Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Other considerations
Try to hire guides and transport as you go rather than booking a
package tour
. This helps
spread your money among as many people as possible, while upmarket package tours and
especially
cruises
are particularly likely to involve government- and/or crony-linked com-
panies.
AllMyanmar
banks
havecronyorgovernmentlinks,whileseveralareallegedtohavebeen
involved in money laundering and ties to the country's drug trade (Myanmar is the world's
second-largest source of
opium
after Afghanistan, producing around a quarter of the global
supply, mainly from Shan and Kachin states). Although it's a pain, bringing money in with
you and changing it at local businesses is more ethical than using an ATM and paying the
standard withdrawal fees levied for the privilege.
Given the massive social and environmental abuses connected with Myanmar's enormous
jade
trade, you might prefer to avoid souvenirs incorporating this particular stone.
Finally,beextremelycarefulwhen
talkingpolitics
withpeopleyoumeetinMyanmar.Wait
for others to broach the subject and don't try to make people say things that might land them
in (possibly serious) trouble.
CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE
In common with the people of other Southeast Asian Buddhist countries, the Burmese
are a profoundly polite people, with a gentle, ceremonious culture and customs rooted
in the country's Buddhist beliefs.
Burmese manners and social interactions are rooted in the notion of
āna
, a multi-faceted
concept defined by the
Myanmar-English Dictionary
as “a tendency to be embarrassed by
feelings ofrespect, delicacy; toberestrained byfear ofoffending”. Forthe Burmese,
āna
ap-
plies particularly tothe business ofdealing with strangers, whenthe riskofcausing accident-
al offence or embarrassment is greatest - hence the sometimes exquisite levels of politeness
you will encounter anywhere from a local teahouse to a five-star hotel.
Compared to some of their less scrupulous cousins in neighbouring countries such as India
and Thailand, it's worth noting that most of the Burmese you'll have dealings with during
your travels - taxi and rickshaw drivers, shop and guesthouse owners, and so on - are still
refreshingly honest. Tourist
scams
are rare (although changing money on the street remains
a risky business), and you'll generally be offered a fair price for whatever you're looking for.
There's still some scope for
bargaining
in shops and perhaps when haggling over transport
costs,butbearinmindthatthecut-throathagglingthat'smoreorlessobligatoryinsomeoth-
er Asian countries doesn't apply here, and given how impoverished most Burmese are it's
