Yangon
Asia 2016
In Yangon, another long line awaited us — immigration was checking visas and passports. All of this dragged on for at least another hour. I was exhausted and could barely stand. We had thought about taking public transport from the airport, but Volchiy said I was barely alive, and we ordered a taxi as soon as immigration was done with us. I really was not in the best shape. After the second flight, my ears got even more blocked, and it was very hard to hear anything. We took a taxi to the hotel. There are a lot of cars in Myanmar, and we were stuck in traffic all the time.
At the hotel, we were immediately checked into a corner room with two windows. The room was very small, but bright. Still, after the luxurious accommodations in Thailand, it felt unusual.
After a shower, we fell asleep instantly, and when we woke up, we went for a walk.
We live on the main street, but only at the very beginning. To get all the way to the center, we had to walk about 2 km. Myanmar reminded me somewhat of Vietnam and India. It is very distinctive, completely non-touristy. Most men here wear long skirt-like cloths wrapped around their hips instead of pants. Even construction workers were working in such skirts. Almost all women smear thanaka on their faces — a paste that helps protect from the sun and is considered a decoration.
Men in skirts in Yangon
The central street is one big bazaar, just like in all of Asia. They sell food, fruits and vegetables, clothes, electronics, remote controls, all sorts of odds and ends. There are many people, but they are all kind and open. It’s not nearly as noisy here as in India. The vendors are completely unobtrusive. I like it here.
Market on the main street. A woman with thanaka on her cheeks sells fruit
I was hungry. They sell all kinds of food on every corner, but it’s hard to figure out right away what you feel like eating. There were these pastries here — samosas — like the ones we ate in India. And all sorts of other fried things. But we decided to have rice with gravy. The locals mostly eat outside at low tables. In every place, there is always a thermos of free green tea and clean cups on the table, drink as much as you want. This is definitely a country for me :) The rice was pretty good; in Myanmar, all the food is very greasy.
Park in the center of Yangon
We reached the center in the form of a pagoda in a circle. Right there we found a park — a very cozy, lovely place. In the park, locals were playing with children, and young couples were sitting on the grass — the atmosphere was so pleasant and relaxing that we settled down on the grass too. We ate a pastry bought along the way, which turned out to be very tasty. I almost ate it all myself; Volchiy said he was stuffed with rice — well, that’s just fine.
We sat there and watched the local people — they really love children, everyone is very cheerful. It seemed to me that they look younger, or maybe it just seems that way because they are all short and slim. But everyone still has some kind of childlike faces.
A building built by the English in a deplorable state
Right next to the park stands a very beautiful building made of dark red brick, built by the English.
It was getting dark, and everything around was lit up with a magical crimson-orange glow. After sitting a little longer, we headed back to the hotel; to be honest, the way was not close.
On the way, we bought a large pear and a slice of watermelon. The watermelons here are huge, oval-shaped. And they are sold not individually, but already cut up.
