Our adventures began on June 4th, when we arrived at Mingladon International Airport in Yangon (fna Rangoon), Myanmar (fna Burma). It just so happened that Casey knows someone currently living in Yangon (what are the chances!). She is working here until the end of this month. Her work was nice enough for her to use to company car to pick us up at the airport and so we were not left to fend for ourselves in the strange new land as we usually are upon entering a new country. This was a very comforting feeling.
We had a early morning flight from Bangkok to Yangon and when we arrived at the international airport in Bangkok is was sparking with activity even though the sun had yet to rise. It's bustling and alive at all hours, just as one would expect a international airport of a capital city to be. The airport at Yangon is the antithesis from this. Yes it is bright and spanking new, complete with freeze-your-tail-off air conditioning but this is were the similarities end. No more than a handful of flights could possibly arrive each day and it was only the passengers of our flight that filled the terminal and baggage claim.
Someone must have mentioned that foreigners do not like to walk and so the airport obligingly furnished us with an old bus to transport the passengers from the base of the airplane to the doors of the terminal. This was nice of them as the distance was approximately 100 meters. I couldn't possibly have managed without their kind assistance.
After flying through customs we hopped into the company car to take us to her place. She lives in a house provided for her work near a beautiful lake a little ways from the downtown Yangon area. It is an older house, but beautifully decorated and complete with hot water and 24 hour electricity (despite the occasional brownout). She has a wonderful guest room with it's own private bath which she happily offered to us. She is a wonderful hostess and quickly made us feel right at home.
Casey's friend had to go off to work, but she equipped us with a large map of the city and pointed out the prime tourists spots, of which there aren't many. We set off in a taxi to downtown Yangon. The taxis here are old small cars with taxi signs above them. The price is negotiated before getting in. The standard price to and from the place is 1500-2200 Kyat (pronounced Jaht or chaht) equivalent is less than 2 dollars for a 10-15 minute ride.
Downtown Yangon is very easy to navigate around thanks to the wonderful city planners of the British colonial days. The streets are laid out in a grid near the water and we spent much of the day weaving in and of the traffic, the hordes of people, the street vendors and the roadside teashops. The traffic for such a large city it surprisingly low key and though the drivers are typically Asian there are often long breaks in traffic where it is easy to cross the road without fear.
During the middle of the day the heat became so unbearable and the air so thick with humidity we decided to find a little respite in a small park we passed by. We paid the 200 Kyat entrance and tried to find a shaded bench. One of the first things we noticed was a large signboard of activities not allowed inside the park. Some of these activities included hanging up laundry, massaging your lover on the grass, walking on the grass and playing football. Laughing, we took pictures of the sign and then turned to our right where it looked like there might be some shade. As we walked to the trees one of the first things we notice is laundry hung out to dry. A few feet later and we realize we are in the middle of lover's lane where each bench was occupied by a young couple sitting close, holding hands and/or kissing. This made me extremely uncomfortable as I have not seen public displays of affection for over 3 years. We had heard of this phenomenon but it was still surprising to see it in person. The couples really have no where else to go as there aren't any really private places and so the parks have become a safe haven for young romance and physical affection.
We stopped by Sule Pagoda, located inside a traffic circle. One of the first things that both of us noticed was how shiny the gold was. It seemed much flashier and brilliant than the gilded pagodas in Thailand. You may think by now we are tired of seeing pagodas and Buddha statues and maybe it's no longer on the top of our list, but the Burmese pagodas are unlike any we'd seen before. The shapes are similar to the Thai pagodas but it is the statues that really stand out. For example, most of the Buddha statues are not solid gold in color but are given human features that are painted on cream colored skin. Another quirk we loved is the bright neon lights that are posted on the wall behind the Buddha's head. The lights flash in a circular fashion and surround the head like a halo. I imagine this is something that Filipinos would do around the head of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. It's grand fun to see.
We took it nice and easy the rest of the day, just wandering around the city taking it all in. We knew we would be back the following day to discover new aspects of Yangon.
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