The elegant Strand hotel, which fell into decay after the military took over Burma in 1962, was recently restored to its former glory. Much of the city's colonial architecture remains derelict.

STILL STANDING | The Secretariat, former headquarters for the British and independent Burma, was abandoned in 2005 when the government moved the capital to Naypyidaw.

The Secretariat's decaying interior

The road to Bagan—in the '90s villagers were forcibly relocated from the archaeological site to a new town, New Bagan.

Many colonial buildings are still in use but not protected from developers.

TREAD SOFTLY | Bagan, where more than 2,500 ancient Buddhist temples spread over a vast plain, is one of Myanmar's most popular—and delicate—tourist attractions.

LOST HORIZON | A fisherman at Inle Lake

A family-run bamboo business in Bagan

Preservationist Thant Myint-U, at the crumbling former residence of his grandfather, U Thant, former secretary general of the United Nations

Temples in Bagan, Myanmar