This drive and hike was in what our guide called the main city center area. This area was the main area of town under the British when Yangon was known as Rangoon. We covered way too much for me to put it all in one or two postings so I’m just going to try and point out a few things for you.

You can see an example of the British influence in the first photo. We saw many buildings both old and much older that clearly noted the influence and the time that the British were in Burma. Many of their buildings are still standing and functioning and really stand out in Yangon.

The housing in the second photo is much more typical of housing in this area. You might also notice that Vicky blended right in with the locals, sporting an umbrella to ward off the sun and heat. Another thing to notice is that we were walking in the street. That was because the sidewalks are normally all covered up with vendors stands, motorcycles, or something. So we had to walk in the streets most of the time and keep a wary eye for vehicular traffic. People were good drivers and pretty much always gave the right away if it was safer to do so, but we had to be careful nonetheless.

The third photo is also very typical of the city center area. It’s easier to see in this photo that there is nowhere else to walk except in the street. And yes, cars and trucks do drive down this street – and almost all others as well.

I like the contrast in the fourth photo of the street we see and the building across the street in the back of the photo. The vehicle traffic on this street had their work cut out for them. Most of the cars you see are parked but there is a lane for traffic. Drivers just have to weave their way through all the obstacles – and they do.

The last photo was a bit farther from the city center area so it was a bit less crowded. You can also see why I said that Vicky fit in with the locals by using her umbrella. A large percentage of people used umbrellas under the afternoon sun. Most of our time in Yangon, the temperature was around 90 degrees with high humidity.