Yangon

Yangon is the old capital of Myanmar and still the busiest city in the country. It is also the largest city in the country and is the first city to arrive to Myanmar for most travelers. It is a city of style and old-worldly dilapidated majesty. Left like nowhere else on earth following decades of isolation after independence, huge swathes of the city are peppered with some of the region’s most stunning colonial architecture. Find vast teak wood mansions in the traditional style hidden away amongst shady side streets and broad leafy boulevards flanked by towering old-commercial grandeur. The unique fusion of local and Indian tradesmen with the influences of Victorian and Edwardian Britain have resulted in some of the era’s most extraordinary and most ostentatious architecture. And it’s not just architecture where Yangon retains its colonial feel, strolling through its large parks and around its lakes offers a welcome respite from the heat, bustle and noise. It also plays host to perhaps the most stunning religious monument in the region, the 2500 year old Shwedagon Pagoda, the city’s towering golden masterpiece. Yangon, as a gateway into the country, may also be visitors’ first chance to try the local cuisine. And the choices are endless, with every street littered with little market stalls and food stalls bursting with exotic and exciting fare. The city’s other notable religious sites are the Botahtaung and Sule pagodas, both housing Buddhist relics.