Yangon & Around - Myanmar (Burma) - page 96

Near the teahouse is the 2200-year-old Sule Paya , the geographic and com-
mercial heart of the city, and where the British-designed grid street pattern was
centred. Make a circle around the temple to get the right angle for your photo-
graph; good views can also be had from the pedestrian bridge that rises from the
west side of Mahabandoola St to the terrace level of the pagoda.
To the east of Sule Paya is City Hall , a colossal lilac- and purple-painted colo-
nial building adorned with traditional Myanmar decorations such as peacocks, na-
gas(serpents) and three-tiered pyatthatturrets. Nip around the back to see the
Municipal Corporation of Rangoon insignia on the iron gates.
On the next corner further east on Mahabandoola Rd is the former Immigra-
tion Department , once Rowe & Co department store, dubbed the 'Harrods of the
East'. At the time of research the building was being restored to become a bank.
Across the street is the Immanuel Baptist Church , originally built in 1830,
though the present structure dates from 1885.
Continuing south you'll pass the Queen Anne-style High Court with its bell
clock tower and rooftop lion statues. Pop into the recently renovated Mahaban-
doola Garden to enjoy the greenery and take a closer look at the Independence
Monument. Exit on Sule Pagoda Rd, heading towards Yangon River past the monu-
mental 1939, neo-classical

Myawaddy Bank , built to house the Reserve Bank of

India.
Turning left a colonnade of Ionic columns stretches along the Strand facade of
the former Yangon Region Office Complex . There are plans to turn the build-
ing into a five-star hotel. Next door is the red-brick Customs House, built in
1915, and still functioning for its original purpose, as is the nearly century-old two-
faced bracketed clock hanging from the building's white tower.
On the corner with Pansodan St stands the pastel-coloured Yangon Region
Court , one of the oldest masonry structures in Yangon dating from around 1900.
Bomb damage from WWII is still visible on the Bank St side of the complex. The op-
posite corner is taken up with the grand Port Authority building with its striking
square corner tower and bas-relief sculptures of ships on the facade.
Two blocks further along Strand Rd is the Strand Hotel . The air-conditioned
lobby, cafe and bar make a good rest stop. Consider writing a postcard and then
posting it at the Central Post Office , dating from 1908; note the lovely beaux-
arts portico as you enter.
Return to turn right on lower Pansodan St. Monumental buildings line what was
considered Yangon's prime business address a century ago. Several, such as the
Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank (former Grindlays Bank) and the
graceful Inland Waterways Department (once the the headquarters of the Ir-
rawaddy Flotilla Company), have weathered the passage of time well, while others,