The golden spires of the Shwedagon Pagoda reached out into the heavenly twilight. I was caught dazed and breathless by the surreal golden sunset at Yangon’s most popular landmark.

For two months that I was traveling around South East Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam), I hardly witnessed awesome sunsets because of my ill-timed visit during the rainy season. When I arrived in Myanmar (Burma), however, most late afternoons were blessed with perfect sunsets.

After a long drought of gray skies, the golden sunsets were like much-needed rain of enlightenment for my inner photographer.

Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar (Burma) and, arguably, the oldest historical pagoda in the world. At 99 meters, it dominates the skyline of Yangon.

Like in other holy temples and pagodas in Myanmar, I had to take my shoes off and walk barefoot on the temple grounds. The whole temple complex was HUGE. I arrived at the actual structure of the Shwedagon Pagoda around 6:20pm, a time when the soft colors of twilight were at its most mesmerizing intensity.

View more photos taken during my 3-day trip to Yangon.