One of the best parts about my job in Yangon is I actually can walk to and from work everyday. My apartment is on a not too crowded street and is just a little over a mile walking distance from the Embassy.
As you can see, Yangon is a VERY green city with lush trees and vegetation just about everyway. It makes for a very enjoyable walk, but one must be very careful when strolling the streets of Yangon, not because of traffic but because of moss.
Yangon has a rainy season from May to November where you can rest assured it will drop a substantial amount of rain for an hour or two everyday. What that means is moss will grow on just about everything. Why this matters is because moss on the sidewalk is VERY slippery. When I first got here and told people I planned to commute by walking, everyone warned me how slippery it was, but didn’t really articulate it well. In my head I was thinking “yeah yeah, it’s always slippery when it rains”. NOPE.
Yangon is blessed with these glorious sidewalks everywhere, but the reality is it is way too unsafe to walk on them if you see any moss buildup. Walking on these sidewalks feels almost exactly like walking on black ice. It is outrageously slippery, and the first time I set foot on one of them, I almost faceplanted. The best way to combat the moss is the power wash it off, but because the sidewalks are the property owners responsibility, maintenance is a patchwork of pristine walking sidewalks or moss laden death traps. Fortunately the streets are well maintained and safe to walk on. Just a shame these great sidewalks can be basically useless.
Another interesting quirk to the streets of Yangon are little metal barriers the military government places along some of the roads to prevent speeding and to slow people down for impromptu check points. My route to work has 3 of these and they always seem to be moved around day to day.
So far I love my quirky walk to and from work, even if it means I am sweating like a pig when I head home for the hot afternoon walk. It basically forces me to get my 10k steps in, and I get to enjoy the green beauty of my neighborhood. Definitely a welcome change from my last assignment where it was too unsafe to walk. -Nick
