Following the release of political prisoners, relaxed censorship and other legal reforms, and the lifting of sanctions, Myanmar is shaping up as Asia's next hot investment market. As foreign speculators and developers flock to Yangon (formerly Rangoon), photographer Christopher Wise captured life in the city's business open markets and ex-pat bars. If nothing else, Yangon today is proof that money abhors a vacuum.

Sitting at the center of Yangon (Rangoon), the Sule Pagoda is said to have been built in the time of the first Buddha (about 2,500 years ago).