Probably most striking when out walking is women seem much more equal, and the place is full of young cavorting couples- something you hardly ever see in India with the arranged marriage tradition.
Also in Yangon there are no Tuctucs, just plenty of cheap taxis and bicycle rickshaws- and most surprisingly no motorbikes or scooters (not allowed in Yangon)- and no horns blowing all the time.
People here are equally friendly, and the usual tourist services are offered, but not such a hard sell as in India. And much less poverty is visible so far, with a general feeling of openness and well being evident.
It is a Bhuddist country so you see lots of monks and gold temples around, and like others we've visited, it is kept very clean and free of rubbish, although the pavements leave a lot to be desired with whole slabs often missing disappearing down to sewers- probably the most hazardous thing to a visitor.
Other notable differences- no tipping culture- when I tried to tip a waitress she wouldn't take it!
Regarding money, there are now ATM's around Yangon for withdrawing Kyats by uk debit card, and food, beer coffee and taxis are all quite cheap and readily available, but accommodation and transport hasn't caught up with the number of tourists and can be expensive.
In India men wear lunghis tucked up into "shorts", but here they just wear long skirts. And when you get your laundry done you don't separate colours/ whites but you must separate men's clothes from women's clothes.
Clearly, with the introduction of democracy just last year, much has changed very recently in Yangon and there is certainly a very positive feel about the place at the moment.
We are staying at a Homestay a few miles out of the centre called Bikeworld. Our wonderful host, Soe Soe has looked after fantastically well and arranged the rest of our Myanmar trip up to Bagan, Lake Inle and Mandalay, starting out on Xmas day.
Yesterday was a busy day. In the morning we got up at 5.30 to see the sunrise over the nearby Inya lake- there were hundreds of people there doing exercises and tai chi to western hits such as Obladi Oblada.
When we got back to Bikeworld, Soe Soe took us on a short bike ride for a typical Myanmar breakfast- noodles, rice, bhucksi (meat filled dumpling), and most things you might find in a Chinese kitchen.
My stomach is not yet adapted to noodles for breakfast and I have to admit I struggled a bit, but after we had visited the local market and got back to Bikeworld we had a round of American Pancakes!
We then got on a rickshaw to head into town for further explorations, taking lunch at Kandawgyi Lake.
Mehmsahib stroking the ducks at Kandawgyi Lake.
The temperature in around 35 deg by day, so we went to the a/c cinema in the afternoon to watch Life of Pi in 3D- cost about £1. We had to stand for national anthem before the film started, but enjoyed seeing Richard Parker (the Bengal tiger).
On the way back we stopped off for dinner at a Chinese BBQ restaurant and then walked past Aung San Suu Kyi's house and the American embassy.
Nice Xmas lights at the American embassy - I had a whistle blown at me for taking the photo but managed to escape being arrested!
Just time for a beer and chat with Soe Soe when we got back to Bikeworld, and a quick Skype with Nancy (Oxford), Sam (Berlin) and Ben (VietNam) before, unsurprisingly, having the best nights sleep of our trip!
Location:Bikeworld Yangon
Not 'bicycle rickshaw' - trishaw!- ain't you never bin out east before? Love the look the food! Yum.
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