• E N R O U T E / / D E S T I N A T I O N P I C K
© ROXARIA / ADOBESTOCK
Previous page : Sunrise over the temples of Bagan . Clockwise from left : Young Buddhist monks . Yangon is a city made for walking but if you ever get tired , there are plenty of bicycles to hop on . The entrance to Shwedagon , one of Asia ’ s most impressive temples . The contrast of skyscrapers and Sule Pagoda in downtown Yangon .
© JOEL / ADOBESTOCK
The bells ring out solemnly , as the wooden hammer strikes the ancient tempered metal . Single deep notes , sonorous through the morning mist that swirls around the golden spire of Shwedagon pagoda .
It ’ s early , barely 7am , yet the tiled courtyards that separate the myriad temples here already throng with visitors . Incense bundles are lit in front of brightly coloured Buddha images , coins ring in the alms bowls of seated monks , and the soundtrack beyond the bells is the low murmur of whispered prayers . Of the hundreds of temples I ’ ve seen in Asia over two decades of travel , Shwedagon is perhaps the most impressive . Thought to be built in 588BC and remodelled many times since , it remains a golden spiritual beacon spiralling high above the city skyline . Said to house numerous relics of the Buddha ; it is the oldest , largest and most revered pagoda in Myanmar . It ’ s also one that demands a little extra respect , so at the entrance I purchase a longyi , the traditional Burmese cotton sarong , to cover my legs .
Buddhism and beauty aside , Shwedagon has been a rallying point throughout Myanmar ’ s tumultuous history . It was here that locals protested against repressive colonial laws , and where General Aung San demanded independence from Britain in 1946 . Forty years later , his daughter Aung San Suu Kyi – the Nobel Peace Prize
laureate and freedom fighter who spent 15 years under a house arrest ordered by the military dictatorship – would address enormous crowds here in pursuit of democracy . While Myanmar has endured an eventful history , there ’ s little sense of it on the streets of Yangon . Before my trip a number of friends and family had asked “ is it safe ?”. After 10 days in Yangon and further afield , the answer is a resounding “ yes ”. It ’ s a city that lends itself to walking , with the heart of downtown Yangon best explored on foot . I start my wandering at Sule Pagoda , whose golden stupa pokes incongruously above the traffic-clogged streets . On the doorstep , caged finches
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