currently lacking. Somehow Yangon can give me that, and amazingly it comes from various shapes and sizes, and mostly common. Or perhaps cause I could still trace a sense of sincerity there, and a vague hint of some faraway childhood memories. Anyway these are the recaps of us visiting Yangon, and what we made out of it.

 

DH in front of the Ocean Pearl Inn, where we spent our nights.

 

Morning in Yangon, on our peaceful walk to the town center.

 

Pigeons flocking the streets of Yangon, and for a small Kyats you could purchase the dried corn kernels from the street vendor to feed them.

 

Locals passing times with board game seen along the Mahabandoola street.

 

Betel nut operator downtown Yangon.

 

Chewing betel nut is common in Myanmar, hence finding the blood-red stains of the spits around town is not that hard either!

 

They still have the old-style cinema and I was surprise on how back-dated they are, as the media here is heavily regulated by the military government. Bollywood is clearly having its fans here, but the movie currently in hype has actually made its debut somewhere in 2001. A decade too late! (Thank god our hostel room was equipped with satellite TV and the channels, though not much, aired a recent broadcast).

 

A worker maintaining the big generator for the cinema. Power outage is common in Myanmar, so the people here hangs on electric generators or battery inverters to be used during the electricity cut off.

 

This is how public phone booth in Yangon looks like. Most of the times it is just a home phone on top of a plastic foldable table setup, and yes, they provide the stool for your conveniences. The operators definately can’t help themselves from hearing the conversation, and no secret is a secret to them.  Not advisable on lengthy romantic tete-a-tete, if I’m the operator I’ll sure puke on that one, haha. Mobile phone is a luxury, and calling international lines is expensive. I once tried to call my kids back at home, but my intention  was hampered when I was informed that the call rate is USD3 per minute!

 

The U.S. Willys jeeps still roam the street in Myanmar. They are as old as the WWII, but when refurbished with parts from China and a bit of paint they look as good as new. A bit basic, but hey it’s cheap and it works.  They even have driving class for those interested.

 

Accommodation in Yangon is mostly a pigeon holes like this as real estate values  here are expensive.

 

Most of the buildings are also in bad state of repair or in dire needs for paints, with creepy looks hanging around them. But sometimes I find them dramatic enough such as this one.

 

Drug stores stalls along Anawrahta Rd. Just anybody can buy medicine – not sure with or without doctor prescriptions. By the way we didn’t spot any single clinic during our excursion, although I could feel (based on our daily walking milage) I’d covered Yangon far and wide.

 

 Sule Pagoda, another prominent landmark built in the middle of a roundabout right in the heart of Yangon.

 

Sitting juxtaposed to the Sule Pagoda is the Sunni Jame’ Mosque, which location quite exhibits the religions tolerence they have here.

 

Another mosque along the Mahabandoola street. There’s about 6 to 7 mosques around Yangon, and all are based on different sects of Islam though all muslims of any sects are accepted to pray in any of them.

 

Hawker selling  cold drinks serve in recycled paint bucket on the street of Yangon. The cone like shape filter is where they put the ice; while water is poured on top and to let it drips into the metal cup.

 

Our lunch in Yangon is basically Briyani rice eaten with hearty portion of chicken or mutton and some condiments – a bit of veggies, bird chilies, fruit pickles (acar buah) and salts. Taste a bit dry and different from typical Briyani in Malaysia, but I like it! (perhaps I was hungry).  Most of the halal joints here are indicated with numeral 786 which they say symbolic representation of the word ”Bismillah”,  though I’m not sure the relevance.

 

Of course a local sweet beverage is a must to complement our spicy lunch, and out of clue I ordered this one from the menu. I’m not sure why I pick it out of a few, perhaps because of it’s witty name. Faluda, sounds like ‘someones’s spit’ in Malay but taste like heaven! Mouthful mix of jellies and frozen custard swimming in sweet milky syrup, topped with a scoup of vanilla ice cream. Very rich and refreshing especially after a long walk under the hot sun.

 

During our strolls downtown Yangon, we saw locals suddenly started to gather at the side of the street. Curious, we crossed the road and joined the crowd.

 

It is actually a recycle market, where sellers trading cheap, second-hand electronic items or spare parts, and based on the size of the crowd it seems like a good business here.

 

The recycled electrical and electronic components on offers ranging from general household items such as fans, irons, cassette players, radios, digital music players and computer peripherals. The market starts somewhere on the 19th street up to the 28th, and you would immediately feel nauseous surrounded by all the junks. Some of the items are as old schools as the cassettes and the floppy disks. Yup, Yangon still have them alright. Where else could you find them these days? Err… to any Gen-Z who does not know what cassette or floppy is – cassette is the old version of voice recording media prior to VCD and DVD. It is the one with the two holes and in case the tape had gone haywire or need rewinding, you could use pen/pencil/finger to roll. While floopy disk is the data storage pre-USB. Got it? Go Google.

 

A toddler playing alone in the middle of the scraps at the Recycle Market, downtown Yangon.

 

The arm forces patrolling the streets in Yangon.

 

A lady selling photos of Myanmar most beloved nationalists and idols, the late General Bogyoke Aung San and her patriotic daughter Suu Kyi. Tough woman, she is.

 

We also visited the Bogyoke Market which formerly known as the Scott Market, named after a British civil servant. It houses arts and crafts shops, antiquities, jewelleries, souvenirs and trinkets, clothing stores and is a popular black market location for exchanging dollars and Kyats.

 

Jewelleries and precious stones are abundant in Myanmar, and the one place to find them is at the Bogyoke Market. Although to be honest the design is a bit out-of-fashion.

 

A view of the main street in Yangon.

 

An alley in Chinatown, Yangon.

 

Mohinga, the national dish of Burma we savoured on our last day in the Land of the Golden Pagoda. It is basically rice vermicelli in thick, herbal fish soup, garnished with boiled eggs, a squeeze of lemon, coriander, chili flakes and crispy fried fritters. Delicious stuff, and a must try.

 

The End.

For more photos of Yangon, please visit my photo gallery HERE.