Getting Around Yangon

Visa

First of all, we need visa to enter Myanmar. We got our visa from Myanmar Embassy in our country, through a travel agency. Pearl Holiday in Kajang settled our visa in 4 working days. The price was RM150 per person (RM120 for visa and RM30 for transportation and insurance). 

We learnt that visa application is available online, which we just need to fill in online forms and pay using credit card. We can get the visa upon our arrival at Yangon airport. The online service, however, required about RM220 per person. 

Currency and Exchange

We changed USD to Kyat in Yangon airport as Kyat was not available in Malaysia. The exchange rate we got was approximately USD1 to 860 Kyat in Yangon International Airport, while we got USD1 to 910 Kyat at Bagan. On our return trip, the best rate we could get at the airport was 925 Kyat to USD1.

There are many money changers in Yangon airport, so we don't have to rush to fill our wallet and purse with Kyat. Why not take a walk around and look for the best rate? By the way, in order to exchange our USD to Kyat, we need to fill in a form- name, nationality and passport number are required. 

Well, we found that it was more convenient to use USD to pay for the entrance of tourism spots. However, when it came to shopping in night market or eating at the stalls by the road, using Kyat might ease complicated convertion. By the way, please be sure that the US Dollar note that you bring to Myanmar is flawless, or it will be as good as an plain paper. The hotel receiptionist might reject the note with even a single crease on it.

 The food menu is in Kyat (left) while the entrance fee is in USD.

People

The pace of living in this city was slow, about the same as Phnom Penh, but slower than Bangkok and Hanoi. Even slower compared to Kuala Lumpur. Down the street, we couldn't really feel that we were actually in a city with 4.5 millions people around us.

We could see people sitting on small chairs prepared by food vendors by the street all day long, drinking and eating, chitchatting, or reading a book, or tapping on their China-made smart phones.

People in Yangon like to sit beside the road, while enjoying their food and drink with their family and friends (upper row). As publishing newspaper daily is now permitted, more people are expected to have a copy of newspaper in their hand (lower left). The yellow flowers (in lower right) are popularly used as decoration.

Longji is the favourite costume for men in Yangon. Yongji is sarung type of cloth that ties at waist to cover the lower part of the body.

This photo was taken 7:30 in the morning. Two boys were walking down the street, carrying stuff for their business. The boy on the left was applying thanaka on his face. Thanaka is local sun block that produced from thanaka wood. Instead of getting the wood from the jungle, it is now available in the market. By the way, Mr. Psy will be very proud seeing his "horse-riding" style have found its way onto the t-shirts in Yangon.

Monks are everywhere, walking in sandals, cladding in reddish robes, and carrying containers for food donation.

Religion is a big part of Yangon. The temples were never lack of visitors.

Most of the people in Yangon were friendly, but couldn't communicate in English. In our three days' trip, we only met with several people with good English, a count with our fingers- two of the staff in the hotel which we stayed, a taxi driver who drove us to Shwedagon together with the tour guide there, a restaurant owner, a security guide at Trader's Hotel, and a few more.

Smile and wave. That's what we did most of the time, after starting a conversation in English, with Burmese in return. Lucky, Yangon was not a complicated maze. Finding way around was not difficult without asking anyone.

We highlight the language barrier, not to keep people away from visiting Yangon. Instead, we really need to prepare ourselves for more DIY, or find yourself a guide.

Place to Stay

The hotels in Yangon were over-priced. A small, old run-down hotel could handsomely charge USD30 per room per night. The hotel that we stayed, with the service at most 2 stars, asked for USD68 per night. The reason, demand rose high above supply. Some said the hotel's licence was strictly controlled by government. True or not, more hotels have to be built to cater the demand from the tourists.

Aung Tha Pyay Hotel was located at 38th Street at Yangon down town (upper left). It was a small hotel in the middle of shop lot. Taking the room and service into account, it was over-priced. However, it was new, and all the facilities were in good condition, and we couldn't find any better in vicinity. That's why we spent all three Yangon nights in that hotel. The photos show the lobby (upper right) and room for two (lower right) of the hotel. We found that the view facing the main road was not interesting, the people there tend to sit at the balcony and look right at us when we opened the window.

Staying at the down town area put us closer to the old Yangon. The historical buildings, although not well-maintained, were still attract tourists. Sule Pagoda, China Town, Bogyote Market, and many Yangon Heritage buildings were within walking distance from down town.

Traffic and Transportation

The most convenient way to move around was by taxi. The buses and small trucks were the public transportation that we could opt for. However, we had to get familiar with the routes before we squeezed ourselves on the fully packed box-on-wheels.

We took taxi most of the time. There was no taxi with meter, but the price is very much fixed- USD10 from the airport to downtown, 2,500 Kyat from our hotel to Shwedagon and so on. Room for bargaining was limited.  With or without air conditioner, the fare was the same. So, we always preferred the one with air conditioner.

Besides, we walked a lot at Yangon. Most of the main roads in Yangon were built with pedestrian walkway, so we had no problem walking around the city. Just bring an umbrella, and a bottle of drinking water, and a pair of comfortable sandals, and you can start your exploration right away. 

Road in Yangon was dominated by imported cars. Astonishingly, there was almost no motorbikes on the road. We were told that tut-tut had been banned to enter the city. But what had happened to the motorbike and bicycles? The drivers in Yangon were obedient, and most of the cars drove graceful. No red light violation was seen.

There are several ways to move around. If you are mentally unprepared to be packed into a small lorry (upper left), or getting onto a bus without any idea where the bus will go (upper right), then taxi will be your best choice (lower left). Getting a taxi is easy at Yangon. Trishaw is rarely seen around the city.

Street

The main street was clean and tidy, with walkway prepared for the pedestrians. Some of the places were quite crowdy. Many comments pointed that Yangon was in fact one of the safest city in the world. That's true. The last thing that we could feel on the street was getting robbed. The second last, being run over by anything with wheels.

39th Street in Yangon (upper left). Road crossing was safe (upper right). Well, at least, the vehicles stop when the traffic light turned red. Vendors narrowing down the pedestrian walkway (lower right), and food stalls beside the street.

Book stalls selling second hand books can be seen on the street (upper left). We could see dogs on the street once in a while. Lucky, the dogs were tame (upper right). Public phone was something unique. We needed to pay to the operator sitting next to the phone before we start dialing (lower left). We saw one very talented young girl selling her drawing beside Bogyoke Aung San Market.  

If you have seen the flats of five or six storeys, and wonder how the people living on the top floor getting down the street, buy some fritters, and getting back to the dining room without sweating, well, the secret is in this photo. These ropes were hanging from the residence's balconies, so that the delivery guys below can tie the stuff on the rope. Pulling up the breakfast is far better than going through the staircase, twice.

There were many abandoned colonial-time buildings along the street. These buildings, either totally abandoned, or only been occupied on the ground floor. In many places, these buildings have long found their way into tourist's directory, or have been bought and refurbished into luxury hotels or restaurants. Well, in our opinion, just a little bit of polish, these buildings will turn into attractions that shine brighter than any sapphire and emerald that we could find in Yangon.

Totally abandoned (upper left) and partially used buildings. These hundred years old buildings are the hidden gems of Yangon.

Drinking water was available on the street, free of charge. However, there was one problem- it couldn't slip through our lowest hygienic requirement. The containers and the cups were shared by the whole city. We saw the people passed by just took one of the cups, drank, put the cup back, and left.

The weather was hot. What could be better than putting a drink station beside a public phone? The water is free, the only thing is, there is only one cup for everyone.

Shopping

Yangon is not an exciting place for shopping. We could survive in a city without any shopping mall. However, in Yangon, getting souvenirs for our friends and family was more challenging than we thought. Most of the clothes, key chain, handphones, sandals, except for food and beverages, if not made in Thailand, then should be made in China.

During our three-day stay, we went to several places for shopping- Bogyote Aung San Market and area in vicinity, China Town, and streets around our hotel.We brought home a few hand-made fridge magnets and rattan works at Bogyote Market, which were authentic to be considered as "made in Myanmar". Then, we bought some Myanmar coffee from a local departmental store. We visited two departmental stores in Yangon- newly opened Parkson at Montgomery Road (near to Bogyoke Market) and Gamone Pwint Shopping Centre at the junction of 42th Street and Merchant Road. The international brands sold there were more expensive than what we could get in our country.

Bogyoke Aung San Market, the place that we could come out with local made souvenirs in our hand.

Some of the local made items on sale- hand made bracelet and necklace (upper left), jewelleries (upper right), clothes (lower left), and fridge magnets with wooden decoration.

Gamone Pwint Shopping Centre at the junction of 42th Street and Merchant Road. By foot, it was just 5 minutes away from our hotel. It was a good place for us to stop and enjoy the cooling air inside. Food court at the top floor good only for one thing- no need to wipe away the dripping sweat while eating.

Yangon's street was dotted by vendors- snacks, drinks, noodles, fruits, books, clothes, handphone accessories, etc.

Food
We have our sharing about food in Yangon in another post.Please read it here.

Overall Remark

Yangon is a good place to spend a few days. Everthing was cheap, except the accommodation. Although there were lack of stunning sceneries and exciting shopping centres, the old colonial buildings and the variety of food could compensate in another way. 

The public transport was not friendly to tourists, which made the taxi the top choice for us. English was limited, but the friendly people and extremely safe street brought merits to the city.

We shared our experiences in Yangon in other posts as well. Please refer to the links below, or you are most welcome to visit All Our Destinations too.

[First Day in Yangon- From 38th Street to Bogyoke Aung San Market]

[Second Day in Yangon- From Shwedagon to Karaweik]
[Food in Yangon] [Getting Around Yangon]
[Bagan,Ancient City of Myanmar] [Getting Around Bagan]

[All Our Destinations]

Food in Yangon

In Yangon downtown, eateries can be found in almost every street, serving food prepared in Chinese style, Indian style, and others, which we categorize them as Myanmar style. Food stalls are widely available too, taking up parts of the walkway around the city. As there are a big number of Chinese and Indian citizens in Yangon, Chinese and Indian cuisine are considered as local food. Western cuisine can be found in major hotels only, perhaps it is due to the lack of Western tourists.

If basil leaf is for Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, beef is for Hanoi, spicy and sour is for Bangkok, and gudeg is for Yogya, then oily and spicy is for Yangon. Most of the food served are either oily, spicy, or both. We like Yangon's spices, but the oil is a bit too much. So, during our stay in Yangon, we tried our very best to avoid taking oil from the dishes.

Talking about food in Yangon, for us, the major challenge lies in the menu, which most of them are written only in Burmese language. English menu are rare, but still not impossible to be found.

The food in Yangon downtown is not expensive. During our trip, we could get a dish in air-conditioned restaurants with the price 1800 Kyat to 3000 Kyat (900 Kyat = USD1 = RM3). At the stalls beside the street, the price for a bowl of noodle can be as cheap as 600 Kyat.

The food on the top of our list- "wat thap dot thoe" in local, or pork on a stick. It is widely available at the stalls beside the road, which can be identified by a big steaming hot pot with cooked pork and other parts of the pig, such as the intestine, ear, and tongue lined beside the pot.

Wat thap dot thoe is always served at the stalls beside the street. Different parts of the pig are stuck on sticks and boil-cooked in special soup. Taste good with the price, 200 Kyat per stick. This photo was taken at Chinatown.

We found this stall at Merchant Street, about 50 meters from our hotel at 38th Street on our third day in Yangon. The price offered was 60 - 120 Kyat per stick, much cheaper than the stall at Chinatown.

Photos showed different parts of the pig. Fresh garlics and chilies are served to be taking together with the boiled food.

Next, the fruit and the fruit juice. We like the fruit juice at Bogyoke Aung San Market very much. Highly concentrated and fresh. It was prepared without using a blender. Mango and banana are our favourites. These fresh fruits can be bought at the fruit stalls at the roadside. By the way, banana is served in our hotel as breakfast every morning.

The stall serving fruit juice at Bogyoke Aung San Market. It was full with customers during our visit.

Fruit stalls like these are scattered around downtown area. We can ask for a try before we buy the fruit.

A local dish that has been highly recommended by a few of our Myanmar friends- mot hnin khar (pronounce as moat-him-car). It is a bit similar to laksa in our country, with additional spices and lack in sourness. For us, it is a must try local dish in Yangon. We found a stall serving nice mot hnin khar at Anawratha Street, near the junction to 39th Street. We tried another local dish, khout swal thot (pronounce as cow-dart-tough) or the stir noodle at the same stall. The taste, good.

We tried khout swal thot (upper left) and mot hnin khar (upper right)at the stall by Anawratha Street (lower left). Small tables and chairs are prepared for the customers. The tea is served free, but you need to share the cups with other customers.

We took Chinese and Indian food as well, mostly served by the restaurants. These are the restaurants with good Chinese and Indian food:

1. Food House at the junction between Maha Bandula Street and Seikkan Thar Street. It is about 100 meters from our hotel at 38th Street. The owner could speak in simple English and Mandarin. 

2. Sun Flower Food and Drink at Bagalay Zay Street (near to Tony Tun Tun Shopping Center). Although we found that the menu was in English, the staff there couldn't speak in English. We communicated through body language.

3.  Nwe Moe Saung Restaurant at MGW Center, Bo Aung Kyat Street (next to 40th Street). The staff could speak in English. The restaurant was very clean.

Food House was the restaurant where we took our first lunch in Yangon (upper row). Although the restaurant was air conditioned, a few customers were still smoking in the restaurant. Anyway, there was no rule saying people couldn't smoke in air conditioned room. The food served was good. We tried a few dishes, including the chicken with yellow rice (lower left) and the chicken with vegetable.

First lunch in Yangon.

The dishes we took at Nwe Moe Saung- curry fish, curry chicken, vegetables, and Myanmar salad (a mixture of raw and boiled vegetables and fruits).

Another type of Myanmar salad. The sauce is a bit too hot for us.

We tried several types of food sold at the street, including the fried sweet roll, sugar cane juice, and barbecue chicken and mutton. The sugar cane juice in Yangon is less sweet compared to what we have in Malaysia. It looks murkier as well. The juice was produced using hand-powered squeezing machine. We tried the barbecue food and sweet rolls at Chinatown night market. The taste, not very good.

We saw this hand-powered sugar cane squeezing machine in front of Central Fire Station nearby Sule Pagoda (upper left). Different types of noodles are available (upper right). The barbecue food (lower left) and fried delicacies are available too.

We have stayed in Yangon for three days only, and of course have much yet to try. We welcome recommendation from our friends and readers. Perhaps, we can put them in our next trip.

We would like to share a good video on Youtube regarding the food in Yangon here. We will share our experience about the people, accommodation, transportation, and more in our next post- getting around Yangon.

[First Day in Yangon- From 38th Street to Bogyoke Aung San Market]

[Second Day in Yangon- From Shwedagon to Karaweik]
[Food in Yangon] [Getting Around Yangon]
[Bagan,Ancient City of Myanmar] [Getting Around Bagan]

[All Our Destinations]

Second Day in Yangon- From Shwedagon to Karaweik Hall

Second day's itinerary, Shwedagon and Karaweik Hall (some refered it as Karaweik Palace). Both places are located beside Kandawgyi Lake, Shwedagon on the west, while Karaweik on the east. From our hotel, we took 10 minutes to reach Shwedagon by taxi, with 2,500 Kyat (RM8/ USD2.30), then 2,000 Kyat from Shwedagon to Karaweik Hall. We paid 2,500 Kyat to go back to our hotel at 38th Street from Karaweik Hall later.

Shwedagon means Golden Dagon (Dagon is the old name of Yangon). So, Shwedagon carries the meaning of Golden Yangon. It is the most sacred place for Buddhists in Yangon, and some believed that the stupa contains the relics of all past four Buddhas. Its sacredness didn't attract us. We went there because of its size and age.

Shwedagon Pagoda was built between 6th - 10th centuries. Then, it was left unattended for more than 400 years. Then, starting from 14th century, it was rebuilt and renovated several times to gain its present size, with the top of the stupa erected 99 meters above the ground. Elaborative temples were built encircled the stupa. Like Sule Pagoda, Shwedagon has 4 entrances.

We entered the pagoda through the lift at the south entrance， with entrance fee of USD5 (or 5000 Kyat). We hired an English speaking tour guide with USD5. The tour guide was really informative. He linked many part of the pagoda to the history of Myanmar, such as the lost and found of Maha Gandha Bell, the missing Dhammazedi Bell, and the statues of Buddha, which were donated by different parties. He highlighted that the giant stupa at the center of the pagoda was plated with genuine gold, topped with a big diamond. The decoration and gold items within the pagoda were donated by the believers.

99 meters stupa of gold, shine under the  blazing sunlight. It was 9 in the morning, and the golden stupa started to shine under the sun. It was the time when the believers and tourists pouring in. 9 am was just nice as the floor was warm. Visiting the pagoda under hot afternoon sun may not be a good idea, as the floor will turn unbearably hot. The pagoda opens as early as 4 am and closes at 10 pm. We did read some article teaching us how to avoid paying to entrance fee. We personally don't think that is a good idea. 

The magnificent stupa is surrounded by temples housing thousands of statues of Buddha. Most of these temples have pagoda like rooftop.

These are the temples on the western entrance.

How to differentiate the genuine gold plated structure to the one with golden paint? The colour. Real gold structures are less shiny compare to the stuctures with golden paint.

Maha Gandha bell is a 23-ton bronze bell. The bell was stolen but then fall into Yangon river. It was restored from Yangon River (upper left). Please do not confuse this Maha Gandha Bell with 40-ton Maha Tissada  Gandha Bell (bell with three tones), which was donated by King Tharrawaddy in 1841. Our tour guide was telling the history of Shwedagon in the photo gallery (upper right). Pillars decorated with glass mosaic (lower right) in one of the temples around Shwedagon. Many parts of the pagoda are finely crafted.

The top of the stupa, with golden umbrella. Very top of it, a 76 carat (15 g) diamond.

We walked through the stairway of the southern entrance, with vendors selling souvenirs and books. The stairway was well decorated by fine woodwork and mural depicting the life of Buddha. We spent about two hours at Shwedagon.

The southern gate to Shwedagon is guarded by two giant lions. This photo shows one of the lions.

A long passage, about 150 meters, connecting the entrance to the pagoda. Many stalls are available on both sides of the passage.

The lift at the south of the pagoda, 50 meters away from the lions' guarded entrance. The lift service is free-of-charge. We kept our shoes at the south entrance.

Our next stop, Karaweik Hall. From Shwedagon, the taxi fare was 2000 Kyat. Entrance fee was required for both taxi and passengers at the main gate. We paid USD2 each. The hall was built in 1975, taking the design of a royal barge. Since then, the hall has became the symbol of Yangon and Myanmar. Frankly, Karaweik Hall is not a magnificent building. However, it is special because of the unique "duck" shaped structure. We took a walk along Kandawgyi Lake, tried to see the building from different angles. It was around 11:30 am, with the sun blazed unmercifully. Luckily, dense foliage protected us from serious sunburn. We took our lunch beside the lake.

Shwedagon can be clearly seen from Karaweik Hall.

Karaweik Hall from one of the restaurants beside the lake. The price of the food by the lake was more expensive compared to downtown. To our surprise, locals were outnumbered the tourists in the restaurants.

The bridge leads to the entrance of Karaweik Hall.

From the main gate, take a right turn and walk about 300 meters along the main walkway to reach a small bridge. That's the most strategic place to take photo with Karaweik Hall, free of charge (another location, which we think is even more strategic for photo taking, need extra payment to enter). 

Shops in front of Karaweik Hall.

Back to our hotel, we took a long afternoon rest to avoid hot weather. We started our exploration within the area of 38th Street to Sule Pagoda Road again in late afternoon. Again, we tried a few types of street food, and finally, indulged ourselves at Parisian Cake and Coffee outlet beside Sule Pagoda Road.

For us, Shwedagon Pagoda and Karaweik Hall are the two places that worth a visit in Yangon. Shwedagon represents the historical, while Karaweik Hall, it's an icon.

We went to Bagan after staying in Yangon for two days. Returned from Bagan, we stayed in Yangon for another day. We did some shopping on the third day in Yangon. We will share about our experience in upcoming posts about Food in Yangon and Getting Around Yangon.

[First Day in Yangon- From 38th Street to Bogyoke Aung San Market]

[Second Day in Yangon- From Shwedagon to Karaweik]
[Food in Yangon] [Getting Around Yangon]
[Bagan,Ancient City of Myanmar] [Getting Around Bagan]

[All Our Destinations]