Yangon: Surrounded on three sides by water, Yangon has a unique charm with its old colonial buildings, tree lined streets, bustling markets and tranquil lakes. Pagodas glisten among trees and houses and at the heart of Yangon is the mighty Shwedagon Pagoda…always bustling with people who come to worship, picnic, read or simply quietly absorb the surroundings. One of the most magnificent monuments on earth, and said to date from the 11th century, the stupa is plated with more than 8,000 solid gold slabs and its tip is set with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and topaz. The Shwedagon is surrounded by more than 100 smaller stupas, pavilions and halls. Yangon, as the capital city of Myanmar, is a thriving sea port which is fast-changing with new buildings and busy streets as you would expect from a newly-emerging international city.  Other attractions include a selection of smaller pagodas, an intriguing national museum, and traditional markets which are worth a browse. Mandalay: Built along side the Ayeyarwaddy River, Mandalay combines Myanmar's royal history and the preservation of spiritual traditions. The royal heritage can be found at the Golden Palace Monastery with its exquisite wood carvings. The spiritual heart is enshrined at Mahamuni pagoda, housing the most venerated Buddha statue in Mandalay. The large seated image is so greatly revered that layer upon layer of gold leaf, placed as a mark of homage by a ceaseless flow of worshippers, have distorted the true shape of the statue. Only the highly polished face, gazing serenely is untouched.   Get a visa A visa must be obtained before entering Burma... Culture and people Its a combination of Myanmar Art and Culture, together to show the inner expressions of the Myanmar people.... How to get there: Yangon and Mandalay International Airports are the main Intl Airports in Myanmar. Weather & climate: Burma has three seasons. From September to February the daytime temperature is about 28 degrees Celsius... With its wood-carving, stone sculpting, gold-leaf-making and cheroot rolling, Mandalay comes across as a kind of huge oriental bazaar. The shopping hub of upper Myanmar, this is where the colourful hill tribes come together and mingle with the townspeople. The nearby Sagaing Hill provides stunning panoramic views. The pagoda-studded hill at Sagaing ranks as one of the most imposing sights in the whole of Myanmar, with the view also taking in the Ayeyarwaddy River itself - a reminder of how the river serves as the very lifeline connecting all the major sights Myanmar has to offer. Bagan: Some 5,000 monuments, a testament to Bagan as a former centre of Buddhist spirituality and learning, are scattered over the 42 square kilometres of the Irrawaddy riverbanks. The kings of Burma from 1044 to 1287 devoted their energy and considerable resources to building pagodas and temples. While their great palaces which were built of wood have since burnt down or crumbled away, hundreds of temples and pagodas remain on the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy River. As a World Heritage Site, Bagan stands alongside the other great centres of South East Asia, comparable only to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Framed on both sides by the great Ayeyarwaddy River, the main concentration of monuments is around the original city on the bend of the river. No two monuments are the same. All are highly original in design and conception. Bagan cannot fail to move you. Ask any visitor who has witnessed the sun rise or set across these fields of glowing temples. The temples are now empty. Sacked by man or felled by nature, the great communities of chanting monks and reverberating bells have moved on. In its place is calmness and peace, and a vision of wonder at how man was capable of creating such a vast city of spiritual monuments Lake Inlè: Lake Inlè in Shan state is nearly 100km long and just 5km wide, with more than 200 villages on or around it. Most of the inhabitants are Intha people, Intha meaning "sons of the lake". The villages have been constructed on stilts over the water while floating gardens have been cultivated out of water hyacinth and silt from the lake that float on the surface. The water is crystal clear and a pictorial paradise for the professional and amateur photographer alike. Inles most unusual feature is its extraordinary 'leg-rowers' who have developed the original, eccentric method of rowing with one leg. With the other they balance precariously on the back of their sampans leaving their hands free to drop their tall conical nets over passing fish which they can spot in the shallow lake. Bhamo: Situated in the state of Kachin, Bhamo is a trading post close to the Chinese border, and has suffered frequent incursions over the centuries. Today it is home to a daily market which attracts many ethnic minorities to the town. You can often catch the colourful costumes and faces of Kachin, Shan, Lisu and Palaung people.  Adventurous travellers might enjoy the local ferry boat trip from Bhamo to Mandalay, that takes you through lush jungle, bamboo forests and steep rock gorges. The so-called Ledo Road etches out a route through the rocky mountain region of Kachin State. This old caravan route was upgraded in 1965 to link China, Myanmar and India but has since fallen into disrepair. Kachin is just opening up to tourism and will soon become an important destination. Magnificent mountain scenery, the great Ayeyarwaddy River and a fascinating mix of people from many different ethnic minorities are all features of this intriguing state. 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