Old Rangoon City Center

Old Rangoon (Yangon) City Center

Exploring the colonial-style Rangoon city center which rather reminds to Calcutta and not South East Asia /ASEAN plus other things to do. 

Starting at the Sule Pagoda which the British designated as the center when they rebuilt the city (entrance fee $ 5,-), it’s enough to watch from outside there is Chindwin River sources.

are in the remote tracts of Tibetan Himalaya offshoots at the border India. A great sceneryabsolute nothing interesting inside. People say it was built over 2,000 years ago but there is no evidence there are plenty of legends in Myanmar.

A Yangon City Day Tour

Shwedagon Pagoda    Flower Market    Anawratha Road    Yangon Harbor    Kandawgyi Fire    Bogyoke Market    Yangon Nightlife    Yangon City    Mahabandoola Street / Garden

Strolling down the dirty roads is like a time machine turns you back to the time when the British occupied the country. A good idea would be to take a breathing mask with since the exhaust from the stinking buses, trucks, and cars is awful. The whole is ambivalent on the one side the interesting nostalgic feeling and on the other the mess of a totally rotten environment.

The British made a grid layout

Here are stylish Victorian Houses 

When the English moved from Mandalay to then Rangoon they rebuilt the city during colonial times. This was one of their best actions they ever have done in the country because otherwise it probably would look like chaotic Bangkok where nothing has ever being planned.

A walk through the street could be the best to somehow understand the situation since everything relevant to Yangon (Rangoon) is reflected here. That means the organization of the town which is just the medieval way they had in Europe and still today in India and similar. Where the book printers are clusters around 3x Street. The small clinics and pharmacies right before.

Maha Bandoola Park and City Hall

Flower shops in between, shoe repair and opticians around 38 Street and City Hall plus Maha Bandoola Park open up the whole around 100 meters north of the Yangon River banks. 

Here the ferries leave to cross the wide waterway and the Pazungtaung Creek is to the east.

Colonial style along the road including the minister’s office (pictured above) which is a pretty brick structure with all nostalgic elements as it was in London's 19th century.  This is the center of the city and great Buddhist shrines are around such as the Sule and Botataung Pagoda. A bit to west General Electric installed in 2013 a big electricity generation power unit which brought the long missing spark to the city.

This is somehow a horizontal mall over several kilometers. Fishes and other seafood are piled up on large plates but most food stuff is laid out without any ice, which is quite dangerous considering the immense tropical heat.

Here feel the Yangon city beat

Roadside flowers shops

Many street markets are along Anawratha Road and around Sule Pagoda in the city center and the intersection. But as usual in this part of the world an avalanche of stinky buses and cars moves through.

The boardwalk is full of fast street food vendors who usually sell all kind of skewer, there are open-air fruit and flower stalls and a plenty of cheap Chinese stuff including clothes, shoes, and household items is sold over the counter.

The buildings are a legacy of the British and a typical fix-points for an old Yangon city tour. 

When the British moved in to restructure Rangoon the result was what we can see today. Since the people who actually did the work according to their plans came from India it is clearly visible today that they planted their roots into the architecture.

Just walk around downtown and enjoy many views similar to Bombay or Calcutta, also the structure of the different quarters is the same. All this old style living definitely gives it's charming, but this heritage might be gone soon since nobody takes care of it. It is also very visible at the old Burma Railway terminal.

Walking through the old City Center of Rangoon

A day trip through Myanmar's main city which rather reminds to Calcutta and not South East Asia plus other things to do. 

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is the most famous in the country. Every day pilgrim come from everywhere in the country and other countries to pay respect  or are just curious what's up here and get a real surprise since this is huge, read more.



Starting at the Sule Pagoda which the British designated as the center when they rebuilt the city (entrance fee $ 5,-), it’s enough to watch from outside. People say it was built over 2,000 years ago, but there is no evidence, there are plenty of legends in Myanmar. Strolling down the dirty roads is like a time machine turns you back to the time when the British occupied the country. A good idea would be to take a breathing mask with since the exhaust from the stinking buses, trucks and cars is awful. 

• Old Yangon
• Yangon River
• Anawrahta Street Yangon

The whole is ambivalent on the one side the interesting nostalgic feeling and on the other the mess of a totally rotten environment. However, the people are working to improve the structures course just missing the means for.

Many colonial style buildings are still around

Maha Bandoola Park is next to the Sule stupa. Walking to the east on Anawratha Road a magnificent assembly of old brick buildings appear this is called “Ministers Office”. Unfortunately these structures are totally rotten on top of it there is a double fence wall around; I wonder what strange things happen here, but it is definitely worth to have a look. Maybe they try to keep people out because the old bricks fall down.

Every day thousands of people cross the Yangon River to the Dalla Side which is to the west. The stream is part of the Irrawaddy Delta and quite large. Dont try to do it since they boatmen have the advice not to take any foreigner for a ride because sometimes this small sampan overturn and after everyone has a problem, read more.  

It's a shame to see all this magnificent old structures around just being left to rot. Since the British had a very negative double impact, first looting Burma and after helped destroying it (WW2 were Burma was no party) it would be their job to help on renovation. 

Actually in Yangon are many interesting things to do, one of it is to visit this old places before they are gone completely.

But English only take, they never give or show any responsibility for the awful stuff they did in the past. 

Actually in 2015 they started some renovation at least to the old railway station pictured right which is just across the road from the Sule Pagoda Shangri-La Hotel.

Although Buddhism is the main religion in the country the veneration for the Nats is still very alive as seen in the picture below.

Here is a walking tour on Anawrahta Street 

This part is around 38th street in front of the church, there is a great flower market the tropical plants are beautiful and really cheap compared to western prices. For more on the main street of the city check this page, there is also a bit of history with it at Anawrahta Street.


To the south is Merchant Street which runs parallel. Here is some of the old stuff such as the Rowe & Co. building (which was known as Harrods of the Orient), the Secretariat plus the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company. The Flotilla was run by some Scots from Glasgow and had once more than 4000 vessels operating on all rivers in the country.

Watch the double barbered wire fence, the question is what they hide here? Or maybe they are afraid that the whole rotten stuff will collapse when anyone clap hands? The administration of the city is not very capable since this are hidden gems in a world where everyone is interesting in heritage, they hide it.

To the south west is the well-known Strand Hotel

The place is nicely renovated but at the road in front run all the stinking trucks coming and going from the harbor. Anyway the is a Yangon icon and it's worth to have a look on a tour.

Now just take any street to the north and walk up to the Bogyoke Market this is a great experience at let you understand how Yangon functions. This is one of the best things to do on on a sightseeing tour.

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is the most famous in the country. Every day pilgrim come from everywhere in the country and other countries to pay respect  or are just curious what's up here and get a real surprise since this is huge.

One of the best things to do in Yangon is go shopping at the Bogyoke Aung San Market

This is a true oriental bazaar with over hundreds of shops mainly jewelry gemstone jade handicrafts art clothes and lacquer. Many interesting things are also going on in the side street of the center which are quarters just like in India the Middle Age in Europe or Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok where dozens of shops with the same theme are working. 

Although it won’t make much sense to line up many stores just in the same category, better would be to decentralize this to different parts of the city. Actually this is Indian style and it needs some more evolution until the business guys get the message.

But I saw exactly the same nonsense in the Central World Mall in Bangkok the other day where there are rows of shops all have the same goods and all are empty. Since maybe two can made money but 10 in a row is not enough for each.

Now its the Shwedagon Pagoda

Maybe you leave it for this day and visit the Shwedagon Pagoda platform the next. If you ask what to do in Yangon this probably will be the first on the agenda. There are again more than 300 stupas and temples all scram packed onto the platform on the hill. When doing so don’t go there between about noon and 3 pm since the marble slabs it needs to walk on are getting very hot, you will burn your feet since shoes are not allowed, read more.

Street food local style

Fast food stuff such as skewers made with chicken, beef and pork. But be very careful since the hygienic on doing this is not as good as it should be, it’ your health so be careful. By far the most dangerous are fish, prawn and meat balls. Because on the food they throw all the leftovers together and you want to eat that?

There are also some noodle kitchens around and among the Indian & Pakistani community biryani in various forms with rice, chicken, mutton and beef is delicious food. At a few places they serve hamburger and Korean and Japanese style dishes.

Probably the most exciting Yangon pagoda tour is a visit to the Shwedagon platform 

That is the destination where every visitor is heading and when walking down Shwedagon Pagoda Road there is another shrine decorated with glass mosaic just opposite the defense forces museum. A unique structure and real feast for the eyes with some magnificent Buddha statues.

This is the Sein Yaung Kyi Pagoda tour it's a real precious looking structure.

• Yangon

• Anawrahta Street Yangon
• Bogyoke Market & Yangon Shopping
• Maha Bandoola Park
• Old Yangon
• Sule Pagoda
• Yangon River

Tags: Old Rangoon City Center    Yangon Center    Sule Pagoda