Yangon felt a bit overwhelming upon arrival, but as I spent a bit more time getting to know the city (three separate visits during my trip because of my flight schedule) the chaos appeared more and more friendly. Walking around the city has a much different feel than walking around the Lao capital. For one, there are many, many more people. The population of the city is nearly comparable to the whole country of Laos! (Yangon has over 4 million people and all of Laos has just over six). Because of this, it feels much more urban, but in a more gritty, unkempt way. There are abandoned-looking buildings, barbed wire, and atrocious sidewalks that are a real hazard to walk on, with massive potholes, or open sewers. Some parts of downtown reminded me of India—some of the smells of street food and curries, the red betel nut juice that stains the streets and men’s teeth, and the traditional longyi skirt that most men and women wear. Some of the streets are hardly navigable because of all of the food stalls, vegetable vendors, plastic stools, and random stands selling a little bit of everything—tools, used books, sunglasses, Justin Bieber CDs dubbed in Burmese, you name it. When I first arrived, I spent most of my time planning the days ahead (I had to buy domestic airline tickets when I arrived because there is no online payment), walking around the downtown area, and hanging out at the guesthouse, which was an integral hub to my days in Yangon. I don’t often name-drop in my posts, but The Motherland Inn 2 made my visits to Yangon so convenient and pleasant that it would be wrong not to mention it. It’s one of the main backpacker stops because it’s a Lonely Planet pick, but, unlike a lot of other LP-recommended places, has managed not to lose the personal touches that got it into the book in the first place. The young Burmese staff all live in the guesthouse and are so friendly and eager to practice their English that I had numerous conversations with them. The guesthouse serves as an all-purpose travel agency as well, and 24 hours after arriving with no concrete plans, I was headed out to Yangon on my own to visit Inle Lake.
