Around Yangon
Temples
Beaches
Boats Temples
For temples, the former
capital of Bago (Pegu) would
probably outdo just about
any city in Myanmar, but
the water-bound Yele Paya
at Kyauktan and the Shwe-
mokhtaw Paya in Pathein
make the entire region an
area worth investigating for
temple freaks.
Beaches
Chaung Tha Beach and
Ngwe Saung Beach probably
won’t fi t everybody’s notion
of a picture-postcard desert-
ed beach, but they’re clean,
sunny and the easiest beach-
es to reach in Myanmar.Boats
If you're still bearing
the scars from your last
crowded, hot, bumpy and
never-ending Burmese bus
ride, consider the region’s
water-bound transport.
The easiest option is the
fi ve-minute river-crossing
ferry to Dalah, while more
intrepid travellers can take
the two-hour boat to Twante
or the overnight ferry to
Pathein.
p 73Ya n gon
Temples
Shopping
Food
Temples
Home to Shwedagon Paya,
the most important reli-
gious pilgrimage site in the
country, not to mention
many, many other visit-
worthy paya and buddhas,
Yangon is practically over-
run with monuments to
Buddhism. However, if all
the Buddhist architecture
is starting to look the same,
the city’s Hindu shrines,
mosques, colonial-era
churches and lone syna-
gogue provide a worthwhile
contrast for the temple-
weary.
Shopping
Decades of international
isolation have prevented
Yangon from competing
with neighbouring Bang-
kok as a shopping hot-
spot, but the city is home
to a decent selection of
shops stocked with qual-
ity handicrafts, quirky
cultural items and one-of-
a-kind art you’re unlikely
to encounter elsewhere.
In particular, Yangon
is home to some great
antique stores stocking
some genuine treasures.
And if you prefer brows-
ing, Yangon’s open-air
fresh markets are some
of the more vibrant and
interesting in the region.
Food
Home to some of the
country’s best Burmese
food (a new cuisine for
most visitors), Yangon
is also has a plethora of
restaurants serving tasty
takes on more familiar cui-
sines, from subcontinental
to Italian. And as soon as
you’re able to distinguish
your mohinga from your
mondhi, the city also of-
fers a vibrant street-food
scene that ranges fromp 36 Indian to Shan.
regions
at a
glance
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