MINGLING WITH THE LOCALS AT MAHA BANDULA PARK

13th DECEMBER 2019 ~ The next pit stop was Maha Bandula Park which was just opposite/in front of Sule Pagoda. A prominent landmark of the park was the Independence Monument which was erected to commemorate the moment British gave the country back to its people.

Maha Bandula Park was surrounded by the old colonial buildings like the Town Hall and High Court, making it another significant landmark of Yangon.

The Independence Monument was installed to replace the statue of Queen Victoria (which was then taken back to England) in 1948. It reminded me of the similar structure I saw in Washington D.C. many years ago.

When we were there, it was only a few minutes past 3.00 p.m. but there were already a lot of people in the park. We thought this was too early for recreational activities. They were just sitting on the grass and chatting or doing nothing, and a few groups were having some kind of picnic. Just imagine people were enjoying the sun under the shades of trees in summer.

Too bad there was no English signage here on the structure so we did not know what the writing was about.

We only realized that the sun set faster in Myanmar when we were there, at about 5:39 p.m. No wonder people were already sitting on the open field when I thought they should still be at work.

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SULE PAGODA - THE CENTRAL LANDMARK OF YANGON

13TH DECEMBER 2019 ~ Located right in the heart of downtown Yangon, in the middle of a roundabout if the city, is Sule Pagoda.

ticket counter

Most of the time, foreigners had to pay entry fees to visit the religious sites [5000 Kyats]. In order to enter the temples and pagodas in Myanmar, visitors have to take off their shoes and socks too. 

climbing up steep stairs had to be done

the biggest entrance ticket ever

Here are some interesting facts about Sule Pagoda:
(1) The pagoda has an octagonal shape that continues up to the bell and inverted bowl.

(2) The golden dome is 48 metres tall.

(3) It is believed to be built 2000 years ago.

(4) The location is so strategic that it had been used for meetings by anti-government and pro-democracy protesters.

There were not many people when we were there so it was easy to explore. The place was a small one so we did not spend much time but we managed to take many photos.

This was our first temple visited in Myanmar but there would be many more to come. Just be prepared.

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THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF YANGON CITY

the town hall

13th DECEMBER 2019 ~ After checking in at the hotel and having a short rest, we immediately hit the road. It is very important to familiarize ourselves with the streets around the accommodation area as this would help us navigate the area later.

Firstly we walked to Sule Pagoda which we first saw when we walked down from the bus. For one thing, the hotel we were staying is strategically located near to Sule Pagoda, which is at the very centre of this part of Yangon city and that should be the landmark for us just in case we lost our way.

Sule Pagoda is also one of the attractions in Yangon. It is surrounded by majestic colonial buildings left by the British when it occupied Myanmar from 1824-1948. 

Emmanuel Baptist Church, the oldest in Yangon

The colonial buildings were really huge. While some were preserved and maintained, a few others looked really old and abandoned.

the classic fire station

Here you could see people walking around, both men and women, in their national sarong attire named longyi. They even went to work in that - the men would wear their shirt tucked in their longyi. Visitors could easily observe people spitting almost everywhere in the city - which could be very awkward as the locals consumed betel nuts and betel leaves like people smoking cigarettes. Therefore you could always see the red spits on the pavements and perhaps it would be best not to step on them.

children playing on the street

Crossing the streets in Yangon could be a big challenge. The concept of zebra crossing is different here, it was the other way around - vehicles did not stop for the pedestrians. People would have to cross the road once the road was clear. The funny thing was that we found the vehicles would be speeding towards people crossing the road instead of slowing down. The best way was to stick to the locals when crossing, and you ran when they ran. I hoped I had lost a lot of weight from running across the streets of Yangon.

street peddlers

second hand books

Another thing, the vehicles here are right hand drive like in Malaysia (except for the buses) but the vehicles are driven on the right hand side of the road, which could be very confusing.

from the pedestrian crossing
and many people came here just to take photos

Yangon is actually a big city but only managed to explore the small part of it during our 2-day stay before moving to other places. I am sure there are still many other attractions that Yangon have to offer to visitors and one might have to spend more time here to see them all.

[MY MYANMAR TRIP MAIN PAGE]