This was my first visit to Myanmar(Burma) on a business trip in 3rd week of July. Very humbling experience and one cannot miss this massive Pagoda from a distance of 5 kms .
Travel Notes : However would like to share few things if you are looking to visit the place , so you are well accounted .
My hotel was already pre-booked at Park Royal , Yangon. @ Rs 8200 per day/ $ 120/per day approx including breakfast. The e-VISA was about $70 for business . Tourist VISA is about $50 per person per entry. You can also go for VISA on arrival though might take a longer time when you arrive there because of long que. Rest I just exchanged a $100 bill at the airport to get about 1,50,000 KYAT . The flight was from Bangalore - Bangkok -Yangon - AIR ASIA - Journey time of 9 hrs . Avoid flying this airline , as it is an airway loot. Most of the flight attendants ask to pay in cash Thai Bhat and even water you have to purchase. Extremely rude to passengers. Very unlike when you fly in in domestic Air Asia circuits.
If you are travelling from India - Fly through Kolkata - Indigo and Air India have daily flights to Yangon and it is just Two hours and is way much cheaper and faster.
The Taxi from Airport to the Hotel was about 20,000 KYAT which is about 20kms. Most of the TAXIS are 2nd/3rd hand Toyota, Mazda, KIA, Hyundai and Suzuki Petrol Automatic. And yes most of them use iPhone. Very well behaved and helpful. The roads are amazingly clean and well laid with lots of greenery. No Garbages to see.
Food - Lunch and Dinner vary between 5000 KYAT to 15000 KYAT and Burmese food is a delight with their various ranges and simplicity. A beer is about 3500 KYAT with the local Brands and 5000 KYAT with the foreign brands.
Most of the tourist places are within 5 -10 kms range , and would not take more than 5000 KYAT. Yes , at this Pagoda the entrance fee for a foreigner is 10,000 KYAT. If you are looking for a holiday at this place , will definitely recommend that. There is a lot to discover this place and the monuments.
At Shwedagon Pagoda , Yangon, Myanmar - this 2,500 years old Shwedagon Pagoda, which enshrines strands of Buddha’s hair and other holy relics. Located west of the Royal Lake on 114 -acre Singuttara Hill in Yangon, this Pagoda is the most sacred and impressive Buddhist site for the people of the Union of Myanmar.
From a humble beginning of 8.2 meters, the Shwedagon Pagoda today stands close to 110 meters. Shwedagon Pagoda is covered with hundreds of gold plates and the top of the stupa is encrusted with 4531 diamonds; the largest of which is a 72 carat diamond. It is clearly one of the wonders of the religious world. Shwedagon Pagoda is a repository of the best in Myanmar heritage – architecture, sculpture and arts.
The Shwedagon Pagoda consists hundreds colorful temples, stupas, and statues that reflects the architectural era spanning almost a 2,500 years. To understand this monumental work of art and architecture, visitors will experience an insider’s view of this magnificent symbol of Buddhism to the lives of the Myanmar people.
Shwedagon Pagoda forms the focus of religious as well as community activities – the bustling of devotees and monks washing the statues, offering flowers, worshiping, and meditating. Shwedagon Pagoda is administered by the Board of Trustees of Shwedagon Pagoda.
