Somewhat often people ask, “What do you miss from home?” After only a few weeks traveling in China, I realized I missed salad. My diet at home included salad bowls, tossed salads, deconstructed salads, and fresh vegetables as snacks. Once I started traveling, my efforts to eat like a local and to avoid food based illnesses led…
Category: Myanmar
Golden Rock 3.31.17
Upon arriving in Myanmar, the first thing I noticed was the traditional dress of the people. I saw women wearing beautiful gold paint on their faces and men wearing elegant long fabric skirts. I appreciated that the standard of style and beauty in Myanmar reflects regional traditions instead of western traditions, a reality that may also be a…
Ngapali Beach 3.29.17
A month before I flew to Myanmar I borrowed digital guidebooks from the Hennepin County Library and started reading about the country. As I read the Lonely Planet guide’s Top 20 Myanmar list, I was surprised and excited to read about Ngapali, a beach the guidebook said is one of the best in the world. Contributing to my…
Bagan 3.27.17
GDP per person in Myanmar in 2016 was estimated at $6,000 USD according to the CIA Factbook. The same source says approximately 26% of the country’s 51 million people live in poverty. Given these statistics and what I was spending in other countries, I was surprised when hostels in Myanmar were more expensive than anywhere else I visited….
Inle Lake 3.24.17
In the Burmese language, the word mingalaba is the salutation people use to greet one another. The direct translation for the phrase is ‘auspiciousness to you.’ The greeting mingalaba became the default word for saying hello in the 1960s (source). Everywhere in Myanmar, and especially in smaller towns, I exchanged this singsong greeting with people I passed on…
Eating Well: Myanmar 3.18.17
Tea leaf salad is a traditional food from Myanmar. The salad usually includes a crunchy bean or nut, tomatoes, a type of lettuce or other green vegetable and a dressing made from pickled tea leaves. I liked the salad because of the mix of flavors and textures and the innovative-to-me dressing made with tea leaves….
Hsipaw & Pyin Oo Lwin 3.14.17
A name is usually a fast, basic way to identify a person or a place. In Myanmar, deeper meaning is associated with the name of the country and citizens make politically minded decisions when they say their country’s name. Here are some facts about the country’s name: The military government officially changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar,…
Mandalay 3.12.17
Research shows checklists are a tool people can use in daily life to effectively improve organization and reduce mistakes. Every time I enter a new country, I like to make sure I do not miss information I need to know. To help me prevent hassles and problems, I made a border crossing checklist. This is the checklist of activities I…
The Year of Sarah Joy 