Myanmar by numbers
25 Feb
* I am really not a numbers person, but sometimes numbers can provide worthwhile insight…
- 1,000 kyat. The largest note in Myanmar is about $1 USD. When you exchange a crispy $100 bill, you receive 960 of these oversized notes that do not fit in any standard wallet. I walked around with my kyat in a rubber band in my purse.
- 15 hours. The length of our longest drive from Mandalay back to Yangon. We did this drive during the night and the roads were not as bad as some that we had been on.
- 1 in 3. A combination that people in Myanmar love. Whether it is coffee, tea, lime drink, ovaltine, or cereal, so many products are advertised as being one in three. I was guilty of enjoying many a sweet coffee combo drink.
- 400,000. About the number of monks in Myanmar (which is 90% devout Buddhist). This number is about equal to the number of army personnel that terrorize the country.
- 2005. The year that the government decided to move the capital from Yangon to Nay Pwi Daw – a random dusty wasteland that we drove past on the way to Kalaw. Some say that they moved the government for security reasons. The wide empty streets with brand new buildings are eerie. It is illegal to stop for photos.
- 1.2 km. The longest teak bridge in the world is located in Amarapura, just a few kilometers away from Mandalay. We walked across this bridge, drank a strawberry drink besides it, and took a colorful boat back to the other side.
- 7 years. The amount of time that Pa Pa Lay, one of the mustache brothers that perform a comedy routine we saw in Mandalay, was sentenced to jail for telling jokes against the government.
I’ve really enjoyed reading about your trip to Burma! I can tell the trip had a deep impact on you, and I can’t wait to read more!