This post is the end of my Yangon trip! Finally I could make something consistent, until the end! Quite proud of meself yay! Anyway, I’m at Northpoint City currently, writing from the nearest mall in my area, Yishun, baby!
So what I did the second day (16/6) at Yangon is basically visiting another pagoda (the last one), and shopping (not that wild tho, because I don’t have the money…)
Ngar Htat Gyi / Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda
Ngar Htat Gyi pagoda main gate next to main street
The name of the pagoda is Ngar Htat Gyi Pagoda, some may call it Nga Htat Gyi. This particular pagoda has a very long stairs, which made me a bit suspicious since my last time at Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda (I think still somewhere around this area). It was a bit dirty as well. You could see lots of bird turds.. but after climbed up, we finally got into the entrance.
Stairs we had to climb to get into the main entrance of the pagoda
It was kinda small, compare to other pagodas.. with a very big hall in the center and we could see the biggest sitting Buddha there… BUT it was under renovation back then. I think the renovation was heavier than the reclining Buddha at Chauk Htat Gyi because ALL we could see is only the face of the Buddha.
The sitting Buddha statue was under heavy maintenance. All we could see was just the face
Sad. But it got a few of interesting smaller shrines. Oh, I saw a ticket box at the entrance but somehow they didn’t charge us? I was a bit worried though..
Another interesting statues in the pagoda where we could see the monks following the Buddha, getting away from the snake which I assume symbolizes hell
After a few pictures that we took, we decided to go to somewhere, called…
Myanmar Gems Museum
This place was recommended by our boss, Matt. He said he was there back then and it was quite nice so we followed. The place was a bit further from our place I think but it was worth it, if you like museums.
You could also find a gems market next and below the museums. Turns out, Myanmar produces lots of precious gem stones, from amethyst to diamond. But I think they are quite famous for the jade. They have also guides, that would happily guide you through the gems museum, for free.
To get in, I remember I had to pay (I don’t remember how much) and also you had to put all of your belongings in the locker including your phone. I think you could bring your wallet and passport if you’re scared, but definitely have to put in your phone / camera because they don’t allow people to take pictures.
I really don’t know why, maybe to make people curious? But inside the museum, which only place at the highest level of 3 stories building, I quite like how they put all the collections. Quite neat, although like everything in Myanmar, felt a bit old..
After done having the “tour”, we went out and grab a cab to..
Bogyoke Market
Inside of Bogyoke Market, Yangon. You can see how they sell lots of jewelries.
Actually, we were here the day before when we tried to go to Sule Pagoda. It was in the same area, I guess. This market basically is the place you could get souvenirs from Yangon, let’s say from magnets to precious stone, even the longyi.
Everything was kinda “expensive” there. Maybe it was because of the market is for the tourists.. I also heard a few Singaporeans talking in a group, so I guess, Yangon is somewhat a tourist destination for Singaporeans. Tanuka found a few T-shirts for herself and her family. I didn’t really want to buy T-shirts because usually touristy T-shirt quality is bad lol jk, the actual reason is I was dirt poor, so I could only buy very limited stuff and I decided to buy a fridge magnet only (because my partner and I decided to collect magnets from all over the country that we’ve visited).
John Cena. Because, why not? We also found Spice Girls lol hilarious.
After a few failed attempts of haggling we were kinda beat and decided to leave the area and visited a cathedral next to it. After that, we went back to the market but level 2.
And… we found that place. A good souvenir place where you can get cheaper price. We bought jade bracelets for around MMK1,000 each, whether anywhere else were MMK1,500 – 2,000 each. Also good jewelry boxes, cheaper price than usual for Tanuka. I bought like quite a lot of bracelets for my partner and my friends.
This is the shop where we could get cheaper stuffs. Cherry Myaing – 13F Upper Front, Bogyoke Market
After that shopping, we felt it’s time to go to another place. But Tanuka still couldn’t find her postcards. So we went around a bit and I realized there was also a post office in the market. It was kinda hidden… this is a bit hazy but I think it was in the 3rd floor near to the narrow end to the right at the second floor.
There, we could find postcards and also we could send it right away! The postcards were kinda cheap but the stamps definitely wasn’t. If I remember it right, one stamp for about MMK10,000? Or maybe it was because we had to pay in USD (we had no MMK left). After done writing it all, we decided to leave the place for good and decided to fill our tummy at…
19th Street
19th Street where we could have a beer, taste local street food, and chat. Full of tourists as well
We went here by walking from the Bogyoke Market. Basically this place is just a street with lots of bars and grilled food. We got there quite early, around 4-5pm, I think. There wasn’t any crowd at the hour but we were okay since we were super hungry. We decided to try local beer and local delicacy, I think it was a bird… I don’t know what kinda bird though.
Interesting…
The bird was okay, but if I have to pick which of the grilled food was the best? Definitely the pork ribs. I think nothing could beat pork anyway lol. Myanmar beer was okay, a bit light I think and kinda sweet. I would like my beer to be stronger but, I don’t mind, really hahaha.
When in Myanmar.. drink Myanmar!
We were there until a bit late. A bit funny, because we paid in USD, I think the seller took advantage of it. I think, if you really want to get better deal, maybe bring enough Kyats to Myanmar.
Lively at night!
Anyway that was the last thing we did. The next day we went early morning to the airport. I think that trip taught me that it was nice to have a trip with your new friend. I was lucky because Tanuka is actually superb in planning everything.
So this is the end of my Yangon “trilogy”. Hopefully all this posts could help you decide whether you want to go to Yangon or not. This might not be as detailed, but I really wish you could at least see a glimpse of Yangon! To me, Yangon was nice and next time, I’ll try Bagan and will change money to SGD instead lol.
Bonus, rooftop view from my hotel:
Rooftop view of my hotel. You could see the biggest pagoda, Shwedagon.
