Myanmar Culture & NatureYANGON (Rangoon)Yangon was formally a village called Dagon. Having captured
it in 1755 from the Mon people by King Alaungpaya It was renamed
“Yangon" meaning “End of Strife”. After the annexation of the
lower Myanmar by the British in 1852, they turned this village
into a major port and started constructing major buildings in
1870 with the well known and magnificent structures still
standing in excellent condition in the centre of the City.
Yangon, which was anglicized as Rangoon by British, is the
formal capital of Myanmar, situated about 22 miles from the sea.
And it is also the main port of entry into the country by sea
and air. Yangon is one of the most attractive cities in the
East, with evergreen tropical trees, shady parks, beautiful
lakes and golden stupas and widely known for having the most
extensive variety of urban colonial architecture in Southeast
Asia. Yangon is also noted for lying in the shadow of Great
Shwedagon Pagoda, the largest Pagoda of its kind in the world
and the most revered religious site in Myanmar, rising to a
height of 326 feet from the hill standing close to the heart of
the city. The present day Yangon covers over 350 sq .km and has
a population of over 5 million. WHERE TO GO—SIGHTSEEING IN YANGON & ITS ENVIRONSShwedagon Pagoda
Sula Pagoda
Botahtaung Pagoda
Chaukhtatgyi reclining Buddha Image
National Museum
Bogyoke Market (Scott)
Downtown
YANGON’S ENVIRONSTHANLYIN (Syriam)
TWANTETwante, situated on the Bank of the Twante canal, is a
two-hour drive by boat and an hour drive by car from Yangon. The
boat trip will give you excellent opportunity to see the rural
life of the local people living along the canal. Being famous
for its pottery industries, it is now visited by tourists. PATHEIN
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Towering
almost 100 meters above the green cityscape of Yangon, the
Shwedagon Pagoda is the landmark visible from miles around. One
of the wonders of the world, it is believed to have been built
over 2500 years ago. The hair relic of the Gautama Buddha and
other relics of the three previous Buddhas were enshrined in it.
Successive kings had enlarged the Pagoda during the period of
from 15th to 18th century. The final enlargement of the Pagoda
was carried out by Queen Shin Saw Pu, rising to the height of
326 ft.
Located
right in the center of the Yangon city is Sule pagoda built over
2000 years ago. As many other ancient pagodas, it has been
rebuilt and repaired many time. It is also believed that a hair
relic of the Buddha was enshrined according to its Mon name
“Kyaik Athok” meaning the pagoda where a sacred hair relic of
the Buddha over 2000 years ago.
Situated
on the bank of the Yangon River, Bo means military leader and
Tahtaung means a thousand. Thousand of military leader came
there to welcome and escort the hair relics of the Buddha
brought from India over 2500 years ago. Later a pagoda was built
on the site where the sacred hairs were welcomed. It was
completely destroy during WW II and rebuilt in 1948. Most of the
pagodas in Myanmar are solid but Botahtaung is hollow inside
like a temple. So visitor can walk through it.
Situated
north east of Shwedagon pagoda is Chauk Htat Gyi Reclaiming
Buddha Image (72 m) long, one of the largest Buddha Images long.
Original image was built by Sir Po Thar in 1970 and damaged due
to climate over the years. 
National
Museum, situated southwest of Shwedagon Pagoda, stands now on
Pyay Road. The old museum was first at Jubilee hall on Shwedagon
pagoda road. In 1970, it was moved to and housed on Pansodan
road till 1994. It has five stories and has rich collections of
antiques, cultural objects, arts and handicrafts of national
races and the royal regalia, traditional musical instruments and
paintings are on display. National Museum is the place where the
national and cultural heritages of the entire nation are well
preserved. 
It
was formally called Scott Market named after Mr. Jarvin Scott,
Rangoon Municipal Commissioner during the British colonial
government. After the independence in 1948, the name has been
changed to Bogyoke Aung Sun as the honour of our national
leader, General Aung Sun, who fought for the independence
against British. Local as well as imported household materials,
textiles, lacquer wares, silverwares, sculptures, jewelries and
gifts are available. It is open on every day except on Monday. 
Being
geographically and commercially the heart of the city, you can
reach by bus every part of the city easily from there. Most of
the tourists start their city tours at the right center of the
city, opposite the Town Hall with the visit of Sule Pagoda. When
you arrive at the center point of the city, you can find
simultaneously the City Hall, the Immigration office, Immanuel
Baptist Church and High Court Building. It is an ideal place for
those who want to take pictures of these buildings built during
the colonial time. 
Located
about 40 km away from Yangon is Thanlyin, once occupied by the
Portuguese in the early 17th Century as a trading port, with the
old buildings standing in evidence of that during the reign of
Portuguese. It is a forty-five minute drive from Yangon. Before
entering the town, cross the 1882 meters long bridge spanning
the Bago River. Places worth visiting are kyaik-khauk Pagoda,
Heindu Temple, Phadagyi Pagoda and kyauktan (Ye-le) Pagoda. If
you have time in Yangon, don’t miss making the half day
excursion to the small town.
The
third biggest city of the country and the capital of Ayeyarwaddy
division is Pathein. About 180 km (four hour drive) from Yangon,
It is the main gate way to very famous beaches in Myanmar. Ngwe
Saung beach and Chaung Thar beach are not far from Pathein.
Pathein umbrella and Halawar ( traditional snack) are well known
in Myanmar. Other places of interest are Shwemoutdaw pagoda and
Mawtinzun pagoda. 
