First impressions of Yangon

This story was posted under the categories: Big Asia Trip, Myanmar

Wauw… we only arrived here yesterday morning and I already adore this city! After being welcomed on the airport by the most friendly and smiling people we felt right comfortable in this city. Riding from the airport to the hotel we could immediately notice that this country is different from other Asian countries we visited so far.Even the cars drive different… the steering wheel is at the rightside of the car, but they also drive right and most important they drive very careful and slow for asian standards.

After our breakfast we went for a stroll in this capital. Yangon is as modern as Myanmar can be. The skyline is dominated by the huge glittering Golden Shwedagon pagoda, the most sacred site for Myanmar Buddhist. But this town has much more to offer. Nowhere else you can see so many different religions in the same street as here. You find a mosque, a church and a temple all facing the same roundabout. And in between the most beautiful golden temples and new churches there are plenty of remains of the English colonialism, with stunning buildings and facades. All painted in vivid colors.

The big lanes are packed with what we would call oldtimers. You can see nissan sunnys, ford taunus, toyota coronas and volkswagen minivans as if they are the newest hit on the automotive market. Everywhere you can see women and childres with thanaka (a white paste they use as make-up to protect their faces from the sun) on their faces and chewing tabac, which turns their teeth blood-like red. All people are dressed in the national uniform, a skirt-like longyi.

Mix this with the fact that accessing e-mail and internet is blocked most of the time and that our cellphones are not working… And I can very well understand what people mean when they state that going to Myanmar is like time-travelling back 50 years.

For the first time I feel sorry not having a digital reflex camera to capture all this on photo, this city really is full of the most photogenic places. Eager to find out what the rest of Myanmar will offer!

PS: uploading pictures is very difficult, but I managed to upload some pictures in low resolution to share my first impression.
PPS: not forget to mention that this must be the first capital we visit where you can not find a McDonalds, nor Pizzahut, nor Dunkin Donuts.