Myanmar
Area: 676,578 km2 ( 6.78 % of Canada, 1.9 x Germany, 262 x Luxembourg)
Population: 60,280,000 ( 1.7 x Canada, 74 % of Germany, 177 x Luxembourg)
Capital: Naypyidaw
Currency: kyat (MMK)
Time travelled: 18 days
Distance travelled: 5,241 km (3,260 km by plane)
Highlights in chronological order:
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Schwedagon Pagoda
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Friendliness of the people
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Helpfulness of the people
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Aung Puppet Show
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Biking trip with Dutch guy to countryside and monasteries around Inle Lake
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“Wikipedia monk”
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Boat tour on Inle Lake
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Train rides from Inle Lake to Mandalay
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Sunset at Amarapura Teak Bridge
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Views over Bagan
Our stay in Myanmar was very brief, but very enriching. We only visited the main tourist destinations, but there is so much more to discover. Some places are still off-limits to tourists, but the country is slowly opening up.
People: We were told that the Burmese (people of Myanmar) are the nicest people you will meet – how true! They very friendly, funny and always wanting to help. They even know how to read a map, which impressed us over and over again after having spent 6 months in countries where nobody knows how to read a map (except Malaysia). We could also see that they want to do something with their lives and are hardworking, not just sitting around all day watching the grass grow. They are also very interested. We have never seen so many people reading newspapers on the street. They also ask where one is from (which in most other countries leads to a sales pitch) and how it is there, but oftentimes they already know something about it. People who grew up during the socialist regime before 1988 are well-educated and speak well English, which helped the communication. We saw many children working instead of going to school. Because they are poor and school is expensive, parents sometimes need their kids to help out in the shop or sell stuff. We think this will be a problem in a few years and hope that the government will step in in time.
Culture: Theravada Buddhism is a huge part of the Burmese culture. Every man is expected to become a monk at some point in his life and even girls are encouraged to become a nun. This will bring good fortune to the family. Monks and nuns cannot cook for themselves; they have to collect alms from the people. This gives people the opportunity to do a good deed and earn good merit. So there are lots of monks on the streets all the time, either collecting alms or just walking around. Everyone wears skirts, called “longyi”, (except monks who wear robes) although the pattern differs between men and women. Women also wear traditional make-up made of the root of the thanaka tree. It is for beauty, but also acts as a sunscreen. We were told in Thailand that the Burmese are considered to have the nicest skin in Asia, partly because of this “make-up”. Another important part of the local culture is chewing areca nuts with tobacco and lime water wrapped in betel leaves. Almost everyone has this blood-red juice in their mouth, that they spit on the sidewalk from time to time. Even if they do not chew it, you can see who has been since it has a lasting effect on the mouth. The teeth and gums start corroding and we also read that it causes cancer. Another important pillar in the Burmese culture is Aung San Suu Kyi and her father. They are regarded as national heroes and their pictures are now available everywhere. When they talk about her, they say “The Lady” and we could sense the hope they put in her.
Food: Burmese dishes are not excellent, but still ok. There is also Chinese, Indian and Thai food available. What we really enjoyed were the BBQ skewers of meat or veggies. The beer is pretty good and they make their own rum, which is very strong.
Economy: One hears a lot about the embargo on Myanmar. In fact, this embargo is only from the EU and the US, since Myanmar is part of the ASEAN and has lots of trading with its partners. Agriculture employs about 70% of the population with the main crops being rice, fruits and vegetables. On average people earn about 2,000 kyats a day ($2.50 per day). The country is rich in resources (teak wood, oil, natural gas, silver, gold, diamonds), exporting a lot to neighbouring countries. Unfortunately the military profits from it and buys firearms (especially from China and Russia). Myanmar is opening up more and more, so hopefully this will put an end to the forced labour and oppression exercised by the government.
Transportation: The highways are surprisingly good and other roads we took were not bad either (or being re-paved right now). The buses were of ok quality, usually old buses imported from Thailand. When the roads were bad, journeys used to take about 18 hours between cities, so the buses left at 3pm to arrive the next morning. However, now with better roads, travel times have been cut to 12 hours, but the buses leave at the same time, arriving at 3-4am. Hopefully they will realize this and change the departure times eventually. The train is old, wobbly and extremely slow; probably dating from the British era. It is better as a cultural experience than as a mode of transportation. The boat we took between Mandalay and Bagan was ok, but overpriced. It’s really expensive to take taxis in this country and the prices are completely disproportional. For example, a taxi ride is 5,000 kyat for 10 minutes, when the 12-hour bus ride from Yangon to Inle Lake was 11,000 kyat.