Page 98 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

96 Yangon and around ENTERTAINMENT • SHOPPING
1 mostly electro house. Entry is free, but drinks are pricey. reasonably priced drinks and lots of lasers and working
Daily 9pm–3am. girls. Free entry. Daily 10pm–3am.
Pioneer Music Bar Yangon International Hotel The Vibe Kan Yeit Thar St T09 975 553 230; map p.60.
Compound, 330 Ahlone Rd T09 510 8635; map p.71. Cool bar-lounge-cum-club, popular with expats and
Long-running Yangon nightlife institution offering fun, serving up a decent selection of drinks, tunes and shisha.
no-frills clubbing with a cheesy but enjoyable soundtrack, Daily 11am–1am.
EnTErTaInMEnT
CULTURAL SHOWS Palace ($30 including buffet dinner). Touristy and pricey,
Htwe Oo Myanmar Traditional Puppet Theatre 12 but fun and with expert performers – although the food
Yama St, Ahlone T09 512 7271, Whtweoomyanmar won’t win any awards. Daily 6.30–8.30pm.
.com. A more unusual (and a lot less touristy) alternative to
the Karaweik Palace show listed below, featuring displays CINEMA
of traditional Burmese puppetry in the owner’s front room. Yangon is a cinema-crazy city, with dozens of movie
Enquire ahead to check when the next show is scheduled theatres screening Hollywood blockbusters (with English
and to reserve a place. subtitles) along with the latest Bollywood offerings. The
Karaweik Palace Kandawgyi Lake T01 295744, Nay Pyi Taw Cinema and the Shae Saung Cinema, either
Wkaraweikpalace.com. Traditional cultural variety side of the East hotel and restaurant on Sule Pagoda Rd, are
shows (usually comprising a mix of dancing, music and both modern and central. Tickets cost K1000–1800
puppetry) staged every evening at the landmark Karaweik downstairs, K2500–4000 upstairs.
SHoPPIng
Bagan Book House 100 37th St T01 377227; map banknotes through to contemporary paintings. These stalls
p.64. On a street full of secondhand booksellers, are also a great place to pick up Aung San Suu Kyi memorabilia
this shoebox shop is a treasure-trove of Myanmar-related including T-shirts and mugs emblazoned with the Burmese
titles, including some rare older publications (including icon’s ubiquitous portrait – images of which were banned
colonial-era volumes) you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. until just a few years ago. Tues–Sun 10am–5pm.
Daily 9am–7pm. Bontun 149 Central Arcade (near the rear entrance to
Bogyoke Market Bogyoke Rd; map p.62. Yangon’s pre- the main market building), Bogyoke Market T01
eminent market and shopping attraction (see p.67), stuffed 384573; map p.62. Established in 1936, this quaint little
full of artefacts from every corner of the country, including shop usually has a good range of unusual Burmese
heaps of jade and jewellery, antique curios, contemporary artefacts, curios and colonial bric-a-brac for sale – anything
artefacts and more run-of-the-mill items. It’s also worth from old coins and banknotes to antique wooden nat
browsing the stalls of the pavement hawkers outside, statuettes. Tues–Sun 9.30am–5pm.
stretching east along Bogyoke Rd almost to the junction with Heritage Gallery Bogyoke Market (around the east
Sule Pagoda Rd and selling everything from old coins and side of the market’s upstairs front floor, next to
YANGON FESTIVALS
As well as all the usual national events (see p.41), Yangon hosts a number of its own
annual festivals.
Yangon Photo Festival Institut Français, 340 Pyay Rd T01 536900, Wyangonphoto.com.
Exhibitions and talks by leading international photographers. Two weeks in Feb/March.
Shwedagon Pagoda Festival Myanmar’s largest pagoda festival, during which pilgrims
descend on the great pagoda from all over the country to make offerings, accompanied by
pwè dancing and theatre, weaving competitions and more. Two weeks in Feb/March.
Murugu Festival Colourful Hindu festival featuring processions and acts of ritual self-
mortification in honour of the God Murugan, centred on downtown’s Sri Kali and Sri Devi
temples. March/April.
Shwesandaw Pagoda Festival Annual pagoda festival at the main temple in Twante,
coinciding with Burmese New Year. April.
Tazaungdaing (Robe-Weaving) Festival Shwedagon, Botataung and other pagodas host
robe-weaving contexts, during which young women attempt to weave a perfect Buddha’s
robe in the course of a single night. One night in November. See p.42.

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