Old Burmese Adventures (oh, so many!) (page 3 of 3)

you had to give cigarettes at the airport on arrival to avoid the mandatory exchange....

How did I not know this...

no memory of the currency back then....

When I was there, the banknotes were in odd denominations like these, all issued in '85-'86-'87 (illustrations from Numista):

Hello,

I need to check when I get back to France (I’m near Trang right now) in my box of old tickets if they’re like this.

It’s true that Burmese people are obsessed with numerology… you don’t think about it, but a banknote can bring good or bad luck!!!!

We didn’t bring much back to avoid overpacking. Around Bagan, we couldn’t resist this lovely handcrafted lacquer item—100% made by artisans:

hi jojoone, that’s a beautiful artifact. Do you know which ethnic group it’s from? And what characters does it represent?

It's a betel box made of woven bamboo, with decoration in yun (a technique used). There used to be manufacturing centers all over Burma. I have a book on this topic, "Laque et or de Birmanie" (Lacquer and Gold of Burma)... but no time to look further right now. The backlit photo doesn’t show the details well. Still, it made me want to dive back into that book after the holidays. I have a few antique pieces, including betel boxes I bought a long time ago in Chiang Mai at a shop owned by a royal foundation supporting ethnic groups.

Hello,

I’m near Trang right now

If you haven’t already, make sure you try the local culinary specialty, moo yang trang—it’s like moo klop but even better, more tender, and slightly caramelized. The best time and place to buy it is in the morning (before 8 AM) at the market, right after it’s been cooked.

Thanks!!

Funny, I was just thinking that pork isn’t something you eat much of here—I’ll have to revise my opinion…

Thanks Gaura for the comment—I really appreciate the photos of objects and artifacts. And this travel journal is so appealing!

It doesn’t surprise me that we find great pork recipes in Myanmar. I’ve often enjoyed pork dishes in Southeast Asia, especially in the mountainous areas where they eat lean pigs that roam freely. I have an excellent memory of the French-speaking guide (a very cultured university guy!) who took us trekking in northern Vietnam. The son of a small farmer from the Hanoi region, he was on the lookout for organic products grown by "minority" ethnic groups. He loved fish, but he’d buy the pork I liked and cook it for us at our hosts’ place—marinated, grilled with the right spices and the right wood. You can compare these pigs to the black pigs of Corsica or Spain and the black-and-white pigs of Tuscany... Our big fattened, confined pigs are just so much less tasty... I’m not vegetarian yet ;)

I'm not surprised we find great pork recipes in Myanmar.

Dennis2 and I were talking about Trang, Thailand—a city famous for this dish.

Trang... I’m gonna have regrets! I passed through there so often on my way to Koh Sukorn and had no idea about this specialty. We’d fly in to relax on Koh Sukorn and then leave by train for Prachuap KK or by taxi for Pattalung...

It's a betel box made of woven bamboo, with decoration in yun (a technique used). There were manufacturing centers all over Burma. I have a book on this topic, "Laque et or de Birmanie"... but no time to look further. The backlit photo doesn't show the details well.

A little more sharpness, for heaven's sake!

Side view, top, bottom, the lid open, and the shop's business card.

It's used to store gifts given here and there by monks in Thailand.

Trang... I’m going to have regrets! I often passed through there on my way to Koh Sukorn and had no idea about this specialty. We used to fly in to relax on Koh Sukorn and then leave by train for Prachuap Khiri Khan or by taxi for Pattalung...

Dare I say it? I only went to Trang to try this specialty, ended up staying for 3 days (what a glutton!), then took a public minivan for 3 days of non-stop rain in Phattalung.

Well, I didn’t see the specialty: and the moo krob I ate wasn’t the best… bummer.

Thanks anyway for the food tip!

In Trang, the weekend market at the train station is great, and most of all, there’s a fabulous hotel shaped like a cruise ship—pretty wild, and it’s been completely renovated since my last visit…

Hello, to answer your question. It was in 1985, I was traveling with NF, and we stayed at the Strand Hotel. You could believe that no maintenance had been done since the British left. Broken windows, a flush mechanism that no longer worked—everything was dilapidated. Outside, the sidewalks were completely wrecked, and there was no point in looking before crossing the avenues since there was no traffic... And if I may add to the story: At the airport, I didn’t see any RATP buses, but a kid tried to buy my pack of cigarettes for a few kyats?!? I realized later that he just wanted the plastic bag containing the pack... On top of that, we arrived during demonetization. The exchange rate was super interesting—everyone wanted to get rid of their large bills on the black market. To get into the city, we chartered old, big American cars (like in Cuba). They had nothing—I remember that on our first night, we went to a "restaurant" that didn’t even have a bottle opener... just a piece of wood with a bolt (very ingenious). However, we could find Coca-Cola and Fanta—it’s amazing how these brands take root everywhere in the world. So, it was poverty, but not misery (it seemed like everyone had enough to eat). At the time, the dilemma was whether to visit this country—risk enriching the dictatorship or allow the population to connect with foreigners. For me, it was my first time on a plane, so you can imagine...

Hi Jean-Mi,

And if I may add to the story:

Absolutely—if you or anyone else feels like sharing anecdotes from a trip or stay in Burma back in those days (pre-1990), don’t hesitate.

For someone who doesn’t like writing, you’re doing pretty well… and we’re all thrilled about it! Thanks also to your great memory, which lets us realize just how lucky we were to wander through such unlikely places back in the ‘good old days.’

It’s funny how some of the toughest moments end up being the best memories.

Thanks, that matches other accounts I’ve heard. The Strand finally reopened at the end of 2024 after 5 years closed due to the COVID-19 disaster.