Yangon, a city of five million friendly, smiling people is newly emerged from Myanmar’s time warp. The ghost of the British Empire is still strong, and its turn-of-the-century colonial architecture unmistakable. Whilst sightseeing you will pass mansions that were once home to administrators and planters born in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. The colonial blueprint on the design of hospitals, Customs House and Government Offices is instantly recognizable.

The jewel of Yangon is the impressive Shwedagon Pagoda. This magnificent structure can be seen from miles around the city, no building dare to be higher than its Golden Spire. Believed to be 2,500 years old and enshrining seven of Lord Buddha’s hairs, the Shwedagon Pagoda is revered as one of the most holy sites by Buddhists throughout the world.

The Golden Dragon, as it is known to the locals, rises over 300 feet in height and is a celebration of the beauty mankind can create. At the crown (and it’s just as well that this is out of reach!), bells of gold and silver are topped by a vane studded with 1,100 diamonds totaling 178 carats plus 1,383 other precious stones. The piece de resistance is a hollow, golden sphere, mounted with a single 76-carat diamond and encrusted with 4,351 additional diamonds weighing 1800 carats.