It doesn't make sense (but it does make sense)

Written by Kyle about Myanmar. Feelin' amused
Kyle_amused
Scene in Yangon, Myanmar

One of the many reactions to seeing foreign things is "why is that?"  You see something different, you don't understand why it is that way, so you question its reasoning.  This is a natural response.  In Korea, I never understood why people could ignore queues like they weren't made for them.  In Guatemala, I never understood how they could have such bland food when they are surrounded by the chili-infused cultures of Belize and Mexico.  In Japan...well, I just don't understand Japan.

Myanmar is a whole other world.  There are lots of things to not understand.  Fortunately, we have been here long enough to actually get some reasoning behind some of the "different" aspects of life that we have encountered.  Just a smattering of them:

Speaking numbers in English

Myanmar has its own language (many, actually) and ways to express numbers in that language.  However, you will quite often hear people bust out numbers in English when they are talking to each other.  Using my language skills, I would say "lapeyeh hni kwet" (two cups of tea) only to hear the waiter yell back to the kitchen "Two tea!".  And its not as if he speaks a lot of English, because he doesn't.  Or you might here people talking on the phone and when they come to saying a phone number you here "two, tree, seben, four...".  So, the question becomes: if they have their own words for numbers, why do they bother using the English ones?

The answer comes in the fact that it is hard to distinguish some of the numbers when speaking Myanmar.  One (di) and two (hni) sound remarkably similar, so it's more clear to say "one" or "two" instead.  In addition, seven (khunit) is often shortened to "khun", so if someone were to say 7-2, it would be hard to know if they are saying the long form of seven ("khunit") or the short form of seven plus a two (khun - hnit).  Now imagine that you are doing this over a not-very-clear phone line on a busy street and you can see why it is much easier to use English numbers.  

Ground floor costs more

In the West, usually the higher floors cost more money, for a perfectly good reason: the views are much better.  However, the opposite is true in Myanmar and it has to do with convenience.

As mentioned before, most buildings do not have elevators.  So, if you live on the 6th floor, you're walking up that whole way.  That means you carry everything up 6 flights of stairs.  If it's hot and humid outside, you can imagine how fun that would be.  For that reason, the ground floor costs more to live in.  Sure, your views may not be that great, but at least you don't have to dread coming home from work every day.

Delivery System, Yangon, Myanmar

All of those hanging clips in the street

Walking down the street, it's hard to miss all of the strings hanging down from apartment balconies.  At the end of all of the strings is attached a large metal clip.  I didn't think much of these at first, until I saw them being used.

Basically, it serves as a doorbell / delivery system.  Imagine you live on the 5th floor of the apartment.  With no elevator.  And it's really hot outside.  Do you really want to walk all the way down the steps to get something like the newspaper, then walk all the way up again?  Probably not.  So, cleverly, people have attached a clip to long string, which hangs off the balcony of the apartment.  People on the outside of the apartment can then attach items to the clip which can then be pulled up to the apartment.  In addition to it being a transport system, one can pull on the string, which rings a bell much like a doorbell would.  This especially comes in handy since many households do not have a phone, saving people from walking up many flights of stairs.

Holes in the bottom of taxis

Yup, you read that right.  There are huge holes in the bottom of most of the taxis.  Contrary to popular opinion, they are not there so that you accidentally lose things that fall out of your bag.  They have a practical purpose.

The rainy season in Yangon, from what I've heard, is quite rainy.  Not a light drizzle sort of affair.  More like buckets and buckets of water.  When it rains that much, it's hard for the drainage system to keep up, thereby flooding some of the streets.  As a taxi driver, you may get caught in one of those flooded streets, with your car surrounded by water.  This is where the hole in the floorboard comes in.  With a hole, water that gets in the taxi can get out.  When it's not raining, just watch out where you put your feet! 

Men wearing dresses

Ok, ok.  They are not really dresses.  They are longyis.  They are a little bit like sarongs, but unlike a lot of countries, men wear them nearly all the time, not just for religious occasions.

They serve a very practical purpose, though.  Mainly, it's really hot and humid and it's important to keep things cool.  The most refreshing way would be just to walk around naked, but nobody wants to see that.  So, the next best thing is to just wrap cloth over it.  Now, it's as cool as being naked without having to show all of the man parts.  A win-win situation in my book.

Does that mean that everyone is going commando underneath the longyi?  Not really.  Some people wear underwear or even pants under it.  But, there are a good number of people who, for lack of a better term, let it all hang out.  The only unanswered question then becomes: How do they ride a bike? 

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