Myanmar/Burma: money shot

These are the most common bills (divide by 1000 for approx dollar value)  – note the Burmese numerals in addition to Roman numerals. I’d say the Burmese numerals were more common on anything not oriented to tourists.
There are no coins, no vending machines.

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Tip: pay attention when using ATM’s or you might miss what the error message is. In the airport, the ATM had communication errors once, but worked upon retry. The maximum withdrawal seemed to be K300,000/$300.

Tip: international ATM’s are slowly spreading, inc inside Shwedagon Paya (pagoda) and Nyaung  She (Inle Lake).

Myanmar/Burma: power

In my hotel were fancy surge protectors for each of the A/C, TV and fridge. On the street were lots of relatively quiet generators.

I experienced power outages in Inle Lake, but not in Yangon.
No power, in no Wi-Fi, no internet.

Tip: have a flashlight! Handy on poorly lit streets too, given the absence or disrepair of sidewalks, not to mention holes and raised things to trip on.

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Myanmar/Burma: insurance on train ticket

So on my sleeper train ticket, the K12,750/$12.75 price included K3.86 for insurance.
That’s $0.00386, ie less than half of one cent.
I have to wonder two things:
a) just how much would that actually pay out?
b) should I lose confidence in the train safety if they don’t have much themselves?

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Singapore Airlines: German Monty Python

Singapore Airlines has quite the entertainment system, with a good interface, including 289 movies and 459 TV shows, grouped into categories (eg for movies: new releases, European, Chinese, world, kids, arthouse, favourites, documentary, design film fest and stage performances inc 2x Cirque du Soleil – I hadn’t heard of Quidam), inc this month a Robin Williams tribute, and Monty Python.

I had no idea that in 1971 Monty Python wrote and performed a (mostly) exclusive episode for German TV, inc a German version of the classic Lumberjack Song (see below, video to follow, though subtitles weren’t totally accurate). I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.
Side note: John Cleese and Michael Palin spoke German well in the show.

If you’re a fan, you know the words so you can mostly get a free German lesson here, though some words are different by necessity (I left out the chorus)…

Ich bin ein Holzfäller
Und fühl mich stark
Ich schlaf des Nachts
Und hack am Tag

Ich fäelle Baume
Ich ess’ mein lunch (Brot – in the chorus)
Ich gehe auf das WC
Am Mittwoch geh’ ich shopping
Kauf’ Käkse zum Kaffee

Ich fäelle Baume
Ich hüpf’ und spring’
Steck’ Blumen in die Vas’
Ich schlüpf’ in Frauenkleider
Und dümmle mich in Bars

Ich fäelle Baume
Trag’ Stöckelschuh
Verstrumpf und Büsenhalter
War gern ein kleines Mädchen
So wie mein Onkel Walter

Myanmar/Burma: Yangon airport departure

I budgeted an hour to the airport, but it was almost 70 minutes leaving my downtown hotel at 8:00 this morning.
It was K8,000/$8 as that businessman had told me in the plane on arrival, but this was the only time I paid that little.

Singapore Airlines recommends 90min prior arrival, I made it at 70 at the checkin counter, after passing through a baggage X-ray and metal detector just to get into the checkin hall.

Immigration was quick and painless upstairs, and after changing my last kyat for SGD, now I’m in the little multi-airline lounge.

They have Wi-Fi, a guy running an espresso machine (cup a cappuccino!), a self-serve fridge with water/soda/beer, and a little buffet of snacks. Including Pringles (2 flavours no less).