Page 106 - Experience Thailand and More

WHAT TO DO Across from the Hliang, or Yangon River, on Strand Road is the hallmark

of these grand edifices, The Strand Hotel. Built in 1901 by the British
entrepreneur, John Darwood, it was quickly picked up the Sarkie brothers
to add to their famous properties, The Raffles of Singapore and Eastern
AND SEE & Oriental (E&O) of Penang, the epitome of east Asian colonial elegance

and luxury. After Burma, now Myanmar, gained its independence in 1948,
it was neglected for decades until the early 1990s when it underwent a
full restoration. Today, under glittering chandeliers and the soft caress of
slowly rotating ceiling fans, the charms of the colonial era still live amidst
the teak and mahogany furnishings, canopied beds and period fixtures.

Strand Road:
Old Colonial Buildings
Strand Road, Yangon, Myanmar

Because of Myanmar’s isolation for more than fifty decades, Yangon,
now the commercial capital, has more colonial era buildings than
any other city in the region. There are still dozens featuring Victorian,
Queen Anne, Art Deco, British Burmese and Neoclassical designs.
Fortunately, the Yangon City Heritage List was established to
preserve these testaments to the past. Among these are the massive
Victorian Secretariat, from where the British governed their colony,
and the British-Burmese Yangon City Hall.

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