“My morning coffee at the Strand ($US4) was the best I'd had in weeks.”

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“The lobby of the Strand was like another universe. Cheap too, at only US$425 a night.”

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“The two university students who showed me around Yangon. They were very friendly and eager to please.”

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“The solid gold spire of Shwedagon pagoda, tipped with diamonds. Serious structural bling.”

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“Ringing the big bell in the plaza around Shwedagon. It's rung only for special occasions, and only ever an odd number of times.”

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“The Trader's Hotel. US$70 a night and formerly home to the international media, before they were all deported in one swoop.”

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“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.”

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“A bloke selling bananas in a fruit market next to one of the train stations around Yangon.”

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“A saffron monk stands out against the green of a rice paddy as he waits for his train.”

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“School kids returning home in the suburb of South Okkala, the centre of dissent that sparked the protests.”

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