Today after checking out a sublet option on the foreigner-populated street called Yaw Min Gyi, I went inside the Shangri-La Hotel (still referred to as locally by it’s old name: Traders). Wow, this place is like a foreigner oasis in the city.
After checking my back through a screening device and walking through a metal detector, I was faced by the foyer:
From there, I went straight to the bathrooms, labeled outside with a sign saying “Public Bathrooms”. Nicest public bathrooms I have ever seen in my life:
After that I walked down a corridor to C B Bank to withdraw some money:
Traders is known for having the fastest internet in town, so I ordered I sandwich and posted up in the cafe (receiving my complimentary wi-fi code — although unfortunately internet gave out after about 20 minutes — we were told it was “the government,” but it was unclear what that meant):
After leaving Traders, I tried to stop by a cell phone store in order to get internet working on my phone. I needed to find out where the Yangon Heritage Trust was located for the walking tour I was going to go on with a colleague.
After purchasing the top-up card, the “Channel Manager” spent probably about 20 minutes trying to activate the card. Unfortunately the system was down, so I was out of luck.
After going inadvertently into the Port Authority, the Myanmar Agricultural Bank, and a library, I finally found the tour site, where I would be embarking on a walking tour of historic Yangon.
This is by the river:
We had a great tour guide.
A lot of interesting old architecture from the Colonial Era / British rule. Some of it has been renovated and some has not.
We were told that this is traditional Burmese architecture:
Many more examples of the new and old of the cities coming together. Here is one example:
I was blown away by the electrical in one of the old buildings we were brought into. The building contained an art gallery and a property surveying government office.
I’ve seen a number of these locations since I’ve been here. Apparently this is a very popular local doughnut company (apparently no connection to Dunkin’ Donuts).
I’ll finish off the post with a map to help orient you. Hopefully it helps.
Life in Myanmar 