Shopping in Burma
 

OK, so I'm a bit of a world shopaholic. It's part of the fun.

And in doing my shopping research, here's a very interesting article I found in the NYTimes about modern artist in Yangon:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/10/23...pagewanted=all
Wow, it really inspired me to bring home a modern art painting in Yangon. (If affordable!)

Also wondering about what can be taken out of the country. I thought I read somewhere that antiques cannot be taken out, yet I've read in LP about many upscale places that sell quality antiques in the "Back Room".

But besides modern art and antiques, I'm looking for nice quality crafts, art and jewlery in Bagan, Inle Lake and Yangon.

Does anyone have Burma shopping experiences and recos for the best
shopping in Burma?

Maung Aung Myin art gallery of Bagan for lacquer items. Ask for the best stuff or for the back room. I didn't experience any other special places to purchase. The rest was just picked up at markets.

we bought two affordable but high quality paintings in yangon---one in scott's market and one in a gallery just outside the downtown..

laquareware (sp) is of high quality as are things made of wood and grass..

the glass factory has a few nice things to buy too.

Burma is no shopper's paradise.

You can browse Scott's Market in Yagon, but we found little of interest other than an amazing textiles shop on the second floor. The Strand has an excellent shopping arcade with a gallery of local artists. The Governor's Residence also has a nice shop.

At Inle, there is a silk and lotus-weaving workshop on the lake. The lotus fiber items are unique. Also at Inle, the walkway up to the temple at InDien has the best quality crafts we saw in the area.

Lacquerware is a speciality in Bagan.

I second a visit to the arcade attached to the Strand. At one of the galleries there, we picked up an amazing cubist-style painting for just $350.

In Bagan we purchased a beautiful lacquerware bowl that we found in the back room of Maung Aung Myin. There is another place across the road that also has high quality items.

Has anyone been to the jade market in Mandalay? It's on my TO DO list, there are some interesting you tube videos. I've seen really lovely silver jewelry at a gallery recently, some set with precious and semi precious stones but I'm not sure where to buy. Deb, I wonder if our paths will cross, when do you arrive?

The arcade next to the Strand is called the River Gallery and it sounds pretty awesome, It was highlighted in the NY Times article I posted. Glad to hear it's somewhat affordable.
Thanks everyone for your guidance. Looks like I'll be taking a bit of cash with me:)

we found the shopping in yangon to be quite good.. it really depends on what you are looking for... it does take some extra time to find things

I loved the shopping I did in Myanmar. We brought home a great painting that we actually bought from the artist himself after our guide found where he lived and got government permission to visit him in his home (a first for him as well as for us). The paintings in the Strand River Gallery are excellent, also. I bought some fun jewelry pieces, lacquerware, three longyis and tops from a silk shop, marionettes,etc. I do wear the longyis back in the states. Also liked the textile shop on the second floor of Scott's Market and bought a piece there. My favorite souvenir, however, was my collection of photos!

Oh and I bought several silk scarves in gorgeous colors!

Marionettes are a tradition in Burma, the making of them and the performances which have included political messages resulting in imprisonment of the puppeteers. One can buy souvenir versions, some much better than others of course. I bought simple ones for my granddaughters but saw larger, more elaborate versions at the shop in the Strand Hotel in Yangon and also at the theatre where I bought mine, Mandalay Marionettes Theatre where there are evening performances.

If you want to buy marionettes, Mandalay, where they are made, is the place to do it. You will have a better selection and lower prices than elsewhere in Burma.

We bought a couple of very nice oils by Myoe Kyaw, an older Rangoon-based artist who trained in Europe in the 1970s. However, Burmese art and crafts are fairly traditional, silks, puppets, lacquerware, some ceramics and carvings, some jade, plus fairly gaudy gemstones set in brassy gold.

If anyone is looking for seriously good art in Asia, Hanoi is the place. The Francais have left behind an excellent tradition or art and design, and the local artists are excelling.