We had the opportunity to spend a day in Yangon before heading to Bagan, and then two more days there afterwards to wrap up our time in Myanmar. As we drove through the Uptown part of the city from the airport to our hotel, our first impressions surprised us. At first glance it looked like a fairly well put together and developed city – there were large, modern buildings, golf courses, nice houses and apartments, a large lake with people running, walking and stretching, etc. We spent the day getting a great lunch at a local restaurant (we were the only tourist looking people there), and then walking around the Shwedagon Pagoda.
The experience walking around the Pagoda was incredible. The structure and surrounding temples themselves were magnificent, and the people there to pray were welcoming and friendly. A few of them were so happy to see westerners visiting their sites that they asked us for pictures and selfies. It was a warm first experience with Burmese culture.
That was followed up by a random man pulling us off the street as we walked back to the hotel, and more or less forcing us to sit with ~50 random local strangers and be fed. It turns out that a group of men run a food shelter for women and children while the men of their families work (something to do with the Buddhist desire to do good deeds – the English communication was rough), and they wanted to share it with westerns to give their deeds more exposure to the world. They even pulled me up from the meal to go into the ‘kitchen’ (it was an alley way with large fires and massive pots of food) and help cook. Cooking ended up being taking canoe oars and using them to stir the large quantities of food – I quickly realized it was very difficult work, and they made it a point to grab my arms and point out that I must work out, so I was better to do the work than they were!
This all left a great impression in our minds as we returned from Bagan for two more days in Yangon, but that impression did not last. We spent the first day walking around the Downtown area to see some more Pagodas and the large city shopping market, but instead were overwhelmed with the circumstances of the local people. Nowhere could I remember seeing people living with so little and in such difficult situations. It was incredibly sobering and emotionally taxing as we realized being born into a certain society that can either give you so much or so little is based on nothing but luck.
The second day we spent going to Kandawgyi Park (basically a large park and lake in the middle of the city), and had a nice time walking around the water. All we could discuss and think about as we walked, however, was the dichotomy between the Uptown area we were initially exposed to and the squalor that existed so nearby. We spent the afternoon and evening on the rooftop of our hotel overlooking the Shwedagon Pagoda thankful for all of the opportunities that we have in our lives, and wishing we could do more to help those in other situations.
Overall, Yangon was a heavy thing to experience, but I am very glad that we did. Traveling like we are is supposed to open you up to new experiences in the world, and open your eyes to things that make you reflect on your own life. Yangon certainly did that for us. Now let’s see what Nepal has in store as the next stop in the adventure.