Sule Shangri-la Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar

So much has happened in the five years since my last visit to Yangon in Myanmar!
The surprise of this visit was my stay at Sule Shangril-la right in the heart of Yangon.
It is the best place to stay in Yangon if you are there for business or pleasure.

As the name implies, the hotel is a stone's throw away from the Sule Pagoda.
Yangon has the best preserved British colonial architecture (as does Hanoi of the French colonial) and within walking distance of the hotel you can admire a slew of the buildings in the British Colonial style.
On arrival at the hotel, I was warmly greeted by the front desk staff, later, I had a chance to chat with them, Ko Saw and May.

All the staff were young and enthusiastic, I told them they have to be proud of working at a Shangri-la hotel, my own experiences limited to Doha and KL.

 I was at the fifteenth floor and was very satisfied with the amenities. I slept well each night,waking up eagerly to go down to the Breakfast buffet.

Enjoying looking at the early morning mist .

and the newly found neon brightening the street below me in the early night.
At the restaurant I met Chef Ganesan, who is from Cennai (the old Madras) who has been here for 15 years. Tamil people from India are one of my favourite people, with their child like smiles and innocence and of course the deep history and great cultural contributions to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, KL, Singapore as well as Indonesia and Cambodia of the past
( I had written of this connection in another blog
https://medicoanthropologist.blogspot.com/2013/06/india-and-south-east-asia-pallava.html)

Genuine Tamil fare cooked up by Chef Ganesan. Like Kabuliwala of Rabindranath Tagore's story, he has left his family behind in Cennai (actually a village outside Cennai) but visits them once a year.

Zun Zun always had a pleasing smile and when I told her I liked Mohinga (the national Burmese breakfast noodle dish, much like Pho in Vietnam), she offered fix one for me which I appreciated.

I am a great fan of Concierges, and always look forward to a chat with Mr Safa at Double Tree at Kuala Lumpur. Imagine my surprise on meeting Moo Thow, the chief concierge, I noticed the prestigious clefs d'or on his lapel.

He told me of the history of clefs d'or in Myanmar and soon hope to be integrated into the world body as a full member. Currently they are independent but invited to attend the meeting at the SE Asia level.
I was happy to know that yet another concierge at the hotel 
Ko Ko has also clefs d'or!

The delightful person i had a chance to chat on the last day of my stay was Ya Min Htike, the Front Office Manager. Friendly and charming, she took me to the Executive Club Floor and offered me a cup of Burmese tea while i enjoyed the scenery from those heights.

All in all, a very pleasant stay in a city that has changed and is evolving. A lovely place to visit and while you are in Yangon, you must stay at Shangri-la

I will be, when I return at the end of May 2019.