Discovering British Colonial Yangon

Travel Day 1164 – Kalaw to Yangon, MYANMAR

The 28 day time clock on my visa was running out quickly and there was only one last thing to do for me, discovering a bit of former British colonial Yangon…

British Supreme Court of Burma

Initially when I had entered Myanmar my impressions of Yangon on my more than Underwhelming Arrival Day had not been the best. The weather was terrible, my foot was still infected and the area I was staying in consisted of nothing but run down and ugly buildings. Back then I tried to compare Yangon to Kolkata, especially because both cities used to be British colonial capitals, but without even seeing the center of Myanmar’s biggest city, a real comparison was obviously not possible…

So spending my final two days in Yangon was imperative and the best way to make good use of my limited time was unfortunately once again the much hated night bus. Actually after my last quite negative experience in the Night Bus to Nyaungshwe I swore to never take an overnight bus again. Unfortunately being faced with no good alternative to reach Yangon quickly, I had to break my promise and board another bus. But this time I made sure to spend some extra Kyat on a VIP bus and I actually managed to reach the colonial center of Yangon in somewhat rested condition…

British Colonial City Hall in Yangon

Actually it took me another while in a local bus to reach the center from the bus station, but at least I was dropped right at Sule Paya and in the middle of it all. Finding a place to stay and a refreshing shower later, I was on the streets and walking. First I had to get some tasty street food and then I wanted to see some British colonial architecture. Luckily by now the rainy season was over and there was actually some nice sunshine when I was passing Sule Paya again on the way to Mahabandoola Garden…

The wide open Mahabandoola Garden used to be called Fytche Square under British colonial rule and probably functioned as central town square as seen in other European built cities. All the important buildings like the Yangon City Hall, the Supreme Court of Burma and the Immanuel Baptist Church were erected around the square after the British had taken full control of then called Burma in 1885 and founded Rangoon, today Yangon as their capital…

British colonial Myanma Port Authority

Seeing the garden and the colonial buildings was great, especially because they displayed different architectural influences. The Yangon City Hall which was designed by a local in some fusion architecture, featuring tiered roofs and other traditional elements, was interesting to see. This was especially the case in comparison to the quite classical British looking Supreme Court of Burma which was one entire block deep and centered around an open courtyard. But most surprising of all was the fact that all these buildings were in excellent condition…

Even while walking down to the waterfront where the big towering Myanma Port Authority was located, I found all British colonial buildings in excellent condition. This was especially surprising after the government had moved out-of-town and some of these buildings were not occupied any more by their corresponding agencies. Only when continuing to walk through the little side alleys I could find some run down colonial buildings reminding of charmingly morbid Kolkata. But overall what could be discovered was that a lot of British colonial structures in central Yangon were surprisingly well-preserved and intact. Luckily…

Find all Yangon photos here.