A Quick Guide to Visiting Yangon

An Overview of Yangon

Yangon, formally known as Rangoon, is the largest city of Myanmar and the old capital of the nation. The huge city serves as the county’s major shipping, trade and logistics hub, as well as the financial center of the nation.

For visitors entering Myanmar, Yangon is connected by roads and rails to almost every major portion of the country.

Yangon is a fairly loud, boisterous city with numerous shops, outdoor markets and famous buildings. The city has a lot of colonial architectures in various states of repair alongside massive traditional pagodas notorious for their gold hues and numerous jewels. The city can be a little overwhelming, so reading a guide to visiting Yangon prior to arrival is useful.

Advice for Transportation

Yangon can be slightly tricky to navigate due to traffic and somewhat late bus systems. However, it’s possible to get around Yangon safely with a combination of the Grab Rideshare app, public buses and the famed Circle Train. When putting together a guide to visiting Yangon, know the public bus system is a little confusing.

When arriving at Yangon by air, be sure to have an app or ride already prepared. The taxi drivers in front of the airport are fairly pushy.

The easiest way to traverse Myanmar internally is with the bus system.  The buses in Myanmar require noise-canceling headphones and blindfolds.  Many of the buses are pleasant, quiet and air conditioned, but others are repurposed “party buses.”

Myanmar gained its independence from the British Empire.  However, the British Commonwealth didn’t dissolve vehicular contracts upon giving up government control.  So even though Myanmar laws have people driving on the RIGHT side of the road (like Americans) all vehicles have the wheel on the RIGHT side (like the UK).  This creates a rather large blind spot, so long road trips need a “spotter” in the left passenger seat to safely pass other vehicles.  

Advice for Visiting Yangon

Cash is king in Myanmar and Yangon. Brining currency to exchange is generally wise. However, if a person needs to withdrawal money, KBZ Bank is a decent bet. They generally have features which work in English, allow for the withdrawal of Burmese Kyat and their fees are reasonable.

Myanmar has a confluence of religions, all of which are quite conservative.  When entering sacred sites, including mountains where nats (god-like polytheistic spirts) shoes must not be worn and long skirts must cover the legs of both men and women.  

Myanmar is very cheap to visit and stay.  Lodging costs are extremely affordable and food is cheap, though not terribly healthy.  The rainy season creates many road-washouts, so expect considerable delays while driving.  

For all of Myanmar’s unrest, the central tourist zones have very little political, economic or strategic value.  They are considered quite safe and violent crime is very low. 

Things to do

Shwedagon Pagoda

This is the most sacred Pagoda of the country, since it supposedly houses four relics from previous Buddhas. It is an enormous golden structure with walls in golden Sanskrit writing and a ring of smaller holy pagodas around it. This is the most important attraction listed in this guide to visiting Yangon.

The Pagoda has many names: Shwedagon Zedi Daw, the Golden Dragon Pagoda, the Great Dragon Pagoda or the Golden Pagoda.

All of these describe an amazing golden pagoda rising from polished marble grounds atop a steep hill. The complex grounds are patterned marble, all rotating around the incredible central structure.

The Shwedagon Pagoda is the most holy structure in the entire country. The structure is covered in gold and is believed to hold four relics from previous Buddhas. (Note, that Buddhism has a several famous Buddhas. They receive different levels of veneration and recognition depending on the country. However, the Buddha as a deity, specifically the founder of Buddhism, was Siddhartha Gautama.)

Sealed within the Shwedagon Pagoda, there are supposedly four relics. This includes the Staff of Kakusandha, a shred of robe from Kassapa, the water filter of Konagamana and eight strands of hair from Gautama.

The gold plating and gems which decorate the Pagoda are worth over $3 billion US dollars.

Downtown Yangon

“Downtown” Yangon is the area located to the East of Yangon’s Chinatown. In this district, Yangon hosts most of it’s tourist attractions, foreigner restaurants and business centers. It is also home to the majority of Yangon’s governmental, architectural, colonial and religious structures. Navigation in this area is straightforward, as the streets are numbered.

Sule Pagoda

The Sule Pagoda is a distinct golden pagoda located downtown. It’s placed in the center of a roundabout, allowing all traffic to flow around it.

The Sule Pagoda is an easily accessible historic Buddhist site since it’s in the direct center of the city. To enter, visitors must be dressed conservatively. Additionally, entry costs small fee.

Yangon Circle Line Train

The Yangon Circle Line Train is a vintage vehicle designed in Japan. The train follows a circular, somewhat scenic route around the outskirts of the city. The train travels slowly and passes many neighborhoods, temple districts and communities in Yangon, so travelers riding this train can window-watch Myanmar lifestyles.

Maha Bandula Park (Maha Bandula Garden)

Located in the city center, Maha Bandula Park is a manicured green space with trees, pathways, obelisk monuments and shaded benches. There are usually a few food vendors in the area and it’s a popular place for families to relax.

The Secretariat

The Secretariat once served as the colonial seat of power for the British Empire while occupying Myanmar. The site remains vital to Myanmar’s history as the location where Aung San and other independence leaders were assassinated.

Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue

The Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue is the only remaining Jewish house-of-worship remaining in the country. The synagogue is a centerpiece for a tumultuous history with ties to the original Baghdadi Jews who arrived in Myanmar to establish a community. Today, the synagogue is a landmark for visitors and a special location for the remaining, small Jewish population of Yangon.

Bogyoke Aung San Market

This shopping area is part-arcade, part-bazaar-market. The bustling shopping center is designed for tourism with numerous stalls and blankets showing off trinkets, souvenirs and handcrafted local goods. The bustling market sells heaps of good-luck tokens, jade carvings and small gems.

The Nagar Glass Factory

For decades, this factory was Myanmar’s finest hand-blow glass-factory. The high-quality business had ties with independence leader Aung San Suu Kyi, astronaut John Glenn and international corporations. However, the factory was obliterated in 2008 when Cyclone Nargis struck. The cyclone probed to be the worst natural disaster to ever assail the country. Now, the Nagar Glass Factory is a bizarre set of ruins, complete with fields and pockets of shining, chipped and brightly colored glass bits.

Read more firsthand stories and another guide to visiting Yangon by clicking here

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