65(^) SHOPPINGYANGON
SHOPPING
YANGON
SHOPPING
Captain’s Bar HOTEL BAR
(Map p 48 ; Savoy Hotel, 129 Dhama Zedi Rd; hto mid-
night; aW) This bar at the Savoy is popular
with locals and expats, especially on Wednes-
day and Friday nights, when there’s live music.
Ginki Kids BAR
(Map p 48 ; Kan Baw Sa Rd; hto midnight) A cosy bar
popular among expats and upper-class locals.
Clubs
Lagging behind Yangon’s already thin bar
scene is its club scene. There are a few dance
clubs, but they’re so full of local quirks that
they’re more appropriate for anthropologi-
cal investigation than a night on the town.
JJ City CLUB
(Map p 48 ; Mingala Zei, Set Yone Rd (Mill Rd); h8pm-
2am) Just your typical, bog-standard wet
market by day, multi-storey entertainment
complex by night... Enter lifts stained with
betel spit to emerge at one of several fl oors of
fun: JJ is ostensibly a disco, but most appear
to come for the bizarre 10pm fashion show,
in which the ‘JJ Queen’ is chosen on a nightly
basis. Your entrance fee of K3000 gets you a
beer. On the fi fth fl oor of the same complex
is Channel V, a slightly more downmar-
ket disco with lots of teenage boys and not
enough air-conditioning. This place charges
a K4500 entry fee. Foreign patrons are rare,
and so may be given VIP treatment.
Pioneer CLUB
(Map p 48 ; Ahlone Rd; admission K6000; h7pm-
3am) This disco sees a relative mix of people,
from upper-class locals to profi t-seeking
‘dancing girls’. Like other clubs in Yangon,
it’s similar to your fi rst school dance: a
handful of girls actually hit the fl oor while
the guys fi dget nervously.
YGN Bar CLUB
(Map p 48 ; Ahlone Rd; no cover; h7pm-3am) This
place can’t decide whether it’s a bar or a club.
There’s no entrance fee, so you can do as the
locals do and sip a beer while staring at the
handful of girls who dare to dance. On Satur-
day nights the place has a distinctly pink vibe.
Cinemas
There’s no better city for Myanmar cinephiles
than Yangon. By a conservative estimate
there are over 50 cinemas. Half a dozen of
these cinemas (Map p 42 ) are found along
Bogyoke Aung San Rd, east of the Sule Paya.
Tickets start at about K600 per seat. Critically
acclaimed fi lms are in short supply; rather
there is a succession of syrupy Myanmar dra-
mas, Bollywood musicals and kung-fu smash-
ups, plus a few Hollywood blockbusters.
Nay Pyi Daw Cinema CINEMA
(Map p 42 ; Sule Paya Rd) This cinema across
from Traders Hotel and next to Café
Aroma has showings throughout the day.
It’s one of the busiest cinemas in the city.
Thamada Cinema CINEMA
(Map p 42 ; 5 Ah Lan Paya Pagoda Rd) Easily the
best cinema for foreigners, Thamada is
comfortable and shows fairly recent inter-
national (including Hollywood) films.
American Center CULTURAL CENTRE
(Map p 46 ; 14 Taw Win St) This US-sponsored
centre shows free American movies at 1pm
from Tuesday to Saturday.
7 Shopping
While it isn’t quite the shoppers’ Mecca
that Bangkok is, Yangon does off er a more
manageable alternative, as there are fewer
and smaller outlets, and prices tend to be
cheaper all around.
Arts & Handicrafts
There is quite a bit of interesting art, furni-
ture and antiques to be bought in Yangon.
Unfortunately much of it is too large to fi t in
most people’s luggage.
Augustine’s Souvenir Shop ANTIQUES
(Map p 48 ; http://www.augustinesouvenir.com; 20 Thirim-
ingalar St; h11am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 2-7.30pm Sat &
Sun) Walk through a garden of abandoned
vintage cars into this handsome house, which
doubles as one of Yangon’s most captivating
shopping destinations. A virtual museum of
Myanmar antiques, there’s a particular em-
phasis on wooden items, including carved
fi gures, chests and wall hangings. It’s a short
walk from the Green Elephant Restaurant.
Pansodan Gallery GALLERY
(Map p 42 ; 1st fl , 286 Pansodan St; h10am-6pm)
This loft-like gallery has a variety of Myan-
mar contemporary and antique art, the
latter including some truly unique antique
prints, advertisements and photos. Owner-
artist Aung Soe Min is knowledgeable about
Myanmar art, and can point you in the right
direction of that special souvenir you didn’t
even know you needed.
FXB Shop HANDICRAFTS
(Map p 46 ; 106 20-B Yaw Min Gee St; h9am-6pm)
The showroom of this international NGO,
dedicated to fi ghting poverty and AIDS, has