COUNTRIES

After arriving we changed $250 and we got a bag of money. The biggest note is worth $1

Shwedagon, the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in the country, covered with 53 metric tonnes of gold leaf

It's encrusted with thousands of diamonds

People come to pour water over one of 8 statues, depending on their birthday

The Singu Min bell

Another Buddha

People spend many hours inside the complex

Shwedagon Pagoda contains relics of the past four Buddhas, including eight hairs of Gautama, the historical Buddha

According to legend, the Shwedagon Pagoda is 2500 years old

Little girl monks wearing pink robes

Mahabandoola Road in the center of Yangon

Central Yangon. It's the biggest city in Myanmar, with population of 5 million

Most men wear longyi, the traditional cotton wrap-around skirt

Virtually all cars are very, very old

Trains are very slow and derail quite frequently

Inside one of the carriages

Street sellers are a common sight in Yangon

Many children start working very young to help their parents

Poverty is everywhere, but Burmese people are the nicest on Earth!

This woman just sat down to smoke a cigarette

A typical street in Yangon

There were many Hindu shops in this area. Most people are Buddhist, it's a multicultural city

Food was really good in Myanmar, much to our surprise

Burmese public telephone

Taking buses is much cheaper than taxis, but learning Burmese numbers is necessary

Small Buddha is supposed to ensure a safe journey

Bus station in the new capital - Nay Pyi Taw. It's probably the only town with 24h electricity

Uppatasanti Pagoda, just 30cm shorter than Shwedagon Pagoda

Rush hour in Nay Pyi Taw. The military government wasted untold millions building this town of 20,000 people

General's new home. It looks unreal in this poverty-stricken country