Distant view of Shwedagon Pagoda from our hotel

In 2007 I went with a colleague on a business trip to Yangon (Rangoon), Myannmar (Burma). Since I was working I didn’t get a chance to see very much. Also at that time Myannmar was a difficult country to move around it. We weren’t allowed to leave Yangon. So the only non-work things we were able to do were an early morning visit to Shwedagon Pagoda and an evening performance of traditional dances.

Shwedagon is truly spectacular!  I’ve traveled quite a bit an this is one of the most impressive complexes I’ve seen.  The dance performance was also interesting.  We bumped into a Burmese colleague who on a personal trip from New York.   It turned out the the woman in who had choreographed and directer the performance was her former teacher.

Evening shot of Karaweik Palace (a rather over the top restaurant) from the other side of Kandawgyi Lake