After visiting the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, I went to the garden nearby. It’s a pleasant and quiet place to chill out for a bit. What I didn’t know is that there is an air balloon in Yangon. Yes, it’s true.
Very close to Shwedagon Pagoda and this garden with a lake: Kandawgyi lake, I see a yellow spot up in the air, but I have no idea what it is. Only when I get closer I realize that it is a balloon that goes up for the sunset and it’s probably the highest place where you can watch the sunset in the city. It’s the Mingalarbar Balloon and I’m sure the view it’s nice. It’s not a hot air balloon, so it isn’t flying around. It is attached to the floor by some ropes and its function is to elevate you for an incredible view of Yangon city.
Before visiting Shwedagon Pagoda itself, as previously mentioned, I crossed Dorgah Of Second Bahadur Shah that looked nice so I also visited. It looks like a relatively new Pagoda in Yangon and has several states and cities of Myanmar represented inside through paintings. It is a very pacific place.
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Another thing that I did in Yangon was the circular train ride. This is a very cheap train ride that goes around Yangon and its name it’s due to the fact that the train line is a circle around Yangon. This is a must do in Yangon as it gives you another look through the city. It shows you the reality of Yangon besides the touristic places. Overall the city outside the center has a lot of garbage and doesn’t smell so good. I saw several times the stagnant water that was looking grey and the Burmese were planting vegetables on top of it. The reality you see in the center is very distinctive from this one. The whole ride isn’t across places like this, but I had this sight a few times. The train also goes very slow and you can spend 2 hours inside while seeing the landscape around and checking how it’s the Burmese life.
One of the days I decided to go outside the most attractive places and I went on my own, as the only tourist I see around, to explore new places and Pagodas. I went to see Kyauk Taw Gyi Pagoda that has the biggest marble Buddha statue in Myanmar. Getting there was a long walk from the closest train station: Insein Railway. But I had the whole day to visit this area, so walking for hours wasn’t a problem. While I was walking, I was seeing more Pagodas and I didn’t miss the chance to visit. This one is the Arlein Ngarsint Pagoda and it’s actually different from other ones I have seen before.
I also visited this area of Yangon because I heard about a place with Albino Elephants and I wanted to see it. It’s the Royal White Elephant Garden and was tough to find. My map wasn’t showing me exactly where it was, so I needed to ask several people for directions while showing a picture as they don’t speak English.
Finally, I got there but I’m not so pleased with the sight. The elephants look very stressed as they are shaking from side to side, front to back all the time, just like they had autism. They don’t look comfortable and I pity for them so I spent just a few minutes there.
I do the same way back to the train station and get back to the city center. It was a nice day spent away from the crowds and feeling like a worthy exploring day.
