a more accurate picture than most locals regarding the technical problems the society faces. It is more common than before amongst young people in their early 20´s to learn about and work with these issues and technology in Yangon. Walking further Hla looks down the street to her right and spots Strand road with the famous Strand hotel. This hotel was opened in 1901 by the British and faces the Yangon river. At the time, it was the most luxurious place in town, and the British had one of their clubs in this building. During the time, up until 1993 when it re-opened after renovations, it was used as a headquarter for the Japanese during the WWII, Burma economic development corporations before it was sold in 1989. As with The Secretary and most of the other buildings from the British era, which is most of downtown, the Strand Hotel was left to decay until it was bought and renovated. Today it is once more one of the more luxurious places to stay in Yangon. The rest of the buildings has not experienced a similar faith, as Downtown Yangon is mostly represented by “once upon a time” beautiful, intricately decorated, but now decayed buildings. With streets in straight lines with columns and names starting at 1th street going up to 64th street, makes downtown is reasonably easy to navigate. The buildings appear to be left to themselves, even though the buildings are inhabited today. Downtown Yangon is a unique place with a mix of different cultures, religion, and ethnic backgrounds. Outside Yangon, there are several conflicts between different groups of people, and especially the Muslim population had to face struggling times. However, in downtown Yangon, the situation is a bit different. The area around the famous 19th street is called Chinatown. There are Chinese decorations, alongside the Burmese bbq-streetfood. This street is a popular backpacker-street where Hla often gets an opportunity to speak with foreigners. However, most of the time, it is mostly local teenagers and young adults enjoying beers, cheap drinks, and a bit overpriced food. Around Sule Pagoda further up the street, there are both churches, mosques, and temples in just a few minutes walking distances. The big teashop and street food market next to Maha Bandula Park and the independence monument is popular amongst the locals. Every morning, as she walks past the Maha Bandula Park Hla would see locals doing their exercises, often there is dancing, yoga or other activities, but always before the sun gets too high and the heat sets in. The most impressive monument is the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, a bit further north of downtown. It is an enormous golden pagoda stretching 100 meters in the air, decorated with gems and statues all around and is considered one of the four most important religious places in the 39