Karaweik palace barge on Kandawgyi Lake, Yangon, Myanmar

© Etakundoy/Shutterstock

Karaweik palace barge on Kandawgyi Lake, Yangon, Myanmar

On the shore of Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon, Myanmar (aka Burma), stands the gilded palace barge called Karaweik. It’s a concrete replica of a traditional royal floating palace and was built in 1972. Today there’s a restaurant and performance space inside, welcoming visitors with traditional folk music and dance. Kandawgyi Lake itself is man-made, a relic of the British colonial occupation of Burma during the 19th and early 20th centuries.