High: Yangon was so good to us! First, we were greeted with a personal sign at the hotel.
Low: These steps entering the hotel, which we had to climb multiple times a day with chikungunya and a two-year-old. Imagine your great-grandmother climbing them three times a day, and that was me. 😢
High: The hotel had a fish pond, where we could say “hi” and “bye” to the fish each time we passed! The staff also let Oak feed them, which was just so sweet (and he’d seen it on Mister Rogers 😍).
Low: He decided one day to feed the fish an orange slice as we went by. While it was sweet that he shared, Stephen had to pull it out!
High: It is so nice to speak the language of the place you are! {What a novel idea.🙄} I know it’s our odd life and choices that make it so we live in Thailand while working with and speaking to Burmese folks, but it was so fun to speak to everyone! It was so easy. It was also fun that Oak has learned a few Burmese phrases and was a big hit with everyone we encountered!
High: We got our one year visas! And since that was the goal and a miracle, it was a very big high to our trip!
High: We found some lovely restaurants and enjoyed the Burmese food so much. Almost every place also had lovely staff who would love on Oak, bringing toys or taking him for a bit. At this particular restaurant, as we paid and started to leave, Oak gave the waiter a kiss on the cheek, much to the waiter’s & our surprise 😂
High: Our hotel had a lovely view of People’s Park & Shwedagon Pagoda–even more stunning at night.
High: We were able to enjoy some really lovely historical places in the city. We visited the Secretariat, where the top eight leaders in the 1940s were assassinated. This was a huge piece of history, and having read and studied quite a lot of Burmese history, we really enjoyed seeing the restored British buildings and seeing the history captured there.
Low: Bringing a two-year-old to museums and historical sites isn’t too easy.
High: We visited the National Museum; our favorite exhibition being the history of the Burmese language. Since it has become a huge part of our lives to study this, we found it so intriguing.
Low: One of the staff members at the museum followed us for an entire wing, excited that we spoke Burmese. She was also thoroughly confused at Oak, perhaps not understanding the idea of adoption. She commented multiple times, “But he doesn’t look like either of you.”
High: The British influence on Myanmar has left some beautiful architecture in Yangon, including this cathedral!
High: It rained nearly our whole time in the city, which is a high for us! We love rainy, chilly days. It was beautiful and dreary. And if you’re going to either be wet from sweat or rain, I’d choose rain any day.
High: The tea shops! We really love Burmese culture. It feels like home, and we just enjoyed so many moments of this trip.
High: We went to a pizza place to celebrate our successful visas, and found a surprise play place! Not only did we eat delicious pizza, but Oak was able to run and play. He loved it!
High: We followed this with ice cream in the downstairs shop.
Low: We broke all three spoons they gave us.
(These lows are seeming very minor. Clearly this trip was great 😊)
High: There is a circular train around Yangon–a personal favorite of mine. We took Oak for a trip on the train, and he loved it! He was thrilled even when we were delayed for flooded tracks.
High: Rangoon Tea House is a modern, fun twist on the traditional Burmese tea shop. And it lived up to the hype! It was some of the best Burmese fare I’ve ever had, and a lovely environment.
Low: We spent one morning in search of a few promised parks. It really resulted in an hour walk, a few taxi rides, and some disappointing parks.
Low: Part of the playground equipment a drop off blocked with bamboo, while another part was held up by a ladder. 😳
High: This kid is still fun and adorable.
High: Oak has really liked watches recently, so as an incentive for good behavior he earned a watch over a few days. We made a trip to the local shop to pick out a watch for him. He was so proud! And even went back to show the hotel staff.
Overall, Myanmar isn’t always considered the comfiest place to be, but we love it. Stephen and I were both amazed at how at home we felt, how much we loved using the language, how much we loved seeing Oak with the Burmese staff. We left with new visas, a few lovely days as a family, and relatively few lows!