10 interesting and fun facts about Yangon – Myanmar

1.Yangon is the former capital city

Yangon was the formal capital of Myanmar from 1948 to 2005 until Naypyidaw was proclaimed the new independent capital by the Government in 2005. Yangon is literally means ‘end of dangers’, which was the name given by King Alaungpaya in 1755.

Yangon is originally a small fishing village called Rangoon, where people lived around the big pagoda called Swhedagon Pagoda. Nowadays, Yangon is still considered one of the the largest city and the industrial and commercial city of the country.

Yangon and Bagan are the main tourists attractions in Myanmar because of the plenty of gorgeous pagodas and its unique culture. People call Yangon “the city of Golden Pagodas” because the city is home of many mysterious pagodas, and the biggest pagoda is Swhedagon Pagoda which is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites and a must- see spot for all tourists when travelling to Myanmar. Some recommended places in Yangon:

• Shwedagon pagoda
• Pansodan road
• Bogyoke Aung San Market
• Botataung pagoda
• A stroll through downtown Yangon

2.  Yangon is a very old city

Yangon, former name is Rangoon, in my first impression is a very old city. Yangon is the 19- century British colonial capital. Most of the buildings were constructed in 1990s, that’s why you can see how old the buildings are and even the transportation like cars, trains, bicycles, motorbikes, etc. Other than that, Sule Pagoda is over 2,000 years old and Swhedagon Pagoda was constructed more than 2600 years ago.

Wandering around the city gives me a feeling like a real journey exploring a historical city where people are really kind and welcome all strangers and tourists. People are still wearing sarong and longyi and they are comfortable with walking barefoot.

We spent a day to wander around the city and enjoy the street food. In the afternoon, we took the train to explore the further areas in the city. The train was in old and bad condition without doors and windows, the train’s sofa was almost damaged. We sat at the entrance and enjoyed Yangon’s life along the railway since it moved quite slow. We did stop at some local markets and enjoyed the food there. Local people were really curious about tourists and always kept smiling with us.

3. It is a must to dress appropriately at the religious sites

Myanmar is a Buddhist country, there is 98% of the population following and practicing Buddhist. Thus, there is plenty of pagodas around Myanmar.

Dress code is a must for all visitors to enter the pagoda, the rules can be a bit relaxed in Thailand or Indonesia but in Myanmar, if you dress inappropriately, you cannot enter the holy site. Knees and shoulder need to be covered and shoes have to be taken off. If you don’t bring any clothes to covers, you are asked to rent a sarong to cover your knees and shoulders before entering the holy site.

Besides, remember to follow all the rules in the pagodas, avoid touching a monk’s robes, monk’s head or even handshake, do not disturb meditating people, do not enter restricted areas and do not show affection in public since Myanmar is still a conservative country.

4. Men wear skirts (Longyi)

Myanmar is an eye – opening experience for anyone visiting the country, especially the way how they dress. In Yangon and all other parts of Myanmar I suppose, men wear either trousers or Longyi. Actually it is not a skirt, it is a sheet of cloth tied around the waist, worn by both men and women. And It is actually their daily looks or even their formal outfits , the longyi is somehow very suitable and comfortable in the summer with the temperature up to 40 degree in Yangon.

Depend of the patterns and fabrics, there are 2 main types of longyi: Paso is man’s Longyi and Htamain is women’s Longyi. You can find longyi or sarong in many other Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, some parts of Malaysia, etc.

5. Apply Thanaka mask to protect the face

Local people use thanaka mask for over 2000 years for several reasons, it is seemly like beauty cosmetic for women in Myanmar and it is also used as sun cream for cooling the skin and avoid the sunburn of the hot weather here. Thanaka face mask has been used by almost everyone in the country, from the young to the old, from man to women.

Thanaka is a yellowish powder made of thanaka tree. People mixed it with water and apply on their face or sometimes even their forehead, their nose, their arms. Nowadays, thanaka becomes a multi-purpose powder and cultural tradition of the country.

6. Driving is chaotic

In 1970, Myanmar made a super change from driving from the left side to driving on the right side of the road. 

There are a lot of cars in Yangon while the street is not big enough. In the rush hour time, the traffic become chaotic and crazy, you should avoid booking your flight around the rush hour. Peak hour is from 7-9 am and 4-7 pm in the evening. A 10 minutes trip could become a 2 hours trip because of the traffic. And usually, the traffic become worse because many drivers do not obey the traffic rules and drive carelessly without caring the safety of other road users.

7. MOST PUBLIC BATHROOM DON’T HAVE TOILET PAPER

In Yangon, the squat toilets are the norm and usually set behind a house. Some public toilets charge a small fee for using it.

It was hard for us to find a public toilet in Yangon, if yes, then the toilet was not really clean and there was no toilet paper. There are a number of street food vendors, street cafes in Yangon without toilet. So, always remember to go toilet before you leave your guesthouse and bring the antibacterial gel and tissue with you ALL the time. 

8. There is no elevators for most high buildings

As I mentioned, Yangon is a very old city with a lot high buildings without elevators. When wandering around the downtown you can easily come across these buildings with a basket-rope like in the picture on the right.

Without lifts, people are not willing to frequently go up and and down, and that’s how the ideas come out. People use a rope with a basket, so that others can put food or whatever things they need in the basket. And all they need to do is just pull it up. That’s very creative and funny, right?! 😅

9. Street food is everywhere

Myanmar food has been influenced by their neighbor countries like China, India, Thai and ethnic minorities. Yangon street food vendors are mobile every few hours.

Most restaurants and food vendors are on the 19th street or in the China town, however you can walk around the city and experience new things that no other tourists did before. We did take the train and stopped at a local market, and it was totally an interesting food trip. The authentic local food there is very cheap, and the people are super friendly.

A list of some delicious street food in Yangon that you do not want to miss:

• Wat Thar Doke Htoe (Pork sticks): The pig internal organs like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, tongue, meat, skin are cut into small pieces and spiked with wooden sticks and dipped into hot oil.

• E Kya Kway: Chinese-style churros is fried in the hot oil and people usually eat with porridge for the breakfast.

• Mont Lin Ma Yar: kind of muffin cake with toppings such as quail eggs, green onion and other ingredients.

• Shwe Kyi: kind of sweet cakes with coconut taste and sometimes add-in walnuts or raisin inside. I can find similar cake in Malaysia and Vietnam.

10. Local people understand you even they don’t speak your language

Yangon people blew us away with their friendliness and hospitality. The people is the highlight of our trip, everyone seems to be there to help. Staying in Yangon for almost a week, we received a lot of help and smiles from the locals. 

I remember one night when we took a taxi to a well-known restaurant in Yangon for our late-dinner, but unfortunately, the restaurant was close early that night. The people in the restaurant immediately recommended us another restaurant and one waiter happily gave us a ride to the restaurant. We were very happy and surprised with their kindness.

Another funny story, when we stopped by a local food vendor and decided to eat street food, eight of us could totally finish her vendor just in a few minutes, the owner was very happy and kept talking with us by her language. Whatever we asked her, she replied like she understood our language. This interesting conversion between 2 different languages was one of the most beautiful memory of our trip.😅😘

Hope you have a great trip which is fulfilled with sweet memories. 💟💟