So now that you have had a chance to digest the wonderful reflections on Myanmar I thought I might make a short note of some of the more interesting moments in that portion of the trip. In no particular order;
1) Riding in a shared taxi with other travellers from the airport to the hostel and having someone in the back ask a very simple question, "Is it still true that there are no ATMs in Myanmar?" Answer, "Yes that is true." My thoughts, "I have about $30 on me and we are here for 2 weeks." Thankfully there is 1 and I repeat 1 hotel that will give you cash off of a credit card in the entire country. Thank you Sedona Hotel, a life-saver even at 7% commission (sorry Granny).
2) It is interesting that in the movies when something happens during a flight and the plane has to land before the destination they refer to it as an emergency landing, but when it happens in real life they simply refer to it as a technical difficulty that requires us to return to the airport we had just taken off from. This was the case on our flight from Yangon to Mandalay.
3) Amber's dad sent us a prophetic email while in Myanmar about the possibility of running out of money and having to shave our heads and chant Hari Krishna while begging in the airport. While the chanting and head shaving never came to pass Amber did have to beg for $20 because of the departure tax that was never mentioned. We would have simply withdrew cash but see #1. Thank you king Australian tourists who handed the money over with only minor looks of stupid tourists. The first 2 parts of Amber's fathers prophecy might have come true and we might still be there were it not for their compassion.
All in all it was a great trip but no one will ever be able to say it wasn't interesting in the full sense of the word either.
