Its rare these days to take a plane with empty seats but the Bangkok Airways flight to Yangon - the Rangoon of Colonial times - had 26 passengers and 130 empty seats. The one hour flight from Bangkok went quickly with a hot meal served and just enough time to complete the Myanmar entry paperwork.Immigration formalities at Yangon Airport were brisk and efficiently handled, passports and visas meticulously checked. Beyond the well-staffed, uniformed officials we could see our guide San waiting patiently with a big smile on her face.
The line up for diplomatic passport holders was noticeably long and during our stay in Yangon we were struck by an impressive embassy row, many countries with sprawling, well-kept premises. With Myanmar’s capital moved to a greenfield site 300 kilometers north of Yangon about five years ago, we wondered how all those diplomats would feel leaving their colonial style residences for the new, modern capital of Nay Pyi Taw. Word has it that once the new international airport has been completed, the diplomatic community will move north.
We drove into town in a right hand drive vehicle, driving on the right hand side of the road. There is a mixture of right and left hand drive vehicles – catch up is taking its time since the change in driving rules after the end of British colonial rule. School was turning out for the day and buses filled with children in green and white uniforms, empty Tiffin tins in hand, made their way home. The Tiffin tin with its various compartments layering rice, vegetables and curries was a common sight throughout our stay in Myanmar.
The sprawling Traders Hotel in the centre of town is a bit of a monolith reminiscent of old-style communist era architecture, even though the hotel is more recent than that. What it lacked in attractiveness was more than made up by friendly, helpful staff.
Even down to the front desk clerk who respectfully told us that if we lost the safety deposit box key it would cost us $400 and take 4 hours to break the lock – so – if we had a flight to catch we would need to consider that. And then there was the hotel bar and its mysterious display of Johnny Walker Black Label, each bottle claimed by its owner with a yellow post it note.
The breakfast buffet was a hybrid extravaganza with many options, arranged in no particular order. Croissant next to steamed prawns, cheeses next to pork dumplings and the omelet station next to the fruit tray. But I do recommend chapattis and baked beans, I discovered they’re quite good together.
Seated by a window in the cavernous dining room we opened the net curtains to watch activity on the street - passers by looked in on us, most smiled and some waved.
To quote Rudyard Kipling "This is Burma, and it will be quite unlike any land you know about".
There was no doubt about that.
1 comment:
Great pics and narrative. Traders Hotels are operated as the business or four star arm of h Shangri La group (unless that has changed) an have alwYs been noted for good service.
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