Yangon Hotel Reviews
Yangon is not a city made for pleasing a tourist. I suggest to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda and leave as soon as possible for Bagan or any other classic touristic destination in Myanmar. I also made a weak attempt to visit places around Yangon (e.g. Twante), but after waiting for a couple of hours the ferry on a dilapidated jetty I gave up.
Yangoon is an interesting city with the old Asian charm. people still dress up in the traditional sarong and the lungi. This is the Asia of the 1960s I grew up in, but no more found in many parts of the continent.
Yangon is hardly the highlight of a trip to Myanmar but it is likely the last place where you will find a salad or a drink after 11pm before embarking to more interesting destinations such as Mandalay and Bagan. We used taxis to get around which proved more of a challenge than expected as The Sofitel had just changed names from The Equitorial and none of the taxi drivers recognized the destination.
The best way to get around is to walk off the grounds of the hotel and get a cab. The people at the front desk suggested we do this, since the hotel cabs are more expensive. Good restaurants are found in the hotel. We went to the Strand, which had delicious food, but was outragously expensive. Go to the big temple in Yangoon (I don''t remember the name right now) at sunrise and walk around for a few hours. After the sun comes up, it gets very smoggy and polluted in town. A good restaurant, if you want to leave the hotel area is called the Green Elephant.
Near the city center and just south of Shwedagon, perfectly located.
Yangon is a delightfully green leafy city with excellent restaurants and cafes- we ate at the lakeside restaurants including the Dolphin seafood restaurant, the Strand and the Pansea French restaurant. We visted art galleries in the Bahan district and the National Museum. Yangon is an excellent city for buying new and antique laquerware, silverware, silk, jewelry including pearls, rubies, sapphires, etc.
Recommeded: Thai Restaurant ''Sabai Sabai'' (located opposite of Savoy Hotel).<br><br> Getting around from Sofitel very good: most places of interest not far (either walking or short trip by taxi).
First trip to Myanmar, will not visit again until government changes it''s policies.
Just a few minutes walk from the hotel to the famous Bogyoke Market. 10-15 minutes walk to the Sule Pagoda. With hotel limousine we went to Bago for 6 hours and payed 98 USD. (Taxi in Yangon is very cheap but the cars are miserable and very old, so for a tour you need a good car.)
Yangon, and Myanmar as a whole, is a diamond in the rough and should be experienced.
All destinations in town are easily accessible from the hotel. Thai-Malay-Restaurant in Inya Lan offers good food. Sabai-Sabai also.
I took the standard yangon-mandalay-bagan route, and agents recommend that this circuit be done in two day increments for each city. i would say that yangon and mandalay can be done in about a day, and i would recommend that the majority of your time should be spent in bagan and the surrounding towns, as such attractions as inle lake. yangon and mandalay was quite polluted and not worth more than a day each.
Rangoon/Yangon is best seen in 2 days. The ShweDagon is nice as was Bago (a day trip). The constant car horns were maddening. Make sure you have a Taxi that has not only a seatbelt but one that works (the hotels cars I rode in did, except for 1). If you want to read while in Burma, you need 2 bring it with you, there are no bookstore 2 speak of.
You can do Yangon in about two days--temples & sights one day, shopping at the markets the next. Use it as a stop before & after seeing the real sights at Mandalay & Bagan. Contact Y & A tours for an excellent guide to not only Yangon, but all of Myanmar.
I found spending an hour around sunset at Shwedagon Pagaoda a unique experience ...and went twice. Don't want to say too much but it is a must! Don't miss happy hour cocktails at the Strand -- great value for money.