Skip to main content

A trip to Yangon

Have not posted any new sharing since May, let alone the past sharing, pardon me. Made two trips so far in this year - a family trip to Bangkok in April and a recent exploration trip to Yangon. Let's talk about Yangon trip. My travel partner asked why this place? After all, it has been neglected by travellers for so many years due to the country's political landscape. Travellers avoided this country as a protest to the junta government. Now everything seems to have changed. Aung Sang Suu Kyi has been released, and won an election. There's an open market being introduced. Lots of investors coming in (I spotted some Malaysian companies and Taiwan's Chatime). So therefore, I agree it's time to explore this country before it becomes more touristic.

My first impression on Yangon - it looks like my hometown Sandakan thirty years ago where local traders were aplenty, no fast food chain, plenty of old buses and old buildings. Well, Yangon just had its first KFC outlet launched recently. It was quite an event (so happened we passed by that shop). Most of the locals are still living on basic amenities. I guess their wages won't be high either. There seems to be a big gap between the rich and the poor, as usual. But I believe the people there are catching up very fast.

In this trip, we stayed in Willow Inn. It was very cosy and I think we've made a right choice. Breakfast was great. Most of the town attractions were within walking distance. One of the food that I liked most - Burmese dessert, Faluda, and bryanni rice in one of the Indian restaurants. After all, I do like bryanni rice back in Malaysia. How I wish if Faluda is available here.

Locals were seen waiting outside the KFC outlet while the VIPs were having opening ceremony function inside the outlet. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last day in Sendai

After spending five days in Sendai, my visit here has finally come to an end. On my last day, I took a tour of the Kirin Beer Factory. I must say that the tour was quite informative—slightly better than the one I had at a beer factory in Malaysia. Visitors were able to touch, smell, and taste during the tour. We were served at least three different types of Kirin beer for tasting. Although the tour was short, it was uplifting. I had lunch at their restaurant, which was probably my most expensive meal during this trip to Sendai. In the afternoon, I took an Uber to Arahama Elementary School, which has now been turned into a museum. It is located on the eastern side of Sendai, an area that was hit by the tsunami following the earthquake on March 11, 2011. On that day, after the quake, the schoolchildren were evacuated to the rooftop of the building. About 27 hours later, they were all rescued. The school now exhibits the impact of the tsunami, the conditions on that day, and the aftermath...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kumano Kodo - Day 2

After a good rest, I departed for Hosshimon-oji. The hotel provided free transit to the Hongu area, so I saved some time waiting for the bus. The plan for the day was a 7 km walk from Hosshimon-oji to Oyunohara. Since my next lodging was in the Yunomine Onsen area, I decided to add an extra walk from Oyunohara to Yunomine Onsen, which was about 2.2 km. At Hosshimon-oji, the trail is essentially a connecting route to the Takijiri trail. The previous stamping station was about 800 meters from Hosshimon-oji, so I made a detour to Inohana-oji. That detour added approximately 1.6 km to my journey, taking about 30 minutes or more. From Hosshimon-oji (after detouring via Inohana-oji), I started walking toward Hongu Taisha, which was about a 2.5-hour walk. Along the way, I stopped to rest and take photos. It was quite a leisurely walk. Part of the trail is paved, while the rest consists of forest paths lined with cypress trees (I guess). By the time I reached the town around Hongu Taisha, it w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kumano Kodo - Day 3

Based on the model itinerary on the Kumano Kodo official website, my trip was supposed to last until Day 4, with a visit to Nachi Falls and its surrounding area on that final day. However, due to some schedule changes with my friend, I needed to return to Osaka by 6 pm on the last day. So, after much thought, I decided to squeeze the Day 4 itinerary into the afternoon of Day 3. As it turned out, the route I took could actually be completed in three days. That meant I could leave for Osaka via an early train from Kii-Katsuura on Day 4. Let’s continue with Day 3. After breakfast, I boarded a bus heading to Shingu and got off at the Michi-no-Eki Kumanogawa bus stop, which is exactly the departure point for the traditional boat ride to Shingu. If river cruising isn’t your thing, you can simply stay on the bus until it reaches Shingu. Along the river, there are a few waterfalls. About halfway through the ride, we made a brief stop at a riverside spot with a white rock believed to be the rem...
Post a Comment
Read more