Life in Yangon, Burma: 'A beautiful, congested, funky city'

Peter Popham's video diary of life in the former Burmese capital

Burma may not be a country associated with a lively city environment or a home of prosperous individuals in Porsches, but Peter Popham's video diary offers an intriguing insight into life in Yangon.

The capital of the country until 2006, Yangon is a smorgasbord of colonial-era buildings, high-rises and impoverished outskirts.

In Yangon, as Peter Popham details, the city is "one of the most beautiful in Asia," with the area around the Shewedagon Pagoda becoming a hive of activity at night, with tiny lanes crowded with food stalls and young children in pyjamas tucking into a pre bedtime snack on the street.

The one downside of recent changes has been a huge influx of imported cars, with travel inside Yangon's ancient, narrow streets laborious and traffic-laden.

Of course, the sheer number of cars tell their own story, with Porches and other luxurious makes dotted around the city, showing that while Burma may be one of the poorest nations in Asia, a number of people have benefited and prospered from close ties with the military.