lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

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Downtown Yangon

Wa l k i n g To u r

START THONE PAN HLA

TEASHOP

FINISH BOGYOKE AUNG

SAN MARKET

DISTANCE APPROX 1.4

MILES

DURATION TWO TO

THREE HOURS

Yangon is a great city to explore on foot,

and this tour takes in the best of colonial

Yangon, fl irts with Indian fl amboyance, gets

serene in Buddhist temples, lightens your

wallet in the markets and throws in some

crystal-ball-gazing for good measure. Supple-

ment your walk with Historical Walks in

Yangon: A Myanmar Heritage Trust Guide

Map – map available from Silkworm Books

(www.silkwormbooks.com).

We recommend starting this tour in the

cool hours of the morning, so kick it off with

a caff eine boost and Burmese-style break-

fast at a teahouse such as 1 Thone Pan

Hla, a typical Burmese teahouse. From here

it’s only a short walk to the 2200-year-old

2 Sule Paya, the geographic and commer-

cial heart of the city, and where the British-

designed grid street pattern was centred.

Make a circle or two around the monument

to get just the right angle for your photo-

graph, but don't feel obligated to go inside,

as the largely unremarkable interior is

probably not worth the $2 entry fee. After

a complete rotation or two and an inside

visit, cross the busy traffi c circle to the east

and you’ll fi nd the twice-rebuilt 3 City

Hall, a yellow colonial building with oriental

overtones. On the next corner further east

on Mahabandoola Rd is the 4 (former)

Immigration Offi ce, once one of the largest

department stores in Asia, now seemingly

abandoned. Across the street is the

5 Immanuel Baptist Church, originally

built in 1830, though the present structure

dates from 1885.

Continuing east on Mahabandoola Rd

you’ll pass a couple of alleyways crammed

with food stalls, many selling the type of

deep-fried snacks and sweets that the

Burmese seem to love so much. Consider

refuelling and take the next major right

onto Pansodan St, where on the east side

of the street you’ll fi nd several stalls selling

second-hand and photocopied books. The

Burmese are big readers and this strip is

colloquially referred to as Yangon's open-air

library.