I spent my second day in Yangon today. There is enough to see here to justify 2 days, but I am starting to understand why people usually don’t bother. The traffic is crazy, the streets are hard to walk with construction and holes in the pavement everywhere, and in touristy places foreigners seem to be seen mostly as ATM machines, which I was not expecting that much here.
Botahtaung Pagoda
Yangon has 3 main pagodas with this one bring the least touristy. Admission here is $3 with no other fees, at least for me.
This one is interesting because you can go inside. The whole inside is covered in gold leaf.
The statues of Bhudda are colourful here, usually with flashing lights behind the head. It’s said the lights represent the supernatural power of the Bhudda.
It’s located on Strand road which also has the famous Strand hotel which is a very old colonial building. It’s been through a colourful history, being owned by the government it became very ran down, but now that has been restored and is by far the most expensive hotel in Yangon. You would easily pay $200 per night, about 10 times what I am paying. Inside it’s a night and day difference from the street. I didn’t get a picture of the strand, but I got a picture of surrounding buildings.
As you can see, these buildings need a little work. And, by the way, that crosswalk is more like decoration for the road, drivers don’t actually obey it! They also have trouble with stop signs, red lights, and traffic circles :). Saying that, I have yet to see an accident.
This is city hall, from inside the park across the road. It’s a stunning building. The park is accessible from the side entrance with a security post. Everywhere else there is a fence around the park. This is supposed to control who comes in and out. It doesn’t seem to work since I couldn’t just sit down and look at a map, I was constantly harassed by people wanting to sell stuff or asking for money.
Tourists and money
I know burma has not really been open for tourism for very long, but people certainly seem to catch on quickly about how to rip off visitors. I can only hope the problem is worse in Yangon than in other places. A visit to a pagoda seems to involve a fee to enter, then a mandatory donation, and a fee to keep your shoes at the entrance (you can’t wear them inside). Yesterday I was actually asked for a fee to exit the pagoda. You can imagine how I answered that one.
They have also gone ATM mad. Before I arrived I was told there was only a handful of cash machines. In Yangon there us one on every corner! There were two inside the pagoda yesterday! I’m not sure what Buddhist tradition says about cash machines in temples, but it seems to be an odd place to put them.
It’s a shame, because there are a lot of genuinely nice and helpful Burmese people. But when everyone keeps asking you for money, you get more concered of “helpful” people approaching you.