Bagan and Blue Skies at Last

One of Bagan's Temple Spires piercing the bold, blue sky. After some rain, we had some sun.

Burmese People ask for things. Don’t we all…That is why I am ruled by a sweet tooth and sweet-ridden teeth. Inexplicably linked, no?

Here is a summary of what people are asking for. (And selling)

1. US Dollars. The national currency, the Myanmar Kyat (pronounced Chat) is used for some purchases such as food. However, due to the essential uselessness of Kyat outside the nation’s border, hard currency keeps the military government afloat. Guesthouses, airline tickets and most major tourist attractions require payment in dollars. Kyat, when offered as alternative to payment in dollars, nets you a terrible exchange rate. The kyat was twice devalued during the 1990s, and many investors lost thousands. The entire private Burmese banking industry apparently went bankrupt the last time this happened, in 1998. During our visit to Burma, the best exchange rate we heard of a fellow getting was 1150. At the airport, never a great rate to be had, but in Myanmar, its even more dismal: 450 Kyat to the buck. While another reclusive government, North Korea shifted its policy of dollars from tourists to Euros from tourists, Myanmar, despite decrying the US Imperialists as threats (propaganda billboards, in Burmese and English, dot the landscape) does still see the greenback as paramount to padding its coffers. Burma was the first country I visited that has no circulated coins.

2. Shampoo. Kids in Bagan, the most-touristy site in the central “dry ze” of Myanmar, seem to think visitors have shampoo packets (like those sold in Burmese corner shops) at the ready, like walking, talking cosmetics dispensers. Since most tourists are from western Europe, and many of the middle aged women I saw from such countries, did appear to be living the Barbie Golden Years persona.

3. Pens. But give them a nice pen, and I bet you they go and try to resell it to someone else. I heard a rumor the German government gives pencils to schools by the boatload, and that the program is set to expire soon. I can’t see how they would go through pencils or pens too quickly, as the school day for Burmese kids seemed to average 2-4 hours, in the early to late afternoon. And economic realities, coupled with home labor needs, means lots of kids aren’t going to school at all. I gave a few pens to charming kids we came across, in exchange for their patient information about a particular sight. Once I gave an especially cool boy a pen and a monk, seeing the pen, made a demand for me to produce a pen for him. I hope the other monk, Jealousy in his eye, didn’t take the kid’s pen. That was the last present I gave out the entire trip.

4. Handouts. I was asked for food and cash by kids, some of whom were eating some large morsel at the same time they were tagging along behind me, tugging at my purse strings. After a couple of days, most visitors learn the best choice is to give food, in moderate amounts, rather than cash. Or just nothing at all might be better.

What they’re selling…

1. Postcards. Long strings of them in plastic sleeves. Judging from how difficult it seemed to be to find a post office there, postcards are in ample supply. The pitch goes something like “You want postcard? One dollar.”

2. Lucky rocks are sold by the basketful at Mt. Popa, which is the center of mystical Burmese Nats are Fairylike gnomes who make their homes in trees. Highly superstitious, the Burmese find all possible means to not upset the various Nats. From best guess, there are 33 of them. But the aforementioned “lucky” rocks are simply rocks found alongside the road, or from location one normally finds rocks…anywhere. While the price was reasonable, 200 Kyat (20 cents or so) the girls selling them failed to realize heavy rocks are not in high demand by backpacking visitors.

3. Oranges. The particular cool/dry season fruit is the Burmese mandarin orange. And the price really varies. In Mandalay= 200 Kyat for 3. Near Inle lake, 200 Kyat for 5. On the top of a mountain, 2 for 400 Kyat. We were offered 5 for 1000 Kyat, by this unhappy punter shopstress in Kinpun (near the Golden Rock) and we told her where to cram that offer. As more and more visitors make their holidays there, the local merchants drive the local versus visitor price farther and farther apart.

4. Palm liquor and palm sugar: Both are potent and tasty. The palm sugar is all hand-rolled, so proceed with caution. The Liquor is incredibly strong. I was offered a sample at 8:30 in the morning, so there you go.

5. Dried Tamarind Slices. Tangy, tart and sweet, these were great palate cleansers. I forgot to buy a bag of them to pass around. Bummer, haven’t seen them anywhere else.

6. Cool wooden boxes, in Mandalay at the Saunder's Weaving School. Can't miss it, on the road that goes from town to Mandalay.

What they’re drinking…

Mandalay Rum: Highly potent and unstable whilst sitting on the shelf, this rum goes for 1500Kyat per fifth, which breaks down to about 12 cents per tumbler. According to an acquaintance who travels to Burma often, the stuff being sold of poorer quality than Mandalay Rum is partially responsible for Burmese men’s low life expectancy. You’d have to conform this figure, but I hear it’s at about 55 years or so. Imagine what rum costing under a dollar per bottle would taste like. Unstable, at the least.

Mandalay Strong Ale: Available in Red and Blue, this beer was my favorite, enjoyed on a guesthouse porch with fresh lime wedges to mix in with it. The Blue fails to measure up and reminded me of Budweiser, minus coldness and carbonation. 900 Kyat per 750 ml bottle.

Myanmar Beer: The government suds gave me a stomachache. There is something in it. Since I got a C in chemistry, leave the flavor analysis to the experts. I didn’t notice any Myanmar Beer in any Thai import markets.

Tiger Beer: Though Tiger is the brainchild of Singapore, it is bottled around SE Asia in a joint venture between Tiger and whatever country you find yourself enjoying it in. Hoppy and distributed in both cans and bottles, it is also good with Burmese lemon/lime squeezed in.

What Burma needs to do:
1. To invest in archeological preservation. I saw countless murals in caves and temple frescos that were almost totally destroyed or unprofessionally restored with hasty methods. I’m no expert, but the money all tourists pay to enter Bagan ($10) isn’t going to anyone but the army.

2. Open more areas for Ecotourism. Due to heavy logging, insurgencies and labor camps they don’t want prying visitor eyes to see, tourist are confined to a “core area,” which stresses the landscape and ordinary people living off sustenance agriculture are being lured to the cities, which means more people camping out at temples and haggling visitors. With no simple answers to this problem, and zero workable solutions coming from their leaders, people in Myanmar really have few choices beyond trying to cash in on visitors.

3. Stop the use of hard labor as the main means for big construction projects. The Yangon Airport and The Mandalay hotel both were using forced labor when I passed by. The folks at the hotel site (government hotels tend to be avoided because Lonely-Planet travelers read to act accordingly) looked especially downtrodden, carrying huge stones and rocks by hand.

4. Try to reign in poaching of endangered species for the Chinese market. But hey, that is taking a shot in the dark. That’s even a problem back in Oregon. Whether black bear gall bladders or Burmese pygmy deer, the Chinese love their endangered and threatened species more than anyone.

(The above assume a change at the top levels of government. The generals running the show, now getting heavy capital investment from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, see little incentive to share the power as long as they’re getting wealthier by the day. As long as the Junta remains jealous and suspicious of pro-democracy leader Aung San Su Kyi, currently under house arrest on Yangon, real change is unlikely.)

Interesting facts and experiences:
Burmese Kyat comes in denominations of K1, K5, K10, K20, K50, K100, K200, K500 and K1000.

I read about , but never saw, bills of K35, K45 and K70 increments.

And then there was that K113.78 note. Try making change for that one!

I use Burma and Myanmar interchangeably. The name Myanmar was created in 1989, when Burma became a united “union” of the 109 or so distinct tribes and peoples living within its massive borders. It’s roughly the size of Texas, making Burma the largest mainland SE Asian nation.

The spiciest pepper I have ever eaten was found in a Bamar (Burmese) noodle dish. Green and shaped like a Kris, a traditional ornamental Malaysian dagger, these things are el potento. Dig around in your noodles. They are there, waiting to kick your tastebud’s asses.

During the nightly power brownouts and blackouts, people emit an "aw, shucks"-like saying and there is often much clapping and general happiness when the power snaps back on. Myanmar nights are the darkest I have ever seen, but the developed world's belief that dark nights equal lack of safety didn't really feel that way there. It was like an opportunity to experience life in a place where the 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark really doesn't adversely affect the daily routine much anyway.