1st time in Myanmar (Burma) – Yangon, all about temples

Many of our friends & family asked why go Myanmar? Is it safe? Isn’t it controlled by military? What happened during the civil war? A lot of unknown or unclear history makes us afraid to step into this mysterious country. We feel uncertain at first but after some research and study about information provided by other travellers who has been to Myanmar (Burma), we know that it is safe and good to go. The more we study about the place, the more we wanted to go especially looking at those beautiful photos.

Finally we have decided to go four major cities in Myanmar – Yangon, Inle, Bagan & Mandalay (as we only have two weeks for Myanmar)

Here’s our story and photos from Yangon.

How do we get to Yangon?
We take a flight from Bangkok to Yangon. The hotel we stay – Motherland Inn 2 has free pick up service. The transportation to hotel is smooth. We arrived at the hotel in the evening. The excitement we have is hard to describe. This is where our real journey begin.. step into a complete unknown new place…

Arriving Yangon Airport

Motherland Inn 2 provide free pickup service

Checking in

Our room

Myanmar currency – Kyat (pronounce as “chat”)

Cheers to Myanmar Beer!

Fried noodle – Motherland Inn 2

Rice noodle – Motherland Inn 2

First morning in Yangon
Looking at barefoot monks walking door to door for food is something new to us. Malaysia has a lot of monks too but not like this… They are the real monks (not to say Malaysian monk are not real but a lot of fake monk begging for money or try to sell you bracelet)

Motherland Inn 2

Breakfast place in Motherland Inn 2

Having 1st breakfast in Yangon

Enjoying coffee in Yangon

The street in Yangon

Food for monk

Monk’s morning walk / morning ritual – collecting food in Yangon

Botataung Paya
“The pagoda is hollow within, and houses what is believed to be a sacred hair of Gautama Buddha.” – wikipedia

Batataung Paya

Batataung Paya – catfish

Batataung Paya

Batataung Paya – Prayer

Sule Paya & the surrounding

Chaukhtatgyi Paya
Was built in 1966 replacing the old image built in 1907 by Sir Hpo Thar, famous for its huge image of Reclining Buddha.

chaukhtatgyi pagoda

Kaba Aye Paya / Pagoda

Other pagoda and place of interest in Yangon

White elephants in Royal White Elephant Garden

Aung San Suu Kyi House

Lunch in Yangon
Traditional Burmese food. Love the pork curry so much!

Inya Lake, Yangon
Not to say amazing but it is nice to chill by the lake side in the hot afternoon for a beer.

Inya Lake, Yangon

Beer time

Inya Lake

Bogyoke Market
This market is popular for black market currency exchange and known for a better rate. It is located in central Yangon, Myanmar, a major tourist destination, dominated by jewellery, Burmese handicraft, art galleries, and clothing stores…

Sakura Tower & the city view
Famous spot for Shwedagon Paya sunset view

Sakura Tower

Shwedagon Pagoda, view from Sakura Tower

Yangon city

Shwedagon Paya
You can’t leave Yangon without visiting Shwedagon Paya – The Golden Pagoda. We waited here since afternoon just to take a look at the golden reflection of the sunset. It is amazing. Read more about Shwedagon Paya on Wiki.

Here’s a compilation of videos from Shwedagon Pagoda

After 3 days 2 nights in Yangon, we are off to Inle Lake by bus. We bought the bus tickets from the hotel. The bus journey is 15 hours. Heard that it is the most challenging ride in South East Asia… We have never taken such long bus ride before… will see how it goes.. You can take a domestic flight if you have money & no extra time. Then again, it is always more rewarding the hard way… will definitely get to see more travelling on land. (check out our next blog – Inle Lake, will share more story there)