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In December we flew north to Burma's second city - Mandalay. Not much of the old capital survives today. What the British didn't loot in 1885 when they took the city, the allies demolished in 1945 to oust the Japanese.

This bridge lies just outside the city and is probably the #2 tourist site in the country after Shwedagon Pagoda. It's a 1.2 km bridge made entirely of Teak. Tour buses unload here for sunset photo ops.

But what's more endearing is the Burmese who come to meet the tourists. Burma has been so closed off for so long that any occasion to meet and greet 'outsiders' and to practice whatever foreign language they've learned is not to be missed.