Location Golden Valley, Bahan township Price US$3000 (rent) Contact U Aung Kyaw Moe Phone : 707517, 510 422, 099 924 666

THIS fully furnished house in Golden Valley is something of a quandary – on one hand it’s large enough and grand enough to … but it’s only a house – there’s no yard, tennis court or swimming pool.

However, the location is brilliant – except for the area’s war-zone-like roads – because it’s close to the downtown area and is blissfully quiet. There’s also a 12-foot-high wall with razor wire garnish, an imposing steel gate and a three-car carport.

Several green concessions have been made: There’s a small lawn and an abundance of potplants pretty well everywhere, including the driveway and all four of the balconies.

The 10,000-square-foot house is 10 years old and sits in a 0.2-acre plot and the balconies offer views over three sides, including a spectacular view of Shwedagon Pagoda.

Under the front portico there’s a suitably intimidating hardwood double door that opens into a living room with that has a mix of comfortable and retina-searing couches. Next is a dining room with a long oval table that could easily seat eight guests. Serving the dining room is a heavy duty kitchen with a world of storage space and a central table for preparing dishes.

There’s also a study, a single bedroom with ensuite bathroom and a bathroom that comes with a deep bath, commode, toilet and urinal, which comes across as overkill.

Leading to the second and third levels is a wide spiral staircase that looks good, although the green carpet could do with replacement and is functional; it’s lit naturally by a set of reflective blue windows, which let in light but not the heat.

The middle level is all about bedrooms: There are two ensuite doubles or masters and a slightly smaller single with ensuite. There’s also two balconies and a living room with an epic 51-inch flatscreen tv in the living room. All bedrooms are well appointed and the central landing has a nifty curved couch.
The upper level is open and airy and has a huge shrine room, a single bedroom, a spacious bathroom and a dining or entertainment space and two balconies, one that looks directly at Shwedagon.

All bathrooms in the house are extremely well appointed and feature deep baths, toilets and commodes. In keeping with those features are the 14 air-conditioners, two satellite dishes (UBC and other), 3KVA generator but there is only one phone line.

For US$3000 a month it’s a confusing prospect – more luxury live-in office than house.