Protect it at all costs. Stand your ground!
Yangon is full of beautiful old colonial architecture, built between 1824 and 1948 and left behind after the British rule ended in then Burma. I often wonder what it looked like before the British arrived, for during their rule, Rangoon, as it was known back then, underwent a rich architectural development following different styles, but predominantly adopting the Art Deco style.
Walking along the streets in downtown Yangon, you can see many of those buildings, many of which look like they are about to collapse anytime (one actually did just a couple of months ago). I personally find it fascinating to be living in a city where you can find this mix; the new meets the old. Of course this statement can be countered in so many ways, particularly when the new looks totally out of place, ruining the lasting beauty of the old. Unfortunately in many streets these art deco buildings have been pulled down to lay the foundations to cheap Charlie looking, giant plain boxes with a weird mix of colors that house countless workers. I am in no way against accommodations being built, I am no one to criticize that, but damn…just a touch of taste wouldn't hurt. It's such a rich city with such a variety of vibrant life all over the place, why not preserve that? Why not stand your ground for what is your home?
Fortunately, some have opted for that option. They took over the old, went in with a broomstick, a paint bucket and some goodwill (and a couple of trucks worth of green notes for sure) and gave life to what was, until their arrival, abandoned. Some.great examples include two hotels; Excelsior and Rosewood. If you are curious to see in pictures what I mean by that, click the link on Excelsior and see for yourself. It's a video made by the General Manager, and my friend, Philippe Arnaud, where he compiled overlapping before & after images. MAGICAL!
Why destroy what took so much effort to be built beautifully with intricate details nowhere to be found in todays architecture?
Architecture is art thereby making its liking subjective. This is what I like. I like old things, I admire the details. I’m not saying I don’t like the new, but the details appeal differently to me from the old stuff. I like to see people making an effort to preserve it, for it is what defines us today. We came from somewhere, in every sense of the word. I cannot collect old colonial buildings haha 😂but I do enjoy walking into vintage shops and visiting flee markets where I let my mind run wild with excitement; all these things I never saw before, the things that simply arouse your curiosity as to what they serve and to imagine how the heck did a person come up with that sh!t?! Don’t you like that? It’s just soooooo freaking cool! In Yangon, they have decided to implement a historical marker program called the the Blue Plaques which defines what it does by this “Yangon Heritage Trust, Yangon City Development Committee and supporting partners honor key heritage sites throughout Yangon by installation of the commemorative Blue Plaques.”
This photo I shot downtown on a day we went for a walk in the downtown streets with Maria, shows this old man standing straight up in front of his house right in the middle of the step. As we passed, I wanted to snap a photo of him, it inspired me, but he really didn’t look like he fancied that idea. I mean, look at the expression on his face! Don’t you feel the same? 😅He had this thing emanating from him. I would not be able to describe it myself. It was almost intimidating. His gaze followed us from the moment we turned the corner onto the street until we passed him. Only when we passed the old fella did I dare turn around and snap a few pics of him with the building, at which point we both laughed and briskly paced away from him 😄It felt like he was being very protective of his treasure, no one was gonna move him from there. He simply stood his ground.
If you’re in Yangon, go for a walk downtown. You will not be disappointed.
Till next week,
R