Rangoon vs Burma's borderlands
Rangoon, or "Yangon," was until 2006 the political capital of Burma (Myanmar). It is still the country's focal point for trade, politics and wealth. While many of Rangoon's citizens appear to be as poor as people living outside the metropolis, no Burmese are as wealthy as the wealthy in Rangoon.
It is a city of jewel-encrusted golden shrines, including Shwedagon, the world's largest pagoda. It is also a sprawling testament to the legacy of British colonialism in Asia and decades of governmental abuse. Ancient colonial mansions erode into the streets, beggars with amputated limbs sing for their food in the markets, and enormous privately-owned generators block sidewalks in the people's attempt to function through dozens of daily electrical blackouts.
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