Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Several new hotels are in the works, but at the time of research few were anywhere
near completion. Much of Yangon's budget accommodation is dank and dreary, and
many midrange places are poor value for money.
Downtown Yangon is a convenient, if noisy place to be based. Hotels in Dagon and
Bahan are convenient for walking to Shwedagon Paya and Kandawgyi Lake, while those
further north will speed up access to and from the airport.
Budget accommodation ($) are places that offer a double room or dorm bed for under
$50; midrange places ($$) are those where rates are between $51 and $200; top end ($$$)
is over $200.
RESTORING OLD YANGON
'It is one of the best-preserved colonial cityscapes in the world,' says Thant Myint-
U, chairman of the Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT) of Yangon's downtown area, 'but
whether it survives the transition to democracy and renewed prosperity remains to
be seen.'
Set up in April 2012, the YHT has a seemingly impossible task: to protect the
city's architectural legacy, under threat from a double whammy of decades of neg-
lect combined with landowners eager to take advantage of the booming property
market and sell to developers who have little to no interest in heritage preservation.
Currently 189 properties are listed as historically significant by the Yangon City
Development Committee (YCDC). All are either government-owned or religious
buildings. Hundreds more privately owned buildings are not listed as well as some
buildings, such as the Pegu Club, which remain government properties.
The YHT is pushing for laws and public policy to protect key buildings and sensit-
ively develop Yangon. It's working with the YCDC on what to do with vacant govern-
ment buildings so that best-practice conservation methods are put in place, and
reaching out to the public, 'to give people, especially the young, a sense of the his-
torical importance of the downtown landscape'.
A 'blue plaque' scheme for 200 notable buildings, sponsored by the Dutch con-
glomerate Phillips, was launched at the end of 2013. LED-illuminated plaques with
details in Bamar and English on a building's history and significance are being af-
fixed across the downtown area; the first two are on the British Myanmar-style
City Hall and Basic Education High School 2 Dagon (formerly Myoma School,
Burma's first 'nationalist' place of education).
The YHT is also working with the leaseholders and owners of buildings, such as
the Ministers Office and the former Burma Railways Company complex on the
corner of Sule Paya Rd and Bogyoke Aung San Rd, to ensure their heritage value is
protected during ongoing restoration work. It's a process fraught with difficulties,
