Yangon Travel Guide, Myanmar

Yangon is the biggest and the most populated city in Burma. It is also its former capital since the military government moved it to Naypyidaw. There are also plenty of financial educational and commercial institutions that surround the metropolis.

Geography and climate

Yangon is found in the southern part of Burma. It is 19 miles away from the Martaban Gulf and it is very close to two rivers called Bago and Yangon. 

There are three different seasons in Yangon though the climate is generally hot and humid the entire year. Before the monsoon rains, the entire city experiences the dry season. Colder weather meanwhile marks the beginning of the winter months which are from November to December.

History

The city of Yangon was established during the 6th century AD. It was called then Dagon. The first people who settled there were called the Mons whose main source of income was fishing.

During the early 1800s, the British settler came and decided to start influencing the lives of the early Yangon people. Eventually a war broke out which lasted for more than a year. It was only during the Second World War that Yangon and the rest of Burma was granted independence. All road signs and names where then changed to their Burmese counterparts.

Under the rule of General Ne Win Yangon, the city was isolated from the rest of the world. Thus, there were several deteriorations that took place among the British-inspired edifices all over the city. This changed though during the 1990s when, for the first time in quite a while, Burma was opened again for international trade and domestic investments.

People

The people of Yangon are very varied. During the early centuries, the city was heavily populated with Portuguese, Dutch, British English, and Chinese. However, they soon started to disappear. A large portion of the population is made up of Indians while the rest are usually Chinese.

Yangonites live a very simple life. A lot of their time is spent in their offices or doing their work. At nighttime though men and women would come out and spend some time in bars clubs or even just in parks to enjoy the colder weather. Tea shops and cafes are a hit in Yangon.

Education

Yangon takes pride in its highly advanced educational facilities and world-class teachers despite the fact that the country has one of the lowest budget for education in the world.