YANGON, or is it Rangoon? Well, its close to "jan-gohn", so neither is very accurate. It was Dagon in the 11th Century, Yangon in the 18th, and the Brits heard that as Rangoon in the 19th. The ruling military junta, in its drive to eradicate vestiges of imperialism, returned to Yangon in 1989.
Whatever the name, it was a pretty small fishing village when the British took over in 1852, and turned it into its commercial and political hub. And, although the Junta decamped for its purpose built new capital of Naypyitaw (keep that in mind for crossword puzzels of trivia questions) in 2005, it still remains the commercial hub, and to some extent political, since the foreign embassies have yet to follow them out into the hinterlands.
From across the Yangon River (one of the many strands in the Ayeyarwady RIver Delta) it is still a pretty low rise sky line...
From across the Yangon River (one of the many strands in the Ayeyarwady RIver Delta) it is still a pretty low rise sky line...
...with basic quay side dock facilities.
The street system is a blend of wide thoroughfares and ...
...pretty narrow streets, and New Yorkers think that THEIR cross town traffic is tough.
The historic low rise buildings are an endangered species as they are replaced by higher and glossier ones. The monument commemorates independence from Britian.
With a dense core, and sprawling suburbs, the metro area is thought to have 4.5 to 5.5 million residents....but since there has not been a census in a while, no one knows for sure. Some older houses which has escaped the hi-rise movement are guesthouses...
...set back from the sidewalk, withroom for greenery in pots.
The Three Seasons is simple, and the walls are thin, and the attached bath is basic, but the owner is extremely friendly and helpful.
Loss of reservations led us to a low rise business hotel: the lowest of the buildings above.
Equally friendly had helpful.
It comes with free wi-fi.
Whatever the "star" rating, rooms and toilets were clean and orderly, and functioning. Tho we read many stories of electrical outages, and saw the VW sized generators out in front of many buildings, we only had one, and brief, period of darkness the whole trip.
This was the only place where the breakfast was served in the rooms.
And from an upper balcony a view down onto the traffic on one of the thoroughfares. Yes, crossing them is an adventure in itself.
But the winner of the hotel medley was the Winner Inn.
Originally a residence in a up-scale neighborhood, a large addition in back turned it into a hotel.
No, not Christmas, but a couple of festivals of light recently occured.
Another teak counter top, another money changer.
Not a hotel, but a restaurant in a former colonial era villa, the House of Memories owners were in the thick of it...
...including hosting General Aung San during the chaotic end of the Pacific War and the end of British occupation.
The garden was having a private party, but the second floor porch, overlooking the party, was just fine.
