Yangon     

Yangon, with its 4-5 million inhabitants is the biggest city of Myanmar and accordingly noisy and hectic, but however one can still feel the flair of the old colonial days.

There are many colonial houses even though they are sometimes down and shabby. The wide boulevards and parks are a heritage of the British. The best known, however, is the city for its famous Shwedagon Pagoda, it is one of the largest sanctuaries of the Burmans.
We spent four days in the city and after our arrival we went for relaxing to the Kandawgyi Lake with its big Park, where you can find the well known floating restaurant. It was a holiday and there were many families and couples on the way. From the bars along the lake you can have sometime a look to the Shwedagon Pagoda. It was a wonderful quiet place here.

( Click for large image !)

In the centre of the town, right in the noisy roundabout is the Sule Pagoda. But inside we felt immediately the spiritual tranquility. Back outside you are in the horrible traffic again.

About bustling side streets past some adventurous facades we have gone further towards Yangon River. Like our first visit in 2001, there were yet all the food stalls and hawkers between the abandoned railroad tracks.

All in all the market activities are mainly on the sidewalks and the little side streets.

Highlight here, however, is of course the towering Shwedagon Pagoda, the landmark and the largest sanctuary in the country, which rises nearly 100 meters high with its golden stupa superior to the old town. A dream in gold and jewels, but the top of the stupa is decorated with rubies and diamonds, supposedly over 5000!

We knew the pagoda complex already from our first Myanmar visit. At that time we were there in the morning and were totally caught by the impressive atmosphere. This time we went there in the late afternoon to feel the evening atmosphere and use the warm evening light for our photos.

In the beginning of the dark, there were almost no more tourists in the complex, only Burmans who were praying and offering. It was a very spiritual situation and the devotion of the people impressed us once again very much.