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Downtown Yangon- Chinatown and Little India

Colourful Lanterns and Buddhist flags swing from one side to another

This area features good street food and cheap shopping.

We saw a lot of monks going on almsround in the morning

 Downtown Yangon is where most of the non-Bamars congregate. The two main ethnic groups living in downtown Yangon, apart from the Bamars, are Indians and Chinese. The Chinese part of downtown Yangon is located near Latha township, which is close to the dockyards, and has a lot of interesting sights to see. Most of the open air markets and night markets are located in this area. 

 The Indian part of Yangon, Little India, stretches along Anawrahta Road. Here you see Indian origin people, both Hindus and Muslims living side by side. They usually operate pharmacies, book stalls, or restaurants. We met many Tamil speaking residents, and we were pleasantly surprised to see Tamil Hindu temples in the place. The temples are built by the Vishwakarma (Goldsmith) community in Dravidian (South Indian) style. The temples are simple but beautiful inside. The usual Indian gods were there- Durga, Shiva, Ganesha. But I was very surprised to see a shrine for the Buddha in every Hindu temple. This is something unique found in Myanmar. I have never seen the Buddha venerated in any Hindu temples outside Myanmar.

Durga and Buddha- side by side. Representing different aspects of the universe?

Tamil style temples decorated with Banana leaf, Banana Flower, and Thoranam (hanging coconut leaf decorations) at the entrance

Buddha and Shiva

Beautifully decorated Durga shrine

I found the Hindu temples of Yangon especially intriguing. Maybe it was the novelty of seeing my own culture in an unexpected place. I never knew so many Tamils existed in Yangon. 
Temples are not the only thing about Downtown Yangon though. We found many delicious food stalls (Chinese, Indian, and Thai) to eat from (hygiene is variable). The Indian area is also close by. We walked from Sule Pagoda to the end of Latha Township. There are many open air markets selling everything from fresh produce to construction tools. This is a chaotic, loud, dusty area. I found it fascinating because it reminded me of India. Just as colourful and intense.

The one thing that I found interesting was that the Chinese have kept their distinctive identity. Unlike the Indians who have assimilated into the society by wearing longyi (burmese sarong), thanaka (yellow face pack), and speaking mainly Burmese, the Chinese of Yangon speak both Cantonese/Hokkien and Burmese, but prefer to wear more western clothing. I rarely saw any Chinese women donning Thanaka on their faces or wearing the Burmese longyi. 
My mum and I spent many hours sitting by a shopfront simply watching people. We saw monks go on almsround,  eavesdropped on local Tamil women catching up on the latest gossip, saw Chinese mums drag their kids to school, Indian-Muslim men sit and drink tea with each other. An occasional curious child would come and stare at us, so obviously foreign.



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Location: Latha Township, Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)

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