November 21, 2016
First impressions of Yangon, we all seemed a little discombobulated and felt really confused where we were, who we were seeing, who Burmese people were, etc. This might have been because of the heat and the intense week we had in India. We tucked ourselves away in a super western hotel to collect ourselves and set foot outside again.
We walked along what was called the strand...where we saw a mixture of European buildings mixed in with other buildings...and then came across a docking area at sunset where dozens of boats were loading and unloading people to and from across the river.
Not really knowing where to eat and not quite wanting to delve into street food, we opted for a recommendation out of our Lonely Planet guide. Feel Myanmar Food was our best decision and everything we hoped for. (We came back the following night too.) It was a bunch of different stalls, where you could order from multiple places and sit on the street -- kinda like a fancy street food spot where you weren't afraid of what you were eating.
After dinner, we tried to go to a bar to listen to some music but the taxi lead told us it was closed and that we should go to Vista Bar, we were all joking that with a name like that...it better have a view. We jumped in a cab and headed to Vista Bar and just hoped it was going to be something good --- and boy did we luck out. We ended up at a rooftop bar with an amazing view of Shwedagon Pagoda. Night bad for our first night and doubting Yangon earlier in the day.
November 22, 2016
The next morning, we wandered through the streets of Chinatown...where a local market was setup where one can buy anything from meat, noodles, fresh vegetables, spices, rice, etc. We couldn't get over how many streets were filled with merchandise and just how much trade could be done in a matter of blocks. Again, Jonathan was the star of the streets, with big smiles and laughs from the locals. There was a lot of pointing and mohawk motions above their heads, followed by a thumbs up.
We walked over to a tea house for lunch to beat the heat, made our way for a mid-day massage then nap at the hotel.
In the late afternoon, we headed to Shwedagon Pagoda for sunset. The pagoda is considered to be the most sacred site in Myanmar and where all Buddhist monks in Myanmar dream of visiting.
Monks need a selfie too!
Not sure if this is an every day thing, but we noticed these people lined up the width of the path, sweeping the entire path around the pagoda.