Blog notes.

I have a document in my phone titled ‘blog notes’, where I write down interesting observations and weird things I have seen/had happen to me, with the intent that I will expand and relay them to you, my adoring public, in a proper blog post/s.

But much like the taking-but-not-sharing photo situation, mainly they stay in my phone. Then later when I do remember them I often have no idea what I was talking about.

So today I will treat you to a series of short vignettes on some of the notes I can make sense of.

• In Yangon, much like in pre-1990s (?) Australia, there is no restrictions on the temperature that comes our of your hot water temp. Early on this lead to some quite painful situations.
  • This of course assumes that you have a hot water tap, which many places don’t, including many kitchens (see also food poisoning).
  • Also sans restriction are nightclub PA systems. We spent some time at the imaginatively named DJ Bar on Saturday, and left mildly deaf. Thankfully it went away in the morning.

• I was very flattered to have my first “Do you live here? Can you help us?” experience, when a group of lost American tourists asked me for directions to a restaurant (apparently I was looking particularly at home that day). Sadly it was still quite early in our time here, and I did not know where it was. But I did have a local phone and could look it up on Google Maps, and got named “a good Ossie” for my efforts. I marked it down as a partial win.

• Newspaper delivery is somewhat complicated here by the preponderance of high-rise apartments. But I did see a gentleman throwing papers with incredible accuracy to the correct (I assume) tiny balcony three stories up.

• Pajamas are worn as daywear in Yangon. Not by many people, but enough that you notice it pretty frequently. And not only by children – I saw an adult in a flannelette onsie in a teashop the other day.

• The average height in Myanmar is somewhere around 5 feet. The average footpath awning for shops takes this into account. I duck a lot.