Back across the river in downtown Yangon, there's a chance to walk through markets and side streets. I can't help thinking that many of these areas close to the centre will look very different in a few years with foreign investment and a growth in tourism. For now, I just love the fading colonial character of the place. Religious tolerance is highlighted by pagodas, mosques and churches all coexisting in the city centre.

On on one street, there are many bookstalls with books both ancient and modern. I saw the 1955 Boys book of soccer and a manual about insurance and audit procedures from the early 1950s when the British were here. It's good to see young people buying lots of materials and another small sign that things are changing in society here.

After visting the Indian quarter and Chinatown, it's time to visit the incredible Shwedagon pagoda complex. It literally is breathtaking and I decide to spend several hours here to soak up the atmosphere of the place and to marvel at the wonderful pagodas and temples.

There has has been a pagoda on this site for over 2,500 years and the main structure has been added to many times over the centuries. I join the entrance for 'Foreigners only', remove my shoes and socks, pay the entrance fee of about £5 and enter via the lift. My first sight has me involuntarily exclaiming 'Wow!'

All around the main pagoda, there are numerous Buddhist shrines including a special place to commemorate the day of the week on which you were born. At 'Tuesday corner' I saw a number of monks and other visitors place flowers, burn candles and pour water over the idol.

This is a special place of pilgrimage for people from different states of Myanmar. Many from remote areas have never seen westerners before and for my five minutes of celebrity fame, I am accosted by monks, young men and women who want to be photographed with me!

Shwedagon on has to be one of the most fantastic man made features on the planet. Truly brilliant and I intend to visit it again in different weathers and times of the day.