On Wednesday, we touched
down in Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon), sailed through customs, and, a
short taxi ride later, found ourselves sipping fresh juice in the shady garden
of our hotel in the city suburbs. Given
the unexpected half-hour time change and the lack of problems with our hard-earned visas, we had plenty of time to begin our
explorations of the city.
Our taxi
dropped us off at the pagoda’s north gate, where we were instructed to take off
our shoes prior to ascending the elevator to the main level. We were soon strolling through the numerous smaller
shrines surrounding the massive gilded and diamond-encrusted zedi, or stupa. The massive gold-covered structure was
designed to house four hairs of the Buddha.
Even though much of the zedi was
covered, presumably for some sort of renovation work, everything around us
glittered – there were gold Buddhas, columns of crystals, flashing electric
lights, and, of course, the gilding of the impressive central structure.
Both locals and tourists
filled the pathways. Monks and nuns offered
prayers before the many Buddhas, young couples walked hand in hand, and men and
women brought offerings of flowers.
Surrounding the zedi were
signs noting different days of the week.
At first we weren’t quite sure what these could mean, but we later learned
they designate the eight different locations to offer prayers depending on the
day of the week you were born.
(Wednesday is mysteriously divided into morning and afternoon.)
Exiting the park gates, we
stopped to consult our only somewhat trusty Lonely Planet for dinner
suggestions. It’s always risky to rely
on the Lonely Planet, which once directed us to a restaurant in Budapest
serving whipped cream soup garnished with raisins. Regardless,
we decided to take our chances since we didn’t want to wander the city streets
aimlessly in the dark. We chose a
destination that we thought would be a straightforward walk and set out with
the assistance of our city map and iPhone compass (an app that luckily works despite
the lack of cell service).
Not wanting to continue
wandering aimlessly in the dark in an area seemingly devoid of restaurants (just the
situation we had been trying to avoid), we decided it would be best to just
take a taxi back to the hotel. This
course of action was also a bit more complex than we had imagined. Due to the language barrier, our requested
destination in the suburbs, or both, two taxi drivers flat out refused to take
us anywhere. One actually laughed at us
when we attempted to show him our destination on our iPhone. After we showed a third driver various maps
and said the name of the street in Burmese, he agreed that yes, he knew where
the Alamanda Inn was located and would take us there for the equivalent of
$4. However, our new friend was perhaps
a bit overconfident in his sense of direction.
Once we were in the general vicinity of the hotel, he asked several
passersby for directions as we drove in irregular circles around the windy
roads. Giorgio saved the day by
deciphering the exact location using both the map provided by the hotel in conjunction with what had
previously loaded on Google maps and we made it to our destination after much
confusion. Thankfully, the fare was
negotiated in advance and we did not have to deal with a meter. Imagine what a 45-minute cab drive would cost
in NYC – probably more than $4! Next
time, we’ll have someone write the address for us in Burmese.


We traded the busy alleys of the market for the busy streets of the city, heading in the direction of our next destination, Sule Paya. Cars, pedestrians, and vendors all fought for space along the narrow downtown streets. Regardless, without the ubiquitous tuk-tuks and scooters we had seen in other cities, Yangon seemed surprisingly orderly. Each street was dedicated to selling one specific product. At the end of the thoroughfare dedicated to paper sales, we found a vendor selling various fried delicacies and were quickly in possession of a bag of samosas for a grand total of five cents. Without Lala to ban us from purchasing street food, there was no stopping us. Not surprisingly, they were delicious.
We found Sule Paya where
several streets converged into a busy traffic circle – the perfect location for
a temple! We traversed the pedestrian
overpass and found ourselves in an oasis of calm amidst the frenetic traffic. The brilliant gold zedi glinted in the sun, groups of young nuns clustered around the
shrines to pray, and there was even a small trolley to take wishes to the top
of the structure (for a fee, of course). We relaxed in the shade to admire the scene,
refusing various offers to “free” sparrows from cage-like baskets (also for a
fee). Apparently, if you purchase the
birds and subsequently release them, you will acquire merit. However, most of the birds are actually
trained to simply fly back to their handlers, so we were understandably
skeptical.
From the peaceful temple, we darted across the traffic circle to the neighboring park. After much searching for the entrance, we were able to enjoy the tranquil green space, as well as the accompanying large Fu dogs and sprinklers dotting the lawn.

Following the refreshing
interlude, we found a taxi driver who actually knew where our hotel was located
and headed back to the suburbs to rest up prior to our early morning flight
north to Mandalay. As we became snarled
in Yangon’s rush hour traffic, we hoped to catch a glimpse of the city’s newly-famous traffic cop, but we weren’t so lucky.
#stephandgio
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