Yangon is a green and shady metropolis with pagodas by the downtown roadsides, where a hundred years ago they were dusty lanes leading to villages which are now townships of the city. The majestic Shwedagon Pagoda towers over Yangon from his perch on a high hill, a spire of 98 m covered in plates of gold and topped with a jewelled crown, surrounded by many golden pavilions and smaller spire. Four stairways, two lined with shops of carving, images, bronze ware and folk toys lead up to the wide, marble-paved platform. Other pagodas of note are the Chauk Htat Gyi a huge reclining Buddha image and the Botahtaung Pagoda overlooking the Yangon River where you can walk into the spire to the chamber or relics.

Botahtaung Pagoda is very near the Strand Hotel, over one hundred years old. It was built by the Sarkies Brothers who opened it in 1901 and who by that time were successfully operating Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Writers such as Somerset Maugham and Norman Lewis stayed there.

Strand Hotel is surrounded by beautiful colonial buildings. At the other end of the spectrum there is a morning fresh produce bazaar in the vicinity, selling fruits, flowers, meat, fowl and glistening fresh fish. There is also Bogyoke Aung San Market, a sprawling grand market with all good imaginable from silks to lacquer to wood carvings to jewellery.

A round of golf, if one is so inclined, is available at the wonderfully landscaped the Pun Hlaing Golf Course.

Thanlyin is an old town just across the river and 40 minutes drive from Yangon, a place that remains almost untouched by time. The Kyaik Khaut Pagoda, a smaller replica of the Shwedagon, celebrates its annual pagoda festival every February, drawing villagers from the region to the biggest country fair nearest to Yangon.

Bago, about two hours drive from Yangon was once the capital of the mighty 16th Century kingdom Hanthawaddy. The 54.88 m long Shwe Thar lyaung is beautiful reclining image that was reclaimed in the 19th Century from the jungle that covered it. The other famous site is the 114 m high Shwe Mawdaw Pagoda, its golden spire dominating Bago's landscape. On weekends, in a pavilion at the Hintha Gon Pagoda, privately funded Spirit or Nat worship ceremonies often take place.

The Moeyin Gyi Bird Sanctuary, a few km before you reach Bago is a wetlands haven for local water fowl and migrating birds.