If 15 years ago people in Mandalay seemed to be living the life of the 1920's, now it seems to be like 1940's. The bicycles have changed into motorbikes and the pollution has increased remarkably. But the people are still the same, smiling and friendly... You can hear people calling you, staring, pointing, but all that curiosity has a good meaning.
The downside is still the drug and alcohol problem, and majority of the people chew betel nut that colours the mouth and damages the theet, permanently. Betel nut chewing is very common tradition in South Asia, in India it is called "paan" if I remember it right. The nut slices together with spices are wrapped in betel leaves and then chewed. I guess that betel nut has same kind of stimulant effect as chewing coca leaves in Peru or using snus in Scandinavia. For us it is hard to see beautiful people, even young children, having their teeth compleatly gone. One serious disadvantage of the usage is that betel nut may cause cancer. And what is really discussing is the spitting. We happened to meet a woman who said that somebody had accidentally spit on her feet two weeks ago and her toes are still stained... Yikes!
The air was so polluted and dusty, that we decided to hire an a/c car and a driver in Mandalay. That also saved us time because we decided to leave earlier to Bagan. We also decided to to take a boat instead of flying. Fifteen years ago I took buses, usually at night time, but remembering the bumpy rides, no thanks, that's done and seen...
The downside is still the drug and alcohol problem, and majority of the people chew betel nut that colours the mouth and damages the theet, permanently. Betel nut chewing is very common tradition in South Asia, in India it is called "paan" if I remember it right. The nut slices together with spices are wrapped in betel leaves and then chewed. I guess that betel nut has same kind of stimulant effect as chewing coca leaves in Peru or using snus in Scandinavia. For us it is hard to see beautiful people, even young children, having their teeth compleatly gone. One serious disadvantage of the usage is that betel nut may cause cancer. And what is really discussing is the spitting. We happened to meet a woman who said that somebody had accidentally spit on her feet two weeks ago and her toes are still stained... Yikes!
The air was so polluted and dusty, that we decided to hire an a/c car and a driver in Mandalay. That also saved us time because we decided to leave earlier to Bagan. We also decided to to take a boat instead of flying. Fifteen years ago I took buses, usually at night time, but remembering the bumpy rides, no thanks, that's done and seen...
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