Yangoon is a capital city which has not been touched by the modernization of other South East Asian capitals. It is full of vegetation and lakes, stupas, old colonial buildings, sprawling markets and small traditional shops. Its highlight is the Shwedagon Paya (the Golden Dagon) possibly the most beautiful Buddhist pagoda in the world. It is a complex construction of ample proportions, topped by a great golden dome which rises 100m above its base and which has accumulated, during its yearly regildings, more than 50 tonnes of gold. Accessed by four long covered staircases, the main platform is crowded with an amazing assortment of more than a hundred different zedis, temples, shrines, and pavilions, many of them ornamented with bells and colorful statues and images. The ambiance on the platform on which families stroll clockwise, pray, and give offerings, is just magic in its combination of contemplation and liveliness. It is well worth coming at different times of the day to catch the changing moods.