Tips for surviving and thriving in Myanmar

 
Here's a few tips for surviving in Myanmar: some serious and some ridiculous!

• Forget the hair products. Any aspect of your hair that you hate will be multiplied by a factor of 10 in the humidity. If you hate bushy hair that's what you'll get here. If you love straight hair your hair will go curly, if you want your hair sleek and shiny it will turn into straw and so on. If you quite like the colour of your hair, it will definitely go blonder. Get over it!! Who cares???!!
• And, as Kim has just pointed out, the results of copious wallowing sessions in the pool is green hair. Great! Also forget the natural bristle hairbrushes as they smell like something is dead in the bathroom
• Elmo face wipes: highly recommended by Kerryn
• Toddler sunscreen: as above (I think she got stuck in the babies aisle in the supermarket)
• Zip-lock bags with anti bacterial hand-wash in it: this applies to those travellers, like Kim, who bought the hand-wash in bulk and have had to decant it into something smaller. Mind you the security guys at Yangon Airport didn't mind her waltzing through with the huge pump pack, well over the required 100 mls! 
• DON'T DRINK THE WATER! Clean your teeth in bottled water only. There is very healthy e-coli in the water apparently.
• To keep your personal levels of good bacteria high take the new probiotic capsules and eat yoghurt EVERY day. I hate to boast (and touch wood!) but I have done this religiously every day and I am the only one out of 25 of us who hasn't been ill with some sort of gastric bug at all.
• Whilst on this theme: use antibacterial instant handwash before you put anything in your mouth including your fingers.
• And if it all goes to hell, travel with multiple GPs and/or copious amounts of Imodium, and two sorts of antibiotics (which you will need if the Gastro Stop is not doing the trick). Do go to a Travel health GP rather than a local GP who goes nowhere. (Fairfield Travel at the the GP practice on the ground floor of the RMH is great). 
• Bring Vegemite for replenishing the salt supply and Vitamin B  (not because you are homesick!) or salt tablets if you prefer. You perspire a lot! Lee has perfected the art of spreading Vegemite on Pringles:: soon to be seen on Youtube.
• Bring face mist for those times when you are sure you probably smell: clementine and basil from L'Occitane is highly recommended ( Thank you Kerryn : good to see that she did get past the babies aisle!).
• Damp face washers in a zip lock bag can also revive you at desperate moments
• Drink huge amounts of bottled water.
• Learn to say "Topi!Topi!" in a very firm voice : very useful for persistent peddlers, who are relatively few and far between in Myanmar fortunately.
• Learn to say a few words: thank you sounds like 'jesu-bay' and hello is 'Mingalabar'  (although if you get the wrong inflection you end up saying Indian instead of hello). Ask the locals as they will be happy to correct your appalling pronunciation. And a lot of giggling will happen too!
• Give up your coffee dependence as the coffee isn't great. Instead you can learn to love the '3 + 1 + 1 Coffee mix sachets': 3 parts coffee with one part creamer and one part sugar all in one sachet for your convenience. Fresh milk is not easily available. Or you can drink the local Burmese sweetened tea - not bad at all.
• Do travel with people you like because you can be sure that a as soon as you fall over, trip up a stair or look inelegant getting into the pool they will fall about laughing. Kerryn described a fall and slide on the slippery tiles coming back from the pool as her "imitation of a wet seal" whilst I laughed. SO helpful of me! In other words, best not to be too sensitive....
• Whilst travelling do remember that you can sound like a flock of seagulls and the Alan youtube clip with everyone yelling at each other and ignoring the presence of others: "Anne! Anne! Anne! Anne!...Jan! Jan! Jan! Jan!....." and so on. Particularly at the tailors we seemed to completely lose our social graces and just up the volume until we got the attention of one of our fellow travellers.In other words clear out if you see us comng!
• In lots of places if you are separated from your fellow travellers all of the stall holders and the cyclo/trishaw cyclists will be able to tell you exactly where they are so feel free to ask.
• Bring a decent hat that stays on your head in breezes from boats, monsoonal downpours and horse cart rides. It also prevents the peddlers trying to get you to buy one.
• Be prepared to use and enjoy a range of forms of transport. We had some very funny times piled into decrepit taxis  and being bumped around in small passenger trucks.
• A good sense of balance is also helpful particularly when climbing into and out of boats and other precarious forms of transport.
• Get fit before you come as I'm sure it allows you to handle the heat and humidity much better. And it will be hot, believe me.
• Bring DEET repellent : it will dissolve the leather in your shoes and is very toxic but if the mozzies take a shine to you, you will need it.
• Get a great tour guide: Omnahr was invaluable in getting us absorbed into the history and ways of Maynmar life. As we spent more time with her she felt more confident to discuss the political issues with us too, which we really appreciated. (She works for Exotissimo Tours which has a very good reputation.)
• Despite the changes occurring in Myanmar it's still a little dubious to ask challenging political questions too openly. Check out who you are asking and who is around you before launching in.
• As the guide books say: bring very new uncreased US dollars: old ones will not be accepted and there are no ATMs (yet). 
• Get temple shoes (ie any shoes that you can slip on and off easily), as when you are visiting multiple pagodas and temples in one day you will get tired of doing up buckles etc.
• Don't rely on the Internet working consistently as it won't (see previous blog). 

And did I mention don't drink the water?!

And bring your sense of adventure and your sense of humour - this is a country emerging from some dark times with comparatively few tourists so be tolerant and find the funny side of things that go wrong! Because they inevitably will!

As Kerryn says whenever somehting slightly dubious occurs " It's all a travel experience!"