Summer in Rangoon (aka Yangon)

We flew into Yangon (formerly Rangoon) on a hot, steamy March evening.  After sailing through customs and grabbing our bags, we were pleased to find that someone from our hotel - the Ocean Pearl Inn - was there to pick us up as promised.  Heck, they even had our names on a sign!  After the 45 minute drive into town we arrived to see our home for the next three nights as we settled into Burmese life.

Chad is excited about the mildew stains on the roof and the urine smell permeating our room!  Happily, we switched the next morning.

We set out the next day to explore the city.  It is Burma's biggest, at about 5 million people (though no one trusts the government's statistics so this is a guess), and was a great place to get a taste of the country.  Some things are definitely different than the places we've been so far.

Bamboo scaffolding only, even at the fanciest hotel in town (The Strand).

Free drinking water is available everywhere, though the communal cups offered (and questionable purification) meant we were buying bottled water from the stores.  You may be able to see that this tree is painted gold - there's a shrine on the left hand side.

This sign at the train station was not particularly helpful.  Though I appreciate the "Warmly Welcome & Take Care of Tourists" note at the bottom!

Sule Paya, a 2,000 year old golden temple, sits in the city's main traffic circle.  Not your average city center.

Everything we had heard about the Burmese people is pretty much true.  They were amazingly friendly and quick to smile and say hello.  The girls in the photo below stopped and asked us to take their picture.  We said sure and went to get their camera, until we realized that they wanted to take pictures with us!  They took turns linking arms with Chad and I and smiling broadly.

Chad may never forgive me for blurring this picture of his rock star moment.

Of course, Chad would be trying out all kinds of street food over the next couple weeks, and got started in Yangon.  Unfortunately for me, Burma is the nuttiest place I have ever been in my life (overtaking the spot formerly occupied by Gaziantep (Turkey), and China before that).  So I had to live vicariously through Chad, 

Trying out Burmese street food our first morning.

Burma has a big Indian population, and the strawberry lassis are apparently quite refreshing (sadly I couldn't have them because they contain almond powder).

The Burmese New Year and annual Water Festival is coming up in April.  On a side street filled with toy markets we saw bags and bags of plastic water guns ready for sale for the festivities.

At Bogyoke Aung San Market I bought a wrap skirt and Chad bought a longyi - put most simply, a skirt for men.  Although some men in Burma wear pants, most still wear a longyi.  The women are very put together in brightly coloured skirts full-length skirts and usually-matching tops.

Later in the day, Chad rocks his longyi with the rest of the Burmese folks.

[Note from Chad: a longyi is a big tube of cloth that you tuck in at the front (no knots, just a twist).  Tying it so that it looks right and stays on is a bit of an art.  Lacking confidence in my wrapping skills, I made sure to wear underclothes the first day in case of unexpected malfunction.  But after that, I was breezy like the locals in the Burmese heat.]

Tea houses are a big part of Burmese life - they serve tea and snacks until the late afternoon when they shut for the day.  We found a good tea house with great dosais (more Indian food!) that we returned to a couple times.

That afternoon we went to Shwedagon Paya, probably Burma's most popular attraction for foreign tourists and locals alike.  It is the most sacred Buddhist site in Burma and was quite busy the night we were there with Burmese families picnicking and walking about.  The beautiful golden stupa is covered with gold leaf (several tons, apparently) and sparkles in the sunlight.

The main, massive gold-covered stupa.  Chad's St. Patrick's Day wear wasn't totally in keeping with his Buddhist surroundings.

An awesome first day, with more adventure to follow!