Myanmar is like a journey into the past regarding living standards, tradition and travel arrangement. On the other hand, the Burmese people also want to enjoy the comfort of modernity and have their cell phone tucked into their skirts. Read on and find out what else surprised me during my 10 day trip in Myanmar.

Intresting things to know about Myanmar before you go

• Most places had western toilets and you could even flush the toilet paper.
• Most Burmese people still wear traditional clothes which means that women as well as men wear skirts and colorful shirts.
• Painting their faces with powder from a special tree is not something they do for the tourists but actually an every day task to protect their skin from the sun. Young to old and men and women have nice paintings or just yellow blobs on their faces.
• Myanmar’s time zone is 30 minutes behind Thailand.

• As a blonde and white girl I seemed to be more of an attraction to them than they were for me (I mean, we do have Asians in Switzerland, they just don’t paint their faces yellow). Several times I was asked if someone could take a selfie with me. It was very flattering 🙂
• Monks not only have cell phones but they repeatedly wanted to take pictures of me. If the young monks were in groups they loudly yelled and cheered when they passed me, like a bunch of drunk people. I really didn’t expect such a behaviour of religious people.
• Again, night buses are more comfortable and spacious than European ones.
• Cars and buses have seat belts that work.

• Even in the big cities there aren’t paved roads everywhere.
• I was only there for a week but even if I stayed longer, none of the western food tempted me. McDonalds and Starbucks haven’t arrived yet. But you can find good Chinese, Thai and Burmese dishes everywhere.
• Most people don’t speak English (not even at hotel receptions) and keep a polite distance to foreigners. However, the ones who knew a few words to make broken small talk all knew that Switzerland was related to chocolate. Then again, there were a few people who spoke really good English. Usually they learned it because they had worked in a hotel or tour agency.
• The Burmese people always hand you something while touching their elbow. It’s considered rude to only give something to someone with one hand. It has to be two hands or best, one hand supported by the other.

• Allthough there are normal buildings, many people still live in poor conditions. It seems to be normal for them to sleep on a bamboo mat on the floor (perhaps that’s why some of the hostel beds were very hard?). At the Bagan temples the temple keepers even used bricks as their pillow. I wonder when that will change as well and they will appreciate soft beds.
• Alcohol is cheap and good. Local beers are between 40 cents and $1.50 and cocktails between 70 cents and $3. Of course they also make good fruit juices but unfortunately in October only apple and orange were in season. It was also possible to get lime juice, pinapple and watermelon.
• They spit on the ground a lot and especially the men have red-brownish teeth from chewing the beetle leaves that are sold at every street corner. That’s why there are so many stains on the ground that look like blood.

• Mandalay is a disapointing and dirty city. After having no stomach troubles on my trip for 10 days one meal in Mandalay was enough to upset my stomach. I wouldn’t recommend staying there but visit one of the beautiful sights in the surrounding cities instead.
• Even though Despacito and American pop music have arrived in Myanmar they still like to listen to Burmese pop as well (which sounds quite good).
• Markets are crazy and you don’t know where to start as a tourist while malls are uninviting ghost towns (at least in Mandalay). Junction City in Yangon was quite western.

Wow, quite a list of surprising things. My ten days in Myanmar were surely a memorable trip. Read more about my visit of the temples in Bagan, Yangon, or Inle Lake.

What’s something that surprised you during one of your travels? Comment after this post!