Day two in Yangon was to be a day without an evening, as I was scheduled to take the 5:00 train to Mandalay, but I was determined to pack as much in as possible before then.
I skipped the free breakfast at my guest house and opted to spend about 75c for a bowl of excellent soup at a stall at a street market. A far superior option. I walked around the market taking in the scenes I never tire of: people selling fruits and vegetables (familiar and exotic), fish, meat, flowers. I then spent the next few hours doing more aimless market wandering.
I also walked through this huge indoor market, which had 3 or 4 levels of shops selling clothes, housewares, spices, jade…everything really. I also scoped out the train station for later.
I my plan was to take the short ferry to the other side of the river to Dala or Dalla, a more rural area with villages and more temples. The ferry ride was fun. I found the terminal and the huge crowd of people waiting for tickets (a little less that $4 round trip), but I was ushered to a desk just for foreigners, which was a nice gesture, though it seemed unnecessary, particularly as I was the only apparent non-local on the boat.
The ride was only about 10 minutes but was pleasant and I chatted with a fellow who was on his way home. At the other end I declined the offers for taxis and set out walking, which was very pleasant for a while. I stumbled upon cute houses and picturesque scenes, but after a bit I realized I had no idea where to go, so I flagged down a tuk tuk and hired him to just drive me around.
That was nice:the breeze and just taking in sites that were pleasant to drive by but nothing that was amazing, though I could ask him to stop when I wanted to take some pictures.
I ferried back and had a cigar at the same cigar-friendly bar as the previous day before, which I figured would be my final moment of comfort before my overnight train journey to Mandalay.
Two days in Yangon was enough to see what I wanted to see, though there is certainly more. I am, though, happy to return there before I leave Myanmar. It is a city that I am quite content to hang out in.