Tea House Tour

Not many cities have a street plan built around a two-thousand year-old golden pagoda, but Yangon's oldest paya sits downtown surrounded by a busy traffic circle, from which the meticulously gridded British-designed street system radiates. My Lonely Planet book listed a self-guided walking tour of Yangon's colonial treasures, so the next morning Xin and I decided to head out together again and check out downtown. It turns out that we were good traveling companions. After breakfast and a short taxi ride, our morning started more or less at the lilac-colored Rangoon City Hall, the first building in town to combine European colonial architecture with traditional Burmese elements. After visiting our first Burmese teahouse, we began our tour.

Rangoon City Hall

The Sule Paya is smaller but supposedly older than Shwedagon. It stands in the center of a busy intersection at the heart of downtown Yangon. Like Shwedagon, it guards a Buddhist relic.

Sule Paya

Despite the constant drizzle, we circled Sule. It was very similar to Shwedagon, but much smaller and quieter. At one point, a small dragon boat waited, attached to pulleys. Make a wish on a card, place it in the back of the boat, and turn the crank handle to send it to the top of the paya.

sending up a wish

After leaving Sule we stuck to the map. Most of the sites in downtown Yangon are located around the city center. Following the map, we turned past the City Hall to the well-preserved former Immigration Department. Yangon is really unique in Southeast Asia, as it has kept most of the old colonial buildings intact after gaining independence in the late 1940s.

Immigration Department

Some of the buildings still serve their original purpose, some have been given new life, and some have been left to crumble forgotten beneath tropical rot. In downtown, you can't miss the golden Sule Paya standing at the center of everything.

Yangon's Main Traffic Circle

It was Sunday, and our walking tour took us past the old Immanuel Baptist Church, just as the bells were ringing signaling the end of the morning service.

Immanuel Baptist Church

Past Immanuel and just a short ways down the street we came to the High Court. While not as well preserved as some of the other buildings, I believe it still holds its original function. Even on a Sunday morning there were people waiting there, and it proudly flew Myanmar's new flag from its tower.

The High Court

In the center of downtown's square is a public green space called Mahabandoola Garden. Formerly home to a statue of Queen Victoria, the park now is the location of a tall Independence Monument, and was the site of many clashes between the military and protesters in Burma's recent, bloodier decades.

Sule Paya, City Hall, and the Immigration Department as seen from Mahabandoola Garden

Leaving the park, we turned a corner and passed the former Reserve Bank of India building. In the past, Burma was the easternmost territory in the British Raj (British Empire of India), and at one time Rangoon was, due to immigration under British Rule, much more an Indian, Chinese, and European city than it was a Burmese one.

the former Reserve Bank of India

Past the old customs house and its two-hundred year old clock, the rain picked up. I had brought an umbrella with me, but it was a small one issued by my bank - The Siam Commercial Bank. We tried to stay dry under my small umbrella, while following the map in the book, by this time decently soaked.

Customs House

Not all of the buildings had been as well preserved as the City Hall or the Customs House. Some had been forgotten to the passage of time. One can almost hear the ghosts of the Raj. I'm not superstitious, but I wouldn't like to spend the night in this old building.

The Port Authority building still serves an important role. Yangon sits at the banks of the Yangon River, just across the street from the Port Authority building. It is still an important shipping port, since trade is beginning to pick up in the country once again.

Port Authority

Completely soaked by the cool rain, the next stop on our walking tour was a warm dry oasis from the rain and the busy dirty city around us. The Strand is one of Asia's great hotels. With rates over $600 per night, The Strand Hotel was laughably out of my price range (for comparison I spent $20 per night during my stay). Still, we could afford to stop in out of the rain, take a look around the elegant colonial-style lobby, and have a drink while we warmed up and waited for the rain to slack off.

the legendary Strand Hotel

The Strand Hotel is one relic of colonial Rangoon which hasn't faded away with time. Sitting in the padded wicker furniture in the cool, dimly lit lobby puts you back in another time.

After a rest in comfortable lobby, a hot drink, and a snack of shelled peanuts, we headed back out into the city as the rain lessened up.

We carried on our walk past the Port Authority building again to Yangon's "open air library" - the book seller's street. Every day early in the morning vendors arrive on this street and set up shelves stocked with books - in Burmese and English. Many of the books were missing covers, and had the title written in sharpie marker on makeshift brown paper covers. The stalls were quite busy. It's great to see that as the government is allowing more freedom of expression, the people seem hungry to read and learn.

the book seller's street

Down the street we found one of the most hauntingly abandoned buildings in the city; The Secratariat. Also known as the Minister's Office, this was the seat of power during British rule. Now the crumbling red fortress with its brick walls and towers sits behind a jungle of growth and two fences. I was too far away to get a decent picture, but just close enough to see what an imposing building it once was.

 the abandoned Secretariat (The Minister's Office)

Back at the Sule Pagoda traffic circle, the Mogul Shiah Mosque was a reminder of Yangon's strong Muslim community. The mosque, the ancient pagoda, and the Baptist church in such close proximity serve a reminder that Myanmar, despite being heavily Theravada Buddhist, is a very culturally diverse country.

Mogul Shiah Mosque

Myanmar has a unique teahouse culture. People sit at common tables in the small shops drinking tiny cups of strong sweet tea, chatting, reading the newspaper, and eating light snacks like cakes or samosas, or even full meals like noodles or soup.

one of Yangon's better known teahouses

We had been going strong all morning, so we stopped at one of the highly recommended tea houses for a cup of tea and a hot bowl of Shan noodles. Burmese food is notoriously oily, and known for being much less spicy than the cuisine of most other Southeast Asian countries. Myanmar consumes the most onions per capita of any country in the world (I've been told), and their food is heavy in both onions and garlic.

enjoying a bowl of noodles and a cup of sweet Burmese tea

Following this walking tour of downtown Yangon really gave me the chance to briefly glimpse into the city's everyday life. Yangon is still not used to tourists, although there were a few kids trying to sell postcards. I can only imagine that there will be more in the coming years. Most of the kids weren't too pushy, and they were happy just to say hello. Maybe due to its colonial past, Myanmar has a really decent level of English proficiency overall.

meeting a friend

It's not Bangkok by any means, but Yangon is a city back on the rise. Only time will tell how Napiadaw (Myanmar's new capital) will work out, but Yangon still seems to be the heart of the country. Although there really aren't any skyscrapers, LED screens, or mega luxury malls, Yangon is developing fairly quickly considering its past. I think it will be interesting to see what its like once business truly returns here and the country is fully opened up.

modern Yangon

Of course we had to end our walking tour with another tiny cup of strong Burmese tea at one of the local teahouses. 

a well-earned cup of tea at Golden Tea