11 things to know before visiting Myanmar
11 things to know before visiting Myanmar
Myanmar,
or Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar which is derived from
the Burmese Empire (1500-1000BC) is a country in Southeast Asia. It lies on the
Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea coast with Bangladesh and Republic of India to
the west which is part of the same sub-region of Indonesia, China to the north,
and Laos and Thailand to the east.
March 25, 2015
1. New Year celebrations last four days
The Burmese make a big deal of
the New Year. Thingyan, known as the "water throwing festival," is
celebrated in April. This year it takes place April 13-16. Everything shuts down over the
four-day New Year banks, restaurants, shops. The biggest celebrations are in
Yangon and Mandalay. During the New Year
water-throwing frenzy everyone throws and sprays water at each other. Staying
dry isn't an option. Water symbolizes the washing away of the previous year's
bad luck and sins.On New Year's Day, the fourth
day of the festival, fish and birds are released as acts of merit and feasts
are held for monks.
In recent years of privation,
hard-core Burmese punks used leather glue to spike up their hair at New Year.
The superstrong glue meant their mohawks stayed standing through the Water
Festival, but when the party was over they had to shave their hair. These days,
Burmese punks use hairspray.
2. Myanmar
has fantastic beaches
Myanmar has 1,250 miles (2,000
kilometers) of coastline and some of the finest stretches of beach in Asia.
Many beaches along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea remain undiscovered by
tourists and unspoiled by development. Many of them face west, so
they produce great sunsets.
The best known is Ngapali
Beach, a 45-minute flight from Yangon, where almost two miles of white sand are
lined with palm trees overlooking the Andaman Sea. Here, you'll find a number
of large resorts.Less developed is Ngwe Saung,
a beautifully unspoiled beach that's a five-hour drive from Yangon. Also called
Silver Beach, its eight-mile (13 kilometers) stretch makes it one of the
longest beaches in Asia.
3. The
Internet isn't censored anymore, but it's still slow
The Internet arrived in
Myanmar in 2000, but high prices and slow connections mean it's still not
widely used. Under the former government,
websites such as YouTube and Gmail were blocked, but restrictions have largely
been lifted and last month Google chairman Eric Schmidt visited the country.
Far more popular than the
Internet are mobile phones, though here, too, prices are high compared with
other Asian countries. Local IT firms are lobbying to introduce cheaper SIM
cards and a breakthrough is expected soon. A U.S.$15 SIM card for mobile
phones will be made available in June, in the run-up to the Southeast Asian
Games to be held in Myanmar in December, but will be available only to
foreigners.
4. You'll
need plenty of cash and make sure it's clean
There are few ATMs in Myanmar,
so visitors need to bring plenty of U.S. dollars. The higher the denomination,
the better the exchange rate. Your greenbacks should be
squeaky clean that means no creases, stains, marks or tears. A note that's
folded or even a little worn is worthless in Myanmar.
At present, credit cards are
accepted only in five-star hotels and up-market shops and restaurants, usually
with a 2-3% fee added to the bill. But this is changing. By the end of the
year, credit cards should be more widely accepted. The local currency is the kyat
(pronounced "chat") and U.S.$1 will get you about 882 kyat. The new
10,000-kyat note (less than U.S.$12) is the highest denomination be prepared
for a bulging wallet. There's little worry about
carrying a lot of cash. Crime against foreigners is rare and the Burmese the
vast majority of whom are Buddhist are generally honest.
5. A
kissing sound gets you a beer
When the Burmese want to get a
waiter's attention they make a kissing sound, usually two or three short
kisses. It's the sort of sound you might make if calling a cat. Walk down 19 Street in
Yangon's Chinatown and you'll hear that kissing sound a lot. This narrow,
pedestrian-only street is where the Burmese come to drink. Restaurants line either side
of the street and chairs and tables are set out in front. The local brew is Myanmar Beer
and it's cheap about 60 cents for a glass.
This is prime people-watching
territory and if you keep an eye out you'll spot Yangon's hip-hop royalty on
the prowl. Just don't expect to see any
females. Most Burmese women married and single stay home in the evening. That's
not to say Western women aren't welcome. It's understood that foreigners have
different customs.
6. Hotels
are expensive
Room rates shot up 350% last
year, which means that a room that cost U.S.$25 a night in 2011 now goes for
almost U.S.$100. It's a simple matter of supply
and demand. Since the country opened up, business travelers and tourists have
been packing flights to Myanmar. There are a lot more visitors more than a
million last year but roughly the same number of hotels.
More hotels are on the way,
but they take time to build and the hotel shortage is expected to continue five
to 10 years. Book accommodation well ahead. A lot of hotels are renovating
and since they don't want to miss out on the visitor boom, they're staying open
while upgrading. When making a reservation it's worth checking to see if any
work is in progress and, if so, requesting a room away from the noise.
7. The
men wear skirts
The traditional Burmese dress
is the longyi, a wraparound skirt worn by men and women. Men tie theirs in the
front and women fold the cloth over and secure it at the side. NLD Leader Aung San Suu Kyi is
known for her beautiful longyis and tailored tops. Her high-profile appearances
have helped boost the popularity of the traditional dress among young women in
Myanmar. As for what's worn underneath,
that's a matter of personal preference. In the cities, Burmese men usually wear
underwear beneath their longyis when they go out, but at home wear it as the
Scots wear their kilts.
In the countryside, underwear
is much less common for men and women. As one man jokingly put it: "Longyi
are great. Free air-conditioning." That's a plus, especially when the
summer temperature tips 104 F (40 C). It's completely acceptable for
a foreigner to wear a longyi and can be a conversation starter.
8. The
food is exceptional
It's considered rude to eat
with the left hand as this is the hand used for personal hygiene. To spell that
out the left hand does the job of toilet paper. So eating as well as giving
money is always done with the right hand. A typical Burmese meal
includes steamed rice, fish, meat, vegetables and soup and all the dishes
arrive at the same time. The Burmese use their fingertips
to mold the rice into a small ball and then mix it with various dishes.
As is the norm, Buddhists
usually avoid eating beef and the Muslims don't eat pork.
Meals are served with plenty
of condiments from sweet to savory and everyone has their preferred way of
customizing a dish.
9. The
trains are seriously bumpy
The poor condition of railway
tracks means carriages get shaken about. This makes for a bouncy ride, but
trains are still a great way to see the country. Myanmar's trains are slow and
have a reputation for running late. The most reliable route, Yangon to
Mandalay, takes about 16 hours, assuming no delays.
On overnight trains, there's
more chance of getting some shut-eye in an upper class seat than in a sleeper.
It can get surprisingly cold a few hours after dusk, so it's smart to bring
something warm to wear. Buses are usually a faster
option, but they're often crowded. Domestic flights are the most comfortable
way to cover long distances and relatively cheap.
10. Yangon
has a newspaper vendor on every street corner
After five decades under a
repressive military regime, the Burmese are enjoying their newfound press
freedom and showing a healthy appetite for news. In the past, all publications
had to submit their stories to the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division for
approval. Censorship was gradually phased out in 2012 and at the beginning of
this year the bureau was formally abolished.
Under the former ruling
military junta, Myanmar had a reputation for jailing anyone who dared voice
opposition; that included many in the media. Last year was the first year since
1996 that no journalists were jailed. Burmese journalists who fled
the country and were forced to live in exile are slowly returning.
April 1 was a landmark for the
country's media. For the first time since 1964, daily newspapers were
permitted. It's a big step for press freedom, but there are concerns that some
of the popular weekly newspapers will struggle to make the transition to daily
circulation.
11. The
people with red teeth aren't vampires
Chewing betel nut is a
national pastime. Small street stalls selling the palm-sized green leaves are
everywhere. The leaves are filled with
hard squares of betel nut, spices and sometimes a pinch of tobacco and then
folded up and popped in the mouth and chewed. You have to chew a while
before you feel the mild narcotic effect of the betel nut.
At about 6 cents a wrap it's a
cheap hit, but there's a downside. Not only does betel nut stain your teeth a
reddish-brown, the little packages are spat out on the floor when finished
making for messy sidewalks. It's also highly addictive.
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