“My morning coffee at the Strand ($US4) was the best I'd had in weeks.”
by
“The lobby of the Strand was like another universe. Cheap too, at only US$425 a night.”
by
“The two university students who showed me around Yangon. They were very friendly and eager to please.”
by
“The solid gold spire of Shwedagon pagoda, tipped with diamonds. Serious structural bling.”
by
“Ringing the big bell in the plaza around Shwedagon. It's rung only for special occasions, and only ever an odd number of times.”
by
“The Trader's Hotel. US$70 a night and formerly home to the international media, before they were all deported in one swoop.”
by
“A woman in a market helps another lift a large platter from her head. Unlike African women Burmese balance the plates with wet towels - cheating, in other words.”
by
“A bloke selling bananas in a fruit market next to one of the train stations around Yangon.”
by
“A saffron monk stands out against the green of a rice paddy as he waits for his train.”
by
“School kids returning home in the suburb of South Okkala, the centre of dissent that sparked the protests.”
