In Summary - Myanmar

Here's an overview of our time in Myanmar.

Length of stay - 1st to 13th March (13 days)

Places stayed - Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake), Nyaung-u (Bagan), Mandalay

Currency - Kyat, at time of writing £1 equals roughly 2,000 Kyat

Plug type - most places we stayed had universal plugs so we didn’t have to use an adapter

Driving side - right

A few Burmese words:

We were back to non Latin script again in Myanmar, but we did start to recognise numbers, helped in part by this clock in one of our hostels. The script itself is really pretty and swirly.

Mingalabar - hello

Kyaayyjuutainpartaal, pronounced “Je zu tin ba deh” or “Justin Timberlake” if you prefer - thank you

Confusingly Ky is pronounced Je, so Kyat (the currency) is actually pronounced Je-at.

Three good

1. The people - so many people said hello to us, or smiled at us as we walked past in the street, they genuinely seemed pleased and fascinated to see us
2. The food - we’ve had some of the best food of our travels in Myanmar, particularly in the south. The curries and the salads in particular have been delicious
3. The buses - for three out of four of our bus journeys, we had spacious, comfortable seats with entertainment screens on the back of the seats. Best transport we’ve had in South East Asia

Three bad

1. Hawkers - they’re everywhere! I understand that it’s their livelihood but it gets really irritating after a while!
2. The bus journey from Inle to Bagan - worst journey ever, with people being sick all around us. Couldn’t wait to get off!
3. Smog in Mandalay - you know the air quality is bad when you can physically see the air! Luckily it cleared up during our time there which made it a more pleasant experience

Three odd

1. Thanaka - all Burmese women, children and some men wear thanaka on their faces, a type of natural suncream made from rubbing the bark of a tree on a plate and mixing it with water. It’s a bit odd to see at first but you get used to it
2. Longyi - all Burmese men and many women wear longyi, a type of sarong, instead of trousers. It’s really nice to see everyone genuinely wearing their traditional dress, not doing so just for tourists. Male longyi are always made with square patterns, while women longyi can be more decorative. See below for a picture of James ably modeling one!
3. Selfies - everywhere we went, people came up to us and asked to have their photo taken with us. Here are a selection of pictures - bear in mind we didn’t ask to take any of these! My favourite is the last one with the teenage girl who was extremely embarrassed by her mum asking us for the photo!