Rangoon Local Customs

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You will be expected to remove your footwear and then walk clockwise around the temple. The reason for this is a symbolic sign of respect by keeping your right hand, which is deemed cleaner than your left, towards the holy shrine.

The flow of traffic is manually controlled in Yangon. At each major intersection you will notice what looks like a police box on one corner. This is typically staffed by two people and they monitor the traffic and change the lights.

Orderly traffic flow took back seat however, when these traffic police noticed how badly I had tied my longyi. They both left their post and one of them gave me a mini-lesson. A tad embarassing but memorable nonetheless.

In this picture, the friendly traffic warden gives a lesson while his colleague makes sure the traffic doesn't bank up too far.

Traditionally men in Myanmar become monks twice in their lives. It is necessary for monks to seek alms and donations. Of course they are not pushy or anything like that and will be very grateful if you give them anything.

These two young lads had been asking the locals around us for contributions and seemed a bit surprised when I offered them a few kyat.

Most of the scaffolding used in Yangon construction projects is made of bamboo. in this picture, you can see a restoration project at the Shwedagon Paya complex in Yangon.

Myanmar is a major exporter of customised bamboo scaffolding and is the number one supplier to India, Bangladesh and Thailand.

Whenever you order tea at a teahouse in Yangon, the staff will automatically bring bean curd cakes and a few cigarettes to accompany your order. Of course you don't have to smoke and eat all of this - you are charged on consumption.

The hot tea served in the teahouses is made using condensed milk. You get drink a free thermos of green tea after your cup also. It's a great atmosphere sitting there at night and enjoying a bit of chit chat.

For a cup of tea, two or three cups of green tea, a cake and (dare I say) a couple if cigarettes, expect to pay about 200 kyat (23 cents).

I always imagined that this would be more common out in the countryside, but you're just as likely to see this it in urban Yangon as anywhere else.

Some women can carry enormous weight on their heads. In the case of this lady it wasn't how much she was carrying but what - I would never have guessed, but it turned out to be home brew. Pretty lethal stuff by the look of it too, the two girls on the left discretely shook their heads as I checked out the bottles ;-)

Praying at the pagodas is very distinct activity of the people at Yangon and I assume even at other places. Like any Asian worship place.. You need to open your footwear when inside the premises of the pagoda.
I am not a buddhist but from what I saw people just kneel down and sit quitely with folded hands to the pagodas. In the evening I saw people sitting with lighted candles at the Shwedagon and it was very peaceful atmosphere even though there were a lotta people.

Almost every female you find in Yangon will have a white or yellowish patch on her face. I am not sure if they do it all through the year but I guess it is used as a sunscreen during during the summer months.