Yangon & Bago, Myanmar - 2016

We left Inle Lake for Yangon by express bus.  The shuttle picked us up at 8am and we arrived at the Yangon bus station 12 hours later.  Another long day on the bus.  We should have flown!.

This was NOT our bus to Yangon.

Checking out swords.

Who is the 'Usual Person'?.  A sign at one of the bus stops.

We'll pass on the Alligator Peer Juice.

Special of the Day.

We arrived in Yangon tired, hungry, and ready to get to our hotel.  We shared a taxi with some friends we met on the bus.  We were the third and last stop.  When we were the last ones on the taxi, the driver stopped and wanted more money than we had agreed on to take us to our hotel.  We had to get off and got another taxi to continue the ride to our hotel. Our hotel was difficult to find, but we eventually made it.

The following morning we went to the most sacred Buddhist shrine in Myanmar, Shwedagon Pagoda.

The entrance to Shwedagon Pagoda.  

One of the devotional halls. 

Sewed Agon Triratna Peace Bell in the pagoda's garden.

A shrine in the garden.

The stupa is surrounded by sixty four pagodas.  The top of the stupa (the Banana Bud) is covered with over 13,000 solid gold plates, unlike the rest of the stupa which is covered with gold leaf.

 

Yangon Circular Train 

 In the afternoon we took the three hour Yangon Circular Train ride.  This is a popular train ride that tourists take to see Yangon.  The cost was 200 Kyat or 20 cents.

Old British trains are used for this circular railway. The train ride was quite rickety. There was no air conditioning on the train, only some fans on the ceiling.  They didn't all work.  We tried to sit under the ones that did work to get some air circulation.  True to its (tourist) reputation, we met more tourist travelers on this train than anywhere else in Yangon!. English was spoken throughout our train car.  People joined in on the conversation including the locals.  Sitting next to us was a Burmese man who spoke English very well. We learned that he and his family had lived in Kansas City for 2 years going to seminary and he loved KC BBQ.  On our other side was a young college student practicing her English with an Englishman who had just arrived in Yangon.  He was heading up north to teach English to Burmese officials in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar.  Naypyidaw is known as the "Ghost City" since few people live there.  The college student did very well in her English. She was so excited to have a chance to practice her English that she got on the train going the wrong direction.  So instead of a half hour ride, she rode the train for two and half hours on the loop.  We also struck up a conversation with two young men, one Swiss and one Dutch. The Swiss man was going to Mandalay and the Dutch man was heading south to do some charity work in a small village. Last but not least, we met a Yangon local, a merchant marine, on vacation. He carried beautiful flowers and in his backpack he had several large mangoes just picked from his farm.  He was on his way to the temple to give these as offerings.  He offered his mangoes to all of us which we accepted. The train was a good way to meet people.  We definitely got our money worth on this train ride.

Yangon Circular Train route.

Leaving the train station

Train yard where old British trains are stored.

Central market along the tracks.

The circular train took us through the countryside.

Bago

We took a two hour train ride from Yangon to Bago.  With the help of a local gentleman, we were able to get tickets in the 'Upper Class'.  The difference between 'Upper Class and 'Lower Class' is 1200 Kyat (about $1.20 and cushioned seats) versus 400 Kyat (about $.40 and hard, wooden seats).

Train Schedule.

Riding in "Upper Class" comfort with cushioned seats and fans on the ceiling.  

When we arrived in Bago, we met two men that wanted to take us on an all day motorbike tour.  We agreed on a price.  The tour included stops at six well known temples, a snake monastery and a stop for lunch.

Kitchen in a local restaurant.

  

Bago tour by motorbike.  

Kyaik Pun Pagoda, the Four Seated Buddha Shrine.  Built in the 15th century. 

The largest outdoor reclining Buddha in Bago.

Dragon stair rail at Shwetalyaung Pagoda.

Inside reclining Buddha at Shwetalyaung Pagoda.  

Vendors at Shwetalyaung Pagoda.

A shrine along Leikpaya Resevoir

Thatana  Lin Yaungshwe or Snake Monastery.  

A thirty foot python which is suppose to be the reincarnation of a famous abbot.  Five monks are required to carry the snake between enclosures.  The snake is said to be 110 years old.   

The Snake Monastery.   

"NO" sign in front of a pagoda

Shwemawdaw Pagoda.

Shwemawdaw Pagoda, famous for it's golden pinnacle.  

Girls selling mangoes and dried crickets.  

Kandawzathadi Palace.  This is a recreation of  King Bayinnaung's Royal Palace that was burned down in 1599.

King Court in the palace.

Sleeping pig keeping cool in the mud.

Our tour guides. They helped finish our meal after eating their own.

 

Some tourist attractions in Yangon:

 

The Yangon train station
  

Train station at sunset.  

Bogyoke, central market in Yangon.

Bogyoke, central market.

Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon on a busy intersection.  

Sule Pagoda.

Yangon City Hall.

Bengali Sunni Jameh Mosque near Sule Pagoda.

Immanuel Baptist Church, one of the oldest churches in Yangon.

Mahabandula Garden in downtown Yangon.

Mahabandula Garden

Yangon City Hall from Mahabandula Garden.

Court House 

Court House, a Queen Anne style building with a clock tower.  

Need something typed?  There were a lot of typists for hire.   

A typist at work. 

Sign near the Taxi terminal.

The famous Strand Hotel in Yangon.   

Strand Hotel lobby.

Dinner at the Strand Hotel with Jacklyn whom we met at Inle Lake.

 We left Myanmar for Vietnam the next morning.  In spite of the heat, frequent power outages, erratic banking hours, and holiday closures, we had a great time in Myanmar.  We enjoyed visiting interesting temples, pagodas and historic sights.  Best of all, meeting people along the way made our trip more memorable!.