“Things to Do in Yangon Myanmar” will take you on a slow and scenic train ride around the city, lead you up to a glorious golden temple, fill you with delicious street food, and put you to sleep in a comfy hostel, all for $20 a day!
Fully updated in December 2018.
Where is Yangon?
Just upriver from the Indian Ocean, wedged between Bangladesh and Thailand, Yangon is the largest city of Myanmar at over five million people.
Is it called Rangoon or Yangon? And is it in Burma or Myanmar?
It was called Rangoon for hundreds of years, up until 1989. That same year, the country’s name changed to Myanmar.
The city has been inhabited since the 11th century, but reached the height of its glory in the 1930’s under British colonial rule. At that time it had services on par with London!
After Japanese occupation and destruction in World War II, and independence in 1948, the city started a slow decline which continued well into the 21st century. In the 60s and 70’s it was a major stop on the “Hippie Trail” leading across Asia. Today, investment is pouring in from China and Japan, and the city is having a resurgence.
Don’t expect sky-trains and shopping malls like Bangkok, but modern Yangon has many tourist sites and scenic spots to keep any traveler happy for several days.
Things to do in Yangon:
The #1, must-do, awe-inspiring photo-rama is to visit the massive marble and gold-plated Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the greatest Buddhist monuments on earth. Entrance is 10,000MKK ($6.34), and it is open 630am to 10pm. You have to wear trousers or at least knee-length shorts or skirt; t-shirts with elbow length sleeves are also expected. You must enter the Shwedagon Pagoda barefoot. Best time to come is a couple of hours before sunset for cooler temps, and good light for photos. You will be pressured to hire a guide for $5. It will be hard to say no, and if you do, other guides will follow you all day.
Enter a time-warp to 1930s British Colonial Asia. Faded, crumbling, grandiose buildings of days gone by are everywhere you look. Many are abandoned and slowly falling apart.
Ride the Yangon Circular Train. This ancient British train chugs along a VERY slow 28 mile, 39-station loop of the Yangon metropolitan area. It runs from 6:10 am to 5:10 pm daily, and costs only 300MKK ($0.22)! Buy your ticket at platform 7 in Central Railway Station, or at any circular train station. The train leaves from platform 4 or 7 several times a day. You can choose clockwise or counter-clockwise route, but it’s probably easiest to just take the next train to depart. You get a relaxing three-hour tour of normal city life with street vendors hopping on and off to sell food. The wooden seats are hard, perhaps bring a sweatshirt to sit on, and go for a seat by the open door for maximum breeze and views. PRO TIP: Pa Ywet Seik Kone Railway Station on the circular line, is only two kilometers from the terminal at Yangon International Airport, an easy 1500 kyat taxi ride. Cut $7 off your airport taxi fare, if you have two hours to kill. If you’d rather have a guide to point out all the best stops and sights on this train tour, try the Yangon by Slow Train: Meet the Locals Tour. This English speaking guide will ride the train with you and show you things you might not find on your own.
Go for a walk, or sit for sunset drinks at Inya Lake.
Visit Sule Pagoda. Not as big or as ornate as Shwedagon Pagoda, Sule Pagoda is still an interesting and beautiful monument. And it is sure to be on your itinerary as it is the center of the city. Entry is 4,000 MKT ($2.53)
Shop at Bogyoke Aung San Market. Lots of antique handicrafts, clothing, and jewelery for sale. Open 8am to 530pm every day but Monday.
Take a day trip to the amazing Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on the Golden Rock of Mon State. Tours start at $63.
Travel onward to Inle Lake, Mandalay, and Bagan.
My Experience:
I arrived in Myanmar in March of 2009, when sanctions were still in place against the government, and almost zero tourists were in country. Myanmar has opened up to the world quite a bit since then, yet the cruelty and violations of human rights by the Myanmar government continues. Following are my impressions:
Burma is a country of amazing absurdity, vast corruption, and shocking cruelty.
After the 1988 uprising and the resulting international condemnation due to gunning down thousands of unarmed protesters, Burma’s new dictator changed the name of the country to Myanmar and changed Rangoon to Yangon. Ostensibly, his reasons were that “Burma” is a colonial name, and not representative of the populous of the country. More likely is that he hoped the fresh new name of Myanmar would not be easily associated with repression and death. Most citizens still refer to their country as Burma, as do many international organizations and nations.
Absurdity:
Burma’s government has an unfortunate habit of declaring its own banknotes to be worthless. In 1985, the 20, 50 and 100 kyat notes were de-monetized and replaced with new kyat notes in the bizarre denominations of 25, 35 and 75, chosen because of dictator Ne Win’s fondness for numerology. The 75-kyat note was introduced on his 75th birthday.
Only two years later, the government again demonetized the 25, 35 and 75 kyat notes with no prior warning, rendering some 75% of the country’s currency worthless. This time 15, 45 and 90-kyat notes was issued, incorporating Ne Win’s favorite number 9. The resulting erasure of people’s life savings led to serious riots and eventually the 1989 coup by yet another repressive general. In 2006 the Burmese government sets an arbitrary and ridiculous exchange rate of 6 kyats to the dollar. If you exchange dollars at any bank, that is the rate you’ll get. However, on the street, the exchange rate hovers around 1000 to the dollar, a mere 20,000% difference! Not surprisingly, the government-owned airlines, trains, and hotels don’t accept their own worthless kyat, only US dollars!
Burma’s time zone is set not one hour behind its neighbor Thailand, but a half-hour. Burma sees fit to break with the mold of time zone changes in one hour increments. Burma is one of only two nations in the world that do not use the metric system. I won’t mention the other one.
Vast Corruption:
In 2005 the reclusive and paranoid military junta moved Burma’s capital from Rangoon, a city of 5 million, and the hub of all economic activity, to tiny Naypyidaw, a remote mountainous region in the center of the country. The new capital is built like a fortress, and foreigners can only enter with pre-approval. No foreign embassies have been allowed to make the move. It is theorized that the government moved here to have a better chance to survive an American invasion by land, or a revolt by its neglected population.
Burma is ranked #178 on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. That means it is more corrupt than any nation in the world other than Somalia (which isn’t really a nation, but an anarchic Mad-Max like desert)
Burma is ranked fifth from last on personal freedoms by Freedom House. It squeaked by such vacation hot spots as Somalia, North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Burma is ranked last in Asia for per capita income by the World Bank, with an estimated annual income of $233 per person. That’s about 12 cents an hour for you forty-hour-a-week cubicle dwellers.
Foreign Policy magazine ranks Burma in a three-way tie with Sudan and Somalia for worst Human Rights violator in the world. I guess the junta needs to create a Burmese pirate navy to claim first outright.
Shocking Cruelty:
In 2008 the junta denied international aid to cyclone Nargis victims, adding thousands to a death toll of over 140,000. Government troops shot over 3,000 protesters in 1988, many of them unarmed monks and students. Slave labor camps are believed to exist in the north, no access is allowed to any outsiders to confirm. Burma is #2 in opium growing only to lovely Afghanistan. Burma is the only country who has jailed a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Knowing all this, I looked into the global opinions on the morality of visiting Burma. Many organizations promote a boycott of all tourism to Burma. Their argument is strong and compelling. I was fully aware that the government owns all domestic airlines, the trains, the ferries, and the top-end hotels. I did not know that thousands of Burmese have been forcibly relocated and/or enslaved in forced labor camps in order to upgrade popular tourist areas.
There is absolutely no denying that by visiting Burma, you are directly putting money into the hands of the junta. I’d be paying $20 for a tourist visa, $10 in departure tax, and $5 to visit the famed Shwedagon Stupa. To put it very clearly, that is at least $35 that I’ll be handing to a group of murderers and rapists. There is no getting around it. How do I justify that? I’m not sure I have the correct answer. I would be staying at a small privately-owned guesthouse. I’ll eat at only small street vendors. I will hire trishaw and taxi drivers. I’ll put dollars in the hands of regular folks. And I’ll make sure my contribution to the government is limited to getting in and out of the country. Is that enough? What else can I do?
Yangon Life:
Yangon is a sad, neglected, isolated city. Crumbling British colonial architecture abounds. The best buildings have been appropriated as government offices and freshly painted. The rest are disintegrating in place, untouched since the military dictatorship took over in the 60’s. It is the only city I’ve ever seen that has no evidence of American consumer products. There is no McDonalds, no KFC, not even Coca-Cola. For that matter there are no ATM’s, no tourist infrastructure, and no tourists.
I arrive at sparkling new Yangon International Airport and was quickly waved through immigration and customs. My first impression is that the Burmese are really skinny. I was met at the exit by an Indian man bearing a placard with my name on it. It really is such a wonderful thing to see someone holding up your name when you arrive bewildered in a strange land. It was even worth the $4 I know I overpaid in pre-arranging a taxi. Aru welcomed me to Burma with bloodshot eyes and red stained teeth. Chewing betel nut is popular here. He led me to his battered 1980 Nissan with tires so smooth and treadless, they may have been the original set. Though this was the most dilapidated taxi I had ever ridden in, it would prove to be the best I would see in Burma.
Just five minutes into the ride Aru turned to me and said “Do you know we have a Lady under house arrest here?” Not shy to tell me about Aung San Suu Kyi, he pointed out the street on which she is imprisoned. “Can we drive by?” I asked. “”No way, blocked off.” Instead I checked into my air-con, en suite bathroom, single room at the May Shan Hotel for the princely sum of $15, then set out to walk the city.
I struggled through the shattered sidewalks among throngs of Burmese, feeling extremely self-conscious. I received stares from nearly everyone I passed. Mine was the only white face in the street. Children pointed and hid behind their mothers. When I travel to Asia, I feel like I’m getting an insight into the life of an NBA player. I’m only 6’1″, but in Asia that makes me a freakish giant. No one wants to stand out as an obvious tourist, but it is unavoidable in Burma.
Yangon is fascinating to walk through. It is the most unusual city. The streets are packed with people selling everything imaginable. Yangon has no department stores, or hardware stores, or clothing stores. It has only tiny individually owned shops. There is one street selling screwdrivers. One big building is full of people working on 1950’s era sewing machines. Another street is all underwear sales.
It’s all very interesting, but if you tire and want to sit in a shaded cafe, sip a cappuccino, and watch the world go by, forget it. Yangon’s commerce caters to subsistence living. A hot meal from a street vendor is only 20 cents, but you’ll have to sit on a child size plastic chair to eat it, just inches away from bus exhaust on one side, and an open sewer on the other. These are not the quaint, delicious hawker food courts of Malaysia and Singapore. I couldn’t bring myself to risk the unrecognizable street food, so I walked and walked in hopes of finding and actual restaurant. Meanwhile, the mercury rose to 97.
I felt heat stroke was near, and sat on a kindergarten chair and drank an “Orange Crusher” soda. I passed orange robed monks, pink robed nuns, a few abaya clad women, and thousands of Longyi garbed, staring Burmese. Despite the poverty of Yangon, I saw no beggars, only nuns asking for alms.
Finally I reached the New Delhi restaurant. I was invited to pick any table by one of my six personal waiters. I was the New Delhi’s only customer. My curry was decent, and I was brought generous helpings of extra rice. Midway through the meal the power went out to the city. The TV in the corner clicked off. The fan spun silent. We all sat and stared out the window.
One item of pure beauty in Yangon is the world-renowned Shwedagon Pagoda. Anyone who has traveled extensively in South-East Asia will eventually suffer from wat-weariness or pagoda-paralysis aka Buddha-boredom. Buddhists build a lot of temples. They are everywhere, and Lonely Planet will convince you that unless you see at least 37 of them in each city, you are missing a cultural experience.
Well, I can say that if you only ever see just one Buddhist temple, make it Shwedagon. It’s the biggest, at 321 feet tall. It has 5,448 diamonds and 2,347 rubies, including a 76 carat diamond on top. Best of all, it is actually covered in gold! Several million dollars worth of gold plates cover the rounded part of the spire. I spent a couple of hours walking around it (clockwise of course) at sunset. My tour guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, though not so fluent in English. I had to ask him if he felt it was normal to have a hundred million dollars worth of gold and diamonds sitting here, while people are starving and homeless due to cyclone Nargis? He replied, “Yes, because the Shwedagon Paya will always be here for every generation, and one man’s life is short and temporary.”
Sunset brought a shocking blackness to Yangon. No streetlights, almost no lit businesses, no bars or restaurants, just darkness. The upheaved sidewalks, the crush of people, and the smell of fried crickets no longer seemed exotic, just frightening. I group of urchins approached me begging for money. A boy of six or so displayed his bleeding head wound for extra credit.
I retreated to the one tourist quality restaurant I had seen, the only building with lights for several blocks. I prefer to “eat where the locals eat” when I travel, but this would take courage and much sleuthing in Yangon. Here I felt like an alien from the future. With resignation, I gave in and stopped trying to bridge the gap.
Upon leaving the next morning, I noticed how empty the airport is. For a city of five million, mine was the only international flight leaving all morning. Yangon truly exists outside the world economy. A pariah, propped up only by China, India, Singapore, and Malaysia; no one comes here. Burma is on the outside looking in.
Things you Need to Know About Yangon:
Backpacker Daily Budget:
$20. Myanmar travel is extremely cheap. You can get hostel beds for $5, great street food meals for $2, draft Myanmar beer for a dollar, and ride the train for 13 cents. It is a backpacker paradise.
Cheap Beer index:
$0.75 A draft mug of cold Myanmar beer is only 1200MKK!
Best time for Myanmar travel:
It is HOT year round in Yangon. You want to go during the winter dry season of November through April, with highs of 90 to 99, but almost no rain. June-July-August brings cooler temps at 86 degrees, but torrential monsoon downpours, averaging a massive 22 inches of rain per month!
What languages are spoken?
Burmese is the dominant language in Yangon. English is a common second language. It is spoken minimally and displayed on billboards and in stores. Tourism industry workers generally speak enough English to make basic conversation.
Do you need a Myanmar visa?
YES. Visas ARE required for nationals of USA, UK, AUS, and CAN. You must get a tourist eVisa before arriving. Once you apply, the eVisa is issued within 3 working days, is valid for 90 days from the date of issue, and allows a stay for up to 28 days. The fee is US$50.
Getting to Yangon:
- The most likely way to arrive is to via the Yangon International Airport (RGN). Roundtrip flights Yangon to Bangkok are as cheap as $87 and take just 75 minutes. Singapore to Yangon flights can be found for $138 and take 3 hours.
- Private airport shuttle – $13 Have a driver holding a sign board with your name on it when you arrive.
- Taxi – From Yangon International Airport it is a 30 minute taxi ride to the city center for 8,000-12,00MKK ($5-$8).
- Yangon Airport Shuttle – There is a now a Yangon Bus Service that has two routes into the city. The fare is only 500 MMK (30 cents) per person. The fare is paid on board the bus. You need exact change and will insert money into a metal box which can be found near the driver.
- Learn how to fly to Yangon for free on my page: Nine Steps to Free Flights Worldwide.
- You can also arrive overland from Thailand at any of three border crossings with your eVisa. It is possible to get from Yangon to Bangkok in about 24 hours by bus. Start at Bangkok’s Mo Chit northern bus terminal. Get a bus to Mae Sot. This will take 7 hours and cost about 350 baht ($11). From the Mae Sot bus station catch a songthaew pickup-truck for 50baht ($1.50) to the Thai side of the border. Clear Thai immigration and walk across the Thai-Myanmar bridge. Clear Myanmar immigration on the other side in Myawaddy town. Remember to set your watch BACK a half-hour. Then get a bus ticket to Yangon. This bus will take 10-12 hours and cost 15,000kyat ($10). You’ll be dropped off at Yangon’s Aung Mingalar bus station. From here, it’s another 30 minutes to the center of town. You can get a taxi for 10-15,000kyat ($7-10). If you’ve added all that up, you’ll see that it’s not much cheaper to go by bus than to fly, but you’ll get to see some great scenery along the way. You could do the same journey from Chiang Mai to Yangon in less time as it is a couple of hours closer to Mae Sot.
- There is one open border crossing with China at Ruili/Lashio; but it requires a special permit you must pick up in Kunming, China to cross.
- There is one open border crossing with India at Moreh/Tamu; but it requires a special permit you must pick up in Yangon to cross.
- The borders with Bangladesh and Laos are both CLOSED.
Getting around Yangon:
You can see a lot in Yangon by walking, but it is a big, spread-out city of six million, and eventually you’ll need transport.
- Taxis don’t have a meter and you need to negotiate before getting in. Rides are cheap, you should not pay more than 5000MKK ($3). Be prepared to ride in what looks like a war-torn 1990’s Toyota with 300,000+ miles, bald tires, and no upholstery. Traffic is thick and it could take a half-hour to go 2 miles.
- Grab is the Uber of Southeast Asia, and it has arrived in Myanmar. Download the app, and you can book rides from anywhere, to anywhere, at a set price, avoiding getting stuck with the “foreigner price”. This is your best option.
- Public Bus There is a bus system for just pennies a ride, but good luck figuring it out as all information is in Burmese script, and no drivers will speak English.
- Foreigners are not permitted to self-drive anywhere in Myanmar, and motorbikes are banned in Yangon.
Myanmar Currency and how to get it:
Myanmar is largely a cash based economy. Kyat (1,576 kyat = $1USD) (pronounced chut) are available at ATM’s and money changers. You should bring some crisp USD to change, just in case the power is out and ATM’s are down. Burmese will only accept US Dollars with no rips or markings on them, and even then, only the latest series of note. Leave home note with ink marks from teller machines, wrinkled bills, or bills older than 2013. Exchange money only at permanent banks or exchange offices, there is no need to exchange with dodgy street people. The days of black market rates for the kyat are long gone. For more info on your cash-versus-credit card options when travelling, check out my post on How to Access your Money in Foreign Countries.
Time in Myanmar:
Myanmar has an odd time zone setting. It is at GMT+ 6:30. That puts it a half-hour ahead of Bangladesh, and a half hour behind Thailand.
Stay Connected:
There are three telecom providers in Myanmar:
- MPT For tourists visiting Myanmar they sell a special SIM only at the MPT Shop in Yangon International Airport in both terminals. You pay 10,000 Ks. for the starter and get 1.5 GB data and 5,000 Ks. calling credit valid for 10 days. Data over the package is billed at their default rate of 6 Ks. per MB.
- Ooredoo
- Telenor They sell a Tourist SIM in Yangon International Airport for 15,000 kyats ($10), you get 5 GB data and 50 local minutes to all networks for 14 days. This is the best deal going for tourists.
- For more info on your telecom options, check out my post on How to Get Cheap Mobile Phone Service Worldwide.
Yangon hotels and hostels:
For a city that had no hostels just a decade ago, Yangon city now has dozens of brand-new hostels that are well-reviewed, and amazingly cheap. Yangon hotels are also a good deal:
- 501 Merchant B&B has dorm beds with breakfast for $5. It has A/C, free wi-fi, and is sparkling clean. It’s in the center of the action, so there is some street noise.
- Shwe Yo Vintage Hostel has dorm beds with breakfast for $5. It has A/C, free wi-fi, and is sparkling clean. Shwe Yo is centrally located, but quiet. It has daily activities like market visits. Highly recommended.
- Hostel9 has dorm beds for $6. It has A/C and free wi-fi. This is the party hostel of Yangon. It has a cool rooftop bar with views of the city skyline. They arrange pub crawls. Fun times.
- The Strand Hotel Yangon is the place to be if you really want to splurge. For less than $300 a night, you can gen an opulent room in one of the most historic hotels in Asia, opened in 1901.
Yangon food:
Popular restaurants with cheap eats include:
- Shan Kitchen (Burmese)
- Wai Wai’s Noodle Place,
- Green Gallery (Thai)
- Vedge Indian Restaurant
- Union Bar & Grill Yangon is a cool bar / steakhouse /mexican restaurant.
You can get great dumplings, noodles at the many tea houses you’ll see everywhere. This might be the cheapest “fast-food” option. Want to try a food tour? For $36, the Evening Streets by Night Food Walking Tour will have a guide take you through the night markets to sample the best local food.
Yangon Nightlife:
Yangon is not known for being a late-night city. It gets quiet early.
The main streets have tiny “beer stations” selling draft Myanmar Beer at under a dollar. These stations will have only Burmese men drinking and chewing betel nut. There will be no women, and probably no foreigners, but you will be welcome.
There are a few places expats and tourists hang out: Backpackers might start at Hostel9’s roof bar. 50th Street Bar & Grill, has half-price beer every day from 6-8pm & has a pool table, dart board, foosball & shuffleboard. For big spenders, there is the historic Sarkies Bar at the Strand , or rooftop lounge Yangon Yangon.
Get a Myanmar guidebook:
What to Pack:
Bring long pants and long-sleeve shirts to enter temples. You cannot get in to the Shwedagon Pagoda in shorts. You’ll be forced to buy an overpriced longyi for $5. Bring a headlamp for walking at night. Yangon is DAAAAARK at night, and those broken sidewalks have bottomless holes of death. Sunscreen and bug spray will come in handy. To learn how to pack light and be prepared for anything, check out my post The Worldwide Travel Packing List.
Is Yangon safe?
Quite safe. Violent crime is almost unheard of, and there are harsh penalties for stealing or pickpocketing. Here are some tips for Yangon safety:
Scams: The most common hassle you might deal with is touts seeking commissions. These are unseen payments taxi drivers get to steer you towards a certain hotel, restaurant or store. Be wary of their claims that your chosen place is ‘no good’. Know where you want to go, persist and they’ll take you.
If you are leaving overland, police and border officials may try to detain you due to “a problem with your paperwork” for a bribe. It is up to you if you want to remain resolute in denying the problem, or pay them the small amount they are looking for (usually only a dollar or two). This doesn’t happen at the airport.
Watch out for “fake monks”. If you see a guy dressed in orange robes with a basket who is only asking foreigners for food or money, that is not a monk. True Theravada monks do not beg in the streets randomly. You’ll also see some lounging around at the Shwedagon Pagoda offering to talk or show you how to pray properly for money.
Open Sewers: Yangon has a 19th century open-sewer system on the sides of streets. It can make for some unpleasant smells in the heat of the day, but worse, an open tile can result in an infected broken leg. Watch where you are walking! Have a headlamp at night.
Special Laws: Depictions of Buddha deemed inappropriate or offensive can get put you in jail or get you deported. Cover any Buddha tattoos. Homosexuality is illegal in Myanmar. The authorities take it very seriously, and aren’t afraid to enforce the law if necessary.
When you are ready to book your trip, be sure to use the best booking sites:
Book Your Flight:
Find your flight using Momondo.com. It is the best airfare search engine, as it finds the cheapest flights, and will find ALL the flights. (Here’s the proof.)
Book Your Accommodation:
Choose your lodging using Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates. (Here’s the proof.)
Get Travel Insurance:
You can’t afford to travel without travel insurance. Car accidents, illnesses, and theft do happen. It could save your life. I never travel without it. I use World Nomads.
Need Some Gear?
Check out my Worldwide Travel Packing List for the best travel gear for your adventures. I’ve already read all the online reviews, and tested it all out, so you can just click and buy the best stuff.
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