Home » Burma (Myanmar) » Land of the Golden Temples

After Cambodia we traveled to Myanmar via Bangkok. Myanmar is an isolated country, ranking 154th on the list of countries surveyed in the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom 2005, beating only North Korea. Political freedoms are certainly not much better either.

Land of the Golden Temples

Odv
2006-04-15 18:35:02

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official travel agents, but visit the country independently. This will give you full control over where the money goes to.

Until recently those not traveling on organized tours were forced to exchange 200 US Dollars into Foreign Exchange Certificates so that the government could still get their hands on some of the foreign currency that independent travelers brought into the country. However in an attempt to promote tourism, this obligation has now been abolished.

While traveling in Myanmar you can spend your money at private hotels, bus companies and airlines. Like in any country however the government still earns money through taxation and certain fees, but it is well possible to make sure that most of your money ends up in the pockets of ordinary citizens.

Myanmar is a very poor country. Its infrastructure is in dismal condition. Traveling on Kipling's famous road to Mandalay is therefore an excruciatingly lengthy experience, not to mention uncomfortable. Though we were still glad to be on the bus when we saw that the train had derailed, its passengers walking to the road to try to get on some of the passing buses.

The largest banknote is one of 1000 Kyat, worth approximately 0.85 EUR or 1.10 USD, which is the lowest value largest banknote of any country we have visited so far. Even in Laos the largest banknote was worth a whole 2 USD.

Contrasting with this is the incredible richness of Myanmar's sights. The country is dotted with golden zedis (stupas) and gold leaves are ceremonially affixed to many Buddhas.

Yangon's highlight is surely Shwedagon Pagoda, impressive even though the golden zedi was being repaired while we were there. There is a diamond at the top, only visible at night from certain points as a dot of light. The diamond refracts the light from the spotlights at certain angles (not the kind of logical explanation that you will hear at the pagoda).

Two other golden ...