Myanmar is an incredible travel destination, there is such an abundance of color, exotic places and interesting attractions. Few persons know about Myanmar, some only know it as Burma, the old name, and most people have the same reaction when they hear something like this from northern Thailand’s neighbors: “Myanmar, is this a country?”
It is also amazing, shocking and strikes you as a very cold shower since you take the first step in the airport. Even though I seriously prepared myself before heading out this spring, nothing prepared me for the reality that you will find there. Whether you want to get there in the very near future, or want to enrich your general culture a little, you should know a few things about Myanmar.
Since 2005, the administrative center has been relocated from Yangon, which remains one of the largest and busiest cities, also having the main airport in the country, in Nypiydaw. Myanmar is a huge country, almost three times larger than Romania and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. As such, the distances between the most important sights are very large, so it’s great to use the plane or at least the local buses. Although we found the tourist areas very safe, with friendly people and very eager to receive strangers, there are still regions where tourist access is forbidden – an example would be the Kachin region, in the north of the country – and even hundreds of areas tribes live the way they did 200 years ago.
As you walk on these meadows, it is almost impossible not to notice on the street red spots, the bleeding that are closely related to this practice. Once you have started chewing this tobacco, it not only causes addiction, but also very hard teeth. If you come across a kun-ya-loving taxi driver, you need to be prepared to slow down every minute to open the door and spit. Not at all delicate, if you ask us, it is even scruffy. Going back to more earthly habits, however, you will notice that most people wear slippers here. And not any kind of slab, but some of the velvet. This is at least weird, given that the whole country is covered in dust, whether it’s cities or villages. I understood why you slap. As often as you have to go barefoot, it is a convenient, cheap and ingenious option. But why the velvet? We have no. If anyone knows, give us some news. Read more info at Myanmar travel places.
These are the elements we take into account in all our vacations and we wanted to clarify them because it happened that some photos from Myanmar were accompanied on Facebook by a message saying that we, as tourists, seemed an expensive destination. I stirred up a wave of conflicting opinions. Indeed, Myanmar may be a cheap destination, but under certain conditions: if you opt for hostel accommodation – that is, a bed in a room with 4 to 12 people, with a shared bathroom -, if you eat street food, if you do transfer between cities by local bus or train – in case you do not mind spending 10-12 hours in such a means of transport instead of 40 minutes by plane.
Burmese chew betel leaves mixed with various powders and tobacco as a drug that gives them a euphoric state, broken teeth and stained lips and addiction. You will see them spitting the reddish-brown mixture all over the street. Do not be surprised if in a restaurant, shop or hotel you have five employees around you. One asks you, one takes your money, one writes, one gives you the product, one checks. Most of the time they get in the way of each other and they don’t really get what they want to do. Have patience and do not raise the tone, you will not solve anything with this. See extra info on Places to visit in Myanmar.