Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) is like a glittering jewel in the center of Myanmar. It is the capital and largest city in the country, with many historical and cultural monuments. Explore Yangon most fully through nine exciting Yangon travel experiences below.
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Shwedagon Pagoda
Yangon’s first and most important religious site, Myanmar, is Shwedagon Pagoda. Visitors can even see the sparkling stupa of the temple from many locations in the city.
Top tips: Shwedagon Pagoda is open from 4am – 10pm everyday. The temple is crowded with Buddhists to visit as well as visitors in the afternoon. This is regarded as the place to watch the extremely wonderful sunset. When you go to the temple, you have to take off your shoes, so bring a bag of nylon shoes and put it in your backpack. Note that when visiting the pagoda at noon, this time the heat will make hot brick background extremely hot, you need to be careful when walking barefoot.
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Go around Yangon by train
If you do not have much time to wander around Yangon, go to Yangon Central Train Station (Kunchan Road) and take a train ride around the city. From here, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the panoramic view of the city and the daily life of the locals. The train was built in the 1950s and it did not change much since then.
Top tips: One thing to note is that there is no bathroom on the boat and you will probably have to get off the train to use the toilet in the cottages in the small villages you pass by, or you can go to the restaurants. Even some restaurants allow you to use the toilet even if you are not a customer. Then you will have to wait about half an hour to 1 hour to board the next train going through.
The train journey takes about 3 hours to travel around Yangon, even longer if you stop in some villages. The advice is you should start early, to have more time to explore. However, it usually takes less than half a day to get back to the city center.
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Kandawgyi Lake
The beautiful Kandawgyi National Park located in the heart of Yangon is the perfect place to look for peace and quiet, avoiding all the hustle and bustle.
Top tips: The lake view is beautiful at any time of the day. Even so, the scenery enjoyed by most visitors is still the setting of the sunset when the sky changes to many impressive colors.
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Bogyoke Aung San
Situated on Bo Gyoke Road, this market was formerly known as Scott Market, a relic of British imperialism in Yangon. Coming here, besides admiring the architecture of the market, visitors can also buy many beautiful handmade souvenirs such as: jewelry, carpets, paintings, wood carvings …
If you just want to experience pure local markets, it’s a good idea to visit other markets, such as Thiri Mingalar – where there are countless products and fascinating food. As for Bogyoke Aung San, it is also an architectural and historical visit.
Top tips: Traditional markets tend to have more plentiful food in the morning than noon and evening. But Bogyoke Aung San is completely different. Here at any time of the day you can enjoy great food. However, you must keep in mind that the market closes early at around 5pm.
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Suley Pogoda
After Shewdagon, surely the second pagoda you must visit in Yangon is Sule Pagoda. This pagoda is visited by many local people and revered. Maybe you do not plan to visit Sule Pagoda before but during your trip to Yangon, you will probably pass here because of its location on the main road in the center of the city. So there’s no reason why you would not visit here.
Top tips: Visitors can visit the Sule Pagoda at any time of the day, however, the advice is still the best time of the day.
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Implementing A Walk Tour
One of the great ways to discover a new city is to take a tour guided by indigenous people. Although the streets in Yangon are not too complicated, you will be surprised by what you discover through the useful information of indigenous people. You can refer to the Yangon Heritage Trust which specializes in providing cheap tours, including walking tours with the guidance of indigenous peoples in Myanmar.
Top tips: The tours take place in the morning and afternoon, so you can flexibly arrange your schedule. You can view the tour dates and bookings on the Yangon Heritage Trust website.
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Mohinga Fish Noodle
This is a popular dish in Myanmar, which is usually eaten at breakfast but visitors can find boutiques in Yangon that sell this dish all day. The main ingredients of mohinga are: chickpea flour, or roasted ground coffee, garlic, onion, lemongrass, banana, ginger, fish sauce, fish sauce and catfish cooked in saturated water and kept warm in cauldrons
Top tips: You can find this dish in many street vendors.
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Hotel Strand
This colonial-style hotel may have spent a fair bit of money on the trip but really experienced it worth it. The hotel has been in operation for over a century and you will find that the architecture here is fantastic. Besides food and drink menu, especially local beer here is also worth a try.
Top tips: Take the time to feel here at every moment of the day: morning, afternoon and evening.
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Chinatown
Every Chinatown in different countries is full of interesting things. Yangon also has Chinatown and you should spend some time visiting. In addition to feeling the lives of the people here, you can also enjoy countless attractive dishes.
Top tips: The best time to explore this place is in the evening, feel the lively living space of the neighborhood and visit the delicious food.
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