Posted by Marian Vasilescu on December 30, 2019 in Travel
Myanmar is an incredible travel destination, there is such an abundance of colour, exotic places and interesting attractions. Not many people 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 even a country?”
It is also amazing, impressive and strikes you as a cold shower since you make 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 discover 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.
Religion: About 89% of the population of this country practices Buddhism. This means that the rules specific to any other Buddhist country also apply here, especially with regard to temples, where you are not allowed to walk around with bare shoulders, dresses or shorts, footwear, and even socks. The best idea would be to get a pair of slippers, possibly from the velvet – yes, yes, the velvet! -, because, honestly, you will have to go down a lot of times. The people of Myanmar are not only religious but superstitious. Often, at dusk, hundreds of people sit quietly on foot, listening to the teachings of the Great Monk, blocking access to a whole street. Therefore, it would not hurt if, before this trip, you read a little about Buddhism and the customs of the place, so that such meetings do not take you by surprise. Men with skirts, women painted on the face, chewing tobacco and velvet slippers.
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 on https://globalhawkmyanmar.com/.
The food: What is to be said in the food chapter should be considered as more than subjective. We know that many like it, but we don’t. Close to nothing. As I said before, we excluded the street food option from the beginning, because we found it unhealthy. Moreover, the preparations they serve in traditional restaurants did not give us back. Not even their famous noodles. The only preparation we really enjoyed and ordered several times was a green tea salad that turned out to be absolutely delicious. Otherwise, we thought that Burmese cuisine is an unfortunate combination of ingredients and tastes that do not fit well. We repeat, this is how we perceived things, because we met a lot of people who glorified the traditional restaurant preparations, and even the street food.
Bagan is the most famous place in Myanmar, the image of hot air balloons above the pagodas being emblematic for Burmese tourism. However, Mandalay is my favorite city. Burmese people think it’s a bad sign if they keep the meat in the fridge. Why would you keep it in the fridge if it’s fresh? This is why they sell their meat outdoors, on the boards, in the markets. However, they take care to sell everything as quickly as possible and cook it over high heat to escape any danger. See extra details on https://globalhawkmyanmar.com/en/about-myanmar/best-of-myanmar-travel-places-to-visit/.