Public Parks
At Hlawga National Park, located only a few miles outside of Yangon, deer and monkeys roam free in the woods surrounding the Hlawga Reservoir. More ferocious or rare animals are kept in an open zoo. It is true nature in the wild and is also a good place for birdwatching. Other parks in Yangon itself include the small gardens and cafés around lnya Lake, the bigger Kandawgyi Nature Park around Kandawgyi Lake, and People’s Park facing Shwedagon Pagoda. Inside Kandawgyi Nature Park restaurants can be found serving a wide range of cuisines, including Shan. Thai and Chinese.
Adjacent to Kandawgyi Nature Park are the Yangon Zoological Gardens, which were formally opened in 1906 by the Prince and Princess of Wales, Wandering along the well-swept paths is a nice way to get some exercise. Pavilions for various animals are set around and on top of small hillocks. There are small kiosks where visitors can buy fruit, fish and bunches of watercress to feed the animals. Asiatic black bears like to gobble up bananas after deftly removing the fruit from its peel. Otters chaffer for fish, and hippopotami patiently keep their mouths wide open, hoping for watercress to land in them. Among the tigers, a four- year-old male named Gyan loves to have his head scratched by his keeper. The male lion roars like a roll of thunder, making sure everyone understands that he is still the lord of the jungle, even if he is caged. The rare red panda lives in air-conditioned comfort, as his habitat is the icy far north.
East of Yangon is the Nationalities Village Park, where schoolchildren and those who do not have the opportunity to travel to remote areas of Myanmar can see traditional houses built in the style of different national groups around the country. A couple representing the relevant group lives in each of the houses, which contain the exact tools, utensils and furniture to be found in an authentic household.
Visitors to Yangon also have the opportunity to see some legendary white elephants, Such animals are a symbol of great fortune and nobility, although they are not considered higher beings and are not worshipped as such. White elephants are so categorised not only by pale skin but by other physical attributes as well, such as certain twirls in the hairs or the number of toenails. Several specimens of various ages have been found in the wilds of Myanmar in the past few years, and they are now kept in a garden on MinDhamma Road, a few miles from downtown Yangon and not far from the marble Lawka Chantha Abhaya Lahba Muni image. Of the three elephants at the garden, the youngest and cutest has the fairest complexion. He was brought to Yangon from Rakhine State together with his proud mother. The garden is open to the public seven days a week, but visitors are not allowed to feed the elephants (as they have regular meal times) or take photographs.
