My ASEAN Free GPS Map Project

Myanmar is country #49 (if I've been counting correctly) and the final (#10) Asean country for me to visit. Have always been wanting to see the pagodas of Bagan, the Irrawaddy, the Shwe Dagon, the British Burma, etc, etc, so here goes ...



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Myanmar drives on the right or left?

tympg wrote:Myanmar drives on the right or left?

Right side of road, switch from left done in 1972, thanks to some astrologer's advice to the military bosses. But many cars, brought 2nd-hand from Japan, are right-hand drive. So the ppl are adept at driving right-hand-drive car on the right side of the road.

Yangon Airport RGN

Airside, main facade with new international terminal to the right, completed 2007.


The new international terminal wing.


On the other side, the old terminal, now solely used for domestic flights.


Landside, as you approach the international terminal.


At the entrance gate.


Check-in area.


After check-in go up escalators or staircases for immigration and departure to find this huge impressive mural at the landing.


Gracefully painted.


Beautifully rendered.


From departure level, can view concourse on lower level for arriving passengers to clear immigration and to collect baggage.


Also from departure level, can observe arriving and departing ppl below.


On schedule we are.


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very nice painting..

Yangon Airport RGN (cont'd)

Just past immigration counters (which is a quick process, thanks to two officers per station, comprising mainly polite smiling young ladies), the concourse has a mix of normal duty free shops and a mini-bazaar.


The only cafe, serving local and foreign dishes.


I just have to stop for a final bowl of mohinga, said to be Myanmar's national dish. It's rice vermicelli immersed in a sweetish, creamy, spicy fish broth. Just dump all the garnishings into the bowl, and it's heavenly.


Past the cafe, another mini-bazaar. Prices are pretty good so any last minute souvenir-hunting can be done here.


This is the best spot to while your time, monitor the flights while watching planes ... and other people.


Finally down the escalator/staircase to the lounge before boarding the plane. Nice pleasant airport, this Yangon International. Love it.


THE END

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Wow... contrary to popular beliefs, Yangoon Airport look very "modern"..

amamat wrote:Wow... contrary to popular beliefs, Yangoon Airport look very "modern"..

Considering the international isolation, they've done quite well. Vietnam in the early 90s during the American embargo was even worse.

Instalment #1 -- "Yangon International Airport RGN", pls click: http://m.naim.my/yangon-international-airport-rgn/

Instalment #2 -- "The Market at Nyaung U", pls click: http://m.naim.my/the-market-at-nyaung-u/


EXCERPTS

Out the window, my first sight of Bagan — in the hot season, a parched, dusty plain littered with 3,100 thousand-year-old temples, ranging from car-shed size to pyramidal, the subject of my mission.


Out of the airport, and I better get used to this.


A young lady, with the mandatory thanaka on her cute little cheeks, minds the shop. She’s selling stuff to be munched with betel leaves (in basket bottom-left), still a favourite with the Burmese.


Novice nuns from a monastery nearby do their alms-collection round. A daily routine, this is their sustenance for the day. Reminds me of Puteri Umno, hahaha!


Pls continue reading the full story here: http://m.naim.my/the-market-at-nyaung-u/

Thanks!

Now on my website: Instalment #3 -- "Pagoda-Climbing and Lunch at the Irrawaddy", pls click: http://m.naim.my/pagoda-climbing-and-lu ... irrawaddy/


EXCERPTS

Sure enough, soon after they wrapped the long yellow cloth around the dome, somebody starts throwing money into the air — 200-baht notes! Everybody scrambles to chase the flying cash, adults and kids alike. Apparently many Thais make pilgrimages to sacred Buddhist shrines in Myanmar and this is probably a votive offering I’m witnessing.


It’s common to find these stalls outside the major temples. Summer school holidays have just started so there are kids helping out parents to sell stuff. They speak good English, but their scripts sound similar — there must be a standard manual somewhere on how to entice visitors to part with their cash. One small girl tries her best to sell me some postcards but I decline. In desperation I suppose, she blurts out, sir, you are very handsome! — I fish 1,000 kyat out of my pocket for a stack of postcards.


It’s a steep 30m climb to the 3rd level — we have to virtually crawl up the steps. A torrid noon, and the bricks are baking hot. Not good for our soles, but should be good for our souls, hahaha!


This is the Bagan I first saw some 10 years ago in a picture. The seemingly endless peaks of the stupas rising from the ground are a sight to behold. This is better than Angkor Wat or Borobodur or Prambanan.


Please read the full story here: http://m.naim.my/pagoda-climbing-and-lu ... irrawaddy/

Thanks!

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