99 … Of course they wanted to make some money on the works and surely they would be happy if we can buy some paintings from them. lol. We noticed again how everything looked the same, the bracelets all looked identical and while we were walking around I decided since a bracelet was a small item I would buy myself one and one as a guft as I can’t imagine they would be very much. She didn’t “take” anything from anybody. So my haggling skills must have been super bad! Best Seller in Myanmar Travel Guides. Hope this helps . Still, its fun isn’t it. . To our surprise almost all of the artists gave us a different story of how the paintings were made, all having different materials, all claiming to of painted them themselves and all claiming their method of painting was the traditional way and all other paintings were fake. Must. Fake or not, it’s always very tempting to buy souvenirs from the countries where we travel, especially if they are trinket jewellery! Deep-fried stuff Myanmar has many popular fried foods. We settled on a tattoo pen which while traditional was definitely made for tourists. When considering the eating habit, the custom is that each person will be armed with a spoon and a soup plate, for they are not used to use the bowl. Updated 2019: Our local guide in Bagan (and Burmese family members) later mentioned to us that most (85%) of the paintings are factory printed just like most of the souvenirs on the stalls were bulk purchased for tourists but if you enjoy walking around markets and you want to repay your guide for your tour around the temples, then a small purchase from their stalls is a good way to do this. Hello, We have received three deliveries already and we are more than happy to let you know that every single item is not only high quality but amazingly delicious. I have an adventurers soul and I have been living, breathing and working in travel for over a decade. You were lucky . We just returned from Myanmar… amazing country, Yangon is wonderful! Myanmar’s population in 2019 was 54 million people, resulting in an average $350 in exported goods per resident. So I began collecting postcards since they were relatively small, lightweight and could be pressed within the pages of my guide book to keep safe until my return home. Lol. During my travels in the country it saddened me as to just how poor they are. Latest travel advice for Myanmar, including how coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting travel and entry requirements at this time as well as safety and security and local laws and customs Suggested Read: Shopping In Myanmar: 10 Best Things To Buy On Your Next Excursion. This post was purely written to tell people what souvenirs we found to be of poor quality and to help people with purchasing decisions. It is always important to not only watch out for scams but also unethical purchases too. They are usually served after every meal. With the spectacular temples of Bagan, stunning Mandalay with lakes, pagodas, and palaces, lively markets and a delicious street food scene, Myanmar is a joy to visit. Fish soup noodle can be regarded as both a snack and a staple food. 7 years ago. The market was purely for the locals and while they sold the normal hats, longyis and bags there wasn’t any of the normal tat that we saw everywhere else. One girl around the age of 16 was kind enough to show us around one temple. Hi Em I’m saddened that you would begrudge paying that. I’ve been to Myanmar twice (love this country) and I agree with you on everything except for one thing. Address：katta muse, Northshan state Business type：Trading Company. I have also been known to be given items for free(without buying anything form the sellers) my niece was surprised when it happened while we where haggling. , I had heaps of fun! Ha ha. We casually walked around the market where they sold souvenirs (although it was another local market) but we weren’t asked to stop and look at their stalls or followed around by children. Buy. Congrats to her, she was not tempted! So my bitterness turned into something more positive And I love my longyi too! 5. Tattoo was the sign of braveness a long time ago. More Buying Choices $17.76 (34 used & new offers) Kindle $15.99 $ 15. There were loads of jewelry stands selling silverware and we were told that there was a silver jeweler on the lake too which was an optional stop we decided not to take, so we imagined most of the items made came from there. I love markets and enjoy the haggling even more so. Address: East D, Bogyoke AungSan Market, 11141, Pabedan, Township, Yangon 11141, Myanmar . Glad you got your shoes back. A spot for daily breakfast, a quick afternoon snack or something for the sweet tooth, you can find these local treats in pushcart stores scattered across Yangon. So I approached a stall and found one I liked and asked the lady how much? We bought a few with reasonable offers, and we learnt how to distinguish between the works made with normal paint and sand. It’s always hard to travel to places that have amazing things to buy that draw you in even though most are fake, but in between those are genuine art that really shares the experience and story of your travels. Given you write a blog you must be in a privileged position to have a far better life than these people. 3. Fried Shrimps. The 6000 kyat bracelet translates to $4. Although I am dying to return to Myanmar so I can wear it again! She said to point to the price we deemed reasonable so I pointed to 2000. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. This is the only contact I have for the lady that made my ring: Ms. Kyi Kyi Win – Email kyiMog@gmail.com Phone Number: 959 799751854 (She has Viber so you may be able to communicate in this way first!). Your email address will not be published. Thanks I lived in it during our holiday! The “tool” to eat is the right hand, which is very smart and easy to use when comes to picking food. Credit: what to buy in myanmar blog. Shopping in SE Asia is always quite an experience. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. http://travelscams.org/asia/common-tourist-scams-myanmar/. I try and buy one item from each place we visit so that we can look back and reminisce. These are helpful tips. My haggling skills needed to dramatically improve and our judgment on what was real or fake needed to improve too. It has been operating for over 90 years and in the new era serves as Yangon’s premier tourist trap. Hey Thomas! I do mind when the seller out right lies to you about it. These include rice, a tart salad, a small dish of fried vegetables, a small bowl of soup and a large tray of fresh and par-boiled vegetables and herbs to be eaten with various dips. Great article. It is very sad. We deal with both fresh chilled and frozen. Hii, could you indicate where you were able to see the sand paint workshop? I have a few questions, as it will be my first time in Asia: is it possible to indicate us a guide or were them your frinds (that wasn’t quite clear to me) and also the personalized jewel- is it possible to be indicated so I could ask our hotel to reach him? I kind of like to see that im not the only one that was a bit disappointed with the souvenirs from Myanmar and I also love my lonjyi! Hi Samantha…great article. I don’t know if I can put that down to my haggling skills or just luck . Apparently, this service is widely available through request and it ensures that your stones are genuine and mined responsibly. Sleeveless tops and shorts are not allowed, you’ll need to wear long pants! Yeah, we didn’t pay 100,000 each. We decided would love a beautiful painting in our living room so we stopped and chatted to two young men selling them in one of the further away temples. We are a Myanmar marine processor, exporter and importer. Mandalay next! Unfortunately (and with good reason with local back up) the gems in the markets in Yangon can not be trusted and I wouldn’t advise anyone to buy from there. Beautiful pictures. I loved Myanmar, its people and culture but felt sad when lied to about something I was buying when as you said I would have bought it anyway even if it was plated metal instead of silver. I hope you got a very good deal because they were asking us for 100,000 Kyats per painting! We ended up getting them for about 1/4 of what the guy was asking and that was after we told him ‘final offer’ and rode off on our horse cart when he said no. As I stood the lady next to me was haggling with another vendor and I looked and saw she was buying almost exactly the same bracelet as I had just purchased. I really enjoyed reading this. In most of the Burma and Chinese restaurants of Yangon and other cities, crabs, shrimp, lobster and other shellfish are very popular dishes. I have even studied it and I have a Diploma in it. Also, if it’s not too personal a question, I was wondering what the general price range is for one of those custom-made rings in Yangon, since I’m headed there next. But ultimately I was mad at myself for being so naive that I’d pay so little for a “higher” quality bracelet and I was saddened that people feel the need to lie and cheat tourists into getting their money. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Tart leaves are kinds of Myanmar food that eaten by their own way, usually as dessert, but they also served as Lephet Thoke – a salad of pickled tea leaves. Its a hectic but beautiful city…try and make it up to Mandalay Hill for sunset…just don’t go by scooter…half of them never make it up the steep hill! While the beauty of its countryside has long been famous, Myanmar's cuisine has been something of a secret up until now. Bagan is probably the most popular places for tourists in the entire country of Myanmar and the local people know it! What to buy in Myanmar: Paper Umbrella I love markets and find myself wandering about in them for hours in every place I visit. Opening Hours: Tue–Sun: 8am–5:30pm When we took the day trip out to the lake it was a completely different story. Speak to Our Experts: inquiry@indochinatour.com. I googled it when I got home from Myanmar thinking maybe it was a scam others had encountered but I didn’t read much. Wow 12 of them! hello.. I’m from Myanmar. I would love the info for your jeweler! Copyright 2021 © The Wandering Wanderluster | All Rights Reserved |. As I mentioned in my post, much of the money you spend on these souvenirs will certainly fund the livelihoods of many of the poor families in the places you visit, however I truly believe there is a fine line between buying to support families and buying and being cheated and ripped off. Things. . Required fields are marked *. Do be wary of the shoe guardians, friendship tour scam, restaurants without set prices, coin collectors, fake entrance tickets, pickpocketing, snatch thefts and many more! This post may contain affiliate links. Very useful post, thank you. She explained its history and the meanings of the frescoes and her English was impeccable. This was a great read! Myanmar is on my list and I’ll be sure to keep these tips in mind when I’m there. Haha i laughed every time you mentioned useless souvenir. Burmese in Myanmar are fond of coconut milk rice and glutinous rice mixed with the barley powder, shredded coconut and shrimp meat;in each meal they will definitely have some fish and shrimp sauce called “Yabi”; and they also like to put curry in various dishes. But the food mentioned above are something you should never miss up. It was ruined by the time we got home from being squished and over used but useful at the time! Not. When you disembark your boat in Mingun, you are swarmed with people trying to sell you things and we also found at two of the places in Mingun young children approach you asking you to buy something small because they were hungry. These dishes, as most of the … I’ll take note of this. That is merely a ploy to get you to buy more, it just didn’t work that time. We were fully aware that the sand paintings are factory made and that the vendors purchase them from a factory each day, but we really liked them and got an amazing deal because we bought 12 of them for my boyfriend’s coworkers. (or anywhere), Beautiful pictures and very informative post! We throughly enjoyed walking around the temples and the markets and making conversations with the locals. I don`t think I`d want a tattoo made with it. You can buy spoons, plates, and bowls, made of pearls. I spent the best part of 3 months planning my trip to Myanmar to ensure that EVERY penny I spent benefitted the local people and local businesses and not a dime went to the pockets of the corrupt governments or high rolling military generals that own the flashy hotels. They are getting their sweet flavors from ingredients such as grated coconut, coconut milk, rice flour, cooked sticky rice, tapioca and fruit. . Myanmar is also rich in seafood. Great post! We also visited numerous monasteries during our trip and we made a hefty donation to one of the local monasteries that our Burmese family attend to ensure that the building of a school block for young girls who needed shelter from poverty would be built and we continue to support it. 7 years ago. He explained that each painting takes him 3 days and he doesn’t use acrylic paint, only natural colors from the earth, so red was sandstone, green was crushed herbs and white was limestone etc…. Yes the famous shoe scam! Thank you! The woman who made it was a family friend. I’m interested in your sand painting experience, since I actually just bought two medium-big landscapes for 27,000 total. That tattoo pen is a great souvenir, but ouch! Obviously, its hard not to buy everything you see when its sold to you as local, traditional, handmade and supportive of local communities. Starting from the Maha Bandoola Park right beside the iconic Sule Pagoda, we took on a street snack tour with local guides who showed us some of the top 9 local favourites on the streets of Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar people’s basic foods are mainly rice and curry. Put the gourd melon cut into pieces and bean sprouts dipped with sauce into the fry pan to fry. It was no different in Vietnam, Cambodia, or India or a beach in Cabo. After experiencing this in every other temple we had visited in Myanmar, we understood this as normal practice. For me a souvenir doesn’t have to be expensive, genuine or handmade, it’s more about having something that reminds me of a place so when I look around my apartment at home all those happy travel memories come flooding back. Hsipaw was one the only place we didn’t see mass amounts of souvenirs being sold or stalls. I got ripped off to many times in Myanmar so I felt compelled to share my experience so others aren’t left disappointed either! We were complimented on wearing them everywhere we went as most tourists don’t wear them. I don’t usually buy much souvenir-wise for myself but I like to pick up gifts to stick away for birthdays/Christmas for friends and family so tips like these are always welcome and appreciated! I saw many tourists push their way past vendors and children because they were tired of being hassled 24/7 to buy stuff. I love markets and buying souvenirs and sometimes I don’t really mind if they are fake or manufactured in a factory. I’m in Myanmar now, and really enjoying it. She looked at me and began to laugh. In the local large-scale activities, the hostess also use fish soup noodle to entertain guests. I love shopping at markets during our travels. My ring was $500 and it is 18K white gold, sapphire and diamonds. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. One other souvenir item that caught our eye in Bagan was the sand paintings that were being sold almost everywhere we went. Made famous by Anthony Bourdain’s visit, this is one place you should not miss. And the main materials are parsley, onions, lemon, tamarind fruit, ginger, garlic and so on. Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia [A Cookbook] by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy | Mar 28, 2017. Lovely pictures! 14 reviews. The Burmese people are some of the kindest and humble people we have ever met on our travels so we didn’t second guest her kindness. How to Have a Discovery Tour in Phnom Penh? But when you come to Myanmar you will find the original Burmese also like to eat curry, especially in Bagan, where very traditional dishes are made with curry, for instance, curry meat, curry vegetables and curry fish and so on. But to be honest, our tattoo pen does take a pride location on our bookcase and people always ask what it is so it wasn’t complete useless! Thanks for the comment. I’m sorry you feel this way Paul. Updated 2019: I do not discourage you to purchase souvenirs here, just be sure you know what you are buying. However, with the rise of tourism, cases of tourist targeted scams have risen as well http://travelscams.org/asia/common-tourist-scams-myanmar/. Snacks on wheels. By and large, most of the seasoningsare hot. Along long time ago, when men have tattoos, that means he is so brave enough to bear the pain. Last but bot least, the sand they use are all stones from the river, not any kind of gemstone! 09 $29.99 $29.99. “ Myanmar is complex for a foreigner, with so much diverse culture, history and cuisine, making their tours the best way to see and understand Myanmar if you only have a short time. So if you’re looking to purchase a sand painting in Bagan, shop around before buying as we saw a massive difference in the price for paintings that looked identical and decide whether you mind that the painting could be factory printed. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. We were complimented on wearing them everywhere we went as most tourists don’t wear them. Yes I was disappointed with some of the things I purchased but I guess in the end I found peace and happiness that regardless of whether they were genuine of not, I supported the families of those selling the items that day. Myanmar office workers in the morning like to eat a bowl of fish soup noodle on the roadside before going to work, just like Guangxi people like to eat rice noodles for breakfast. I thought the exact same thing! They are the best sandwiches we’ve ever had! Again we were a bit skeptical. You were right, there were sellers in Mingun that hover you around like a gadfly pestering you with a sale. Myanmar’s verdant forests and rolling hills are rich in biodiversity and flora species that are unique to Myanmar alone. She placed it in a small bag, smiled and we were on our way. Myanmar is a sovereign state in South East Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. I’m interested in the certified jeweler who made your ring. I am 100% aware that most of these people selling items are probably poor and the items they sell is their only income. However, on our departure, we were blackmailed into buying something from their stall in exchange for our shoes back. While I wanted a jewel to take back with me I wanted to make sure it wasn’t mined through slave labor jewel like so many of the jewels that come from Mogok are. To make the Tea leaf salad, slightly bitter leaves are mixed by hand with shredded – small cabbage, cherry tomatoes, crispily fried beans, nuts and peas, oil and garlic, sliced filets, spicy pepper, an… It took 2 weeks! he was very stubborn up until that. Traditionally, a plate of coconut milk rice contains cucumber slices, small anchovies, roasted peanuts, fried water spinach, all cooked eggs, Indian pickles and hot sauces (Malay called Sambal).But coconut milk rice can also have other condiments such as chicken, octopus or squid, bird mussels, beef curryor “baru” (bovine lung). Made in Myanmar Web Portal. Welcome to my travel blog! With glutinous rice as the main ingredient and mature banana and coconut as stuffing, the zongzi smells so good and tastes so well. If they were kind enough to show you around a temple and tell you a great spot for watching the sunset then I’d say that was fair payment Enjoy Mandalay! There are some condiments such as chili oil and chili sauce stored on dining table. I think some people are taking advantage of tourists or being greedy now that there is an influx of tourists. Where did you buy your painting? But like always we always came home with more than we wanted to buy, and we “wasted” a considerable amount of money on fake souvenirs. In the end, the people selling them need the money more than us regardless of how they are made. Lepet Thoke (Tea Leave Salad) and Gin Thoke (Ginger Mix) are the two best-known snacks that originate in Myanmar. So there were five useless souvenirs. And you can ask as many questions as you like! Just a word of caution, beware of people selling fake stones for it is also sold everywhere in Yangon, so make sure to choose a reliable store. From the moment we stepped off the boat we were bombarded with vendors asking us to “please stop please look”. When they eat, they tear down the meat by hands. Thanks for the tip! While I still count it as “a useless souvenir” it was a good experience for him, as he sat and watched them being made and apparently they are quite good. Image by: best things to buy in myanmar blog. It is beautiful! “ More importantly, it also gives the shopper a chance to connect with and understand Myanmar’s social-economics landscape a … Besides the local snacks mentioned above, there are many other foods that you can find. Just now reading this blog post (since cannot travel now) and I agree with what you said entirely. But you really did zero in on the essence. This is such a great post. Four-wheeled wooden carts are especially designed for showcasing snacks and storing utensils, ready to serve up a dish for the hungry passerby. The former will be very refreshing; while the bean sprouts will taste very brittle. Burmese taste is characterized by acid, spicy, light, and no greasy, similar to people in Sichuan, China. So we ended up buying a “jade” ring and bracelet in return for our shoes. A “silver” bangle that turned out to be nothing more than tin! My apartment is full of memories and memorabilia but one or two things I deeply regret buying/wasting money on.. Good piece- usually it’s what TO buy so I like your spin! It’s a bit sad that, despite the fact that tourism only starts to take off, that there are already so many scams…. I don’t think that I would like to know you. We asked MoMo where the best place to buy genuine jewels was. He convinced us so much that the painting was genuine that we almost purchased one. အသင့္စားလၹက္ခ်ဥ္စပ္နွင့္ ပဲေၾကာ္စံု $14.65. We used to buy three or four at a time and snack on them throughout the day. But they weren’t the landscapes, they were buddhas. Part of the fun of going abroad to new destinations is bringing back a souvenir to remind you of your trip. Sometimes it’s tough to know when you’re getting scammed. Myanmar people generally eat Western-style food for the breakfast, and Chinese food for lunch and dinner. It was incredibly difficult in Myanmar because different people told you different things so you didn’t know who to trust. I used to buy a souvenir for every member of my family in the past, but it quickly became an expensive exercise and required valuable space in our suitcases. Me and my friends are going to Myanmar next week. Your email address will not be published. I bought a lot of things that have a value to it, not painted beads or fake glass kind of stuff. Myanmar people are very fond of snacks either breakfast items, as fast food or as at tea-times. Myanmar traditional snack trays can be found throughout the market and also drinks and salads. Naga New Year Festival. i’m the type to fall into the trap of buying sand paintings so now i am fully aware!!! For all food mentioned above, you can buy them in any local restaurants. Great tips! Although there are a number of traditional snacks, the most popular is Mohinga or rice noodle served with fish gravy. Each vendor we met and spoke with told us that everything on their stalls was hand made by their family and that if they didn’t sell anything they would go hungry. But our dear MoMo warned us that many of the vendors sell glass not rubies and many tourists fall into the same traps day after day. However, over time I’ve learned to say “No thank you”, and keep walking past persistent shopkeepers. These tips would definitely help me. “These beads they are real stone not fake, you pay 10000 ($10)”, at which point I began to laugh and said no thank you and handed back the bracelet “OK OK 8000!”. Fried shrimps are another tasty street snack from Myanmar. We just chose not to purchase one because we would rather invest our money in something that was truly hand-made. Reply. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Leo bought another souvenir at the cigar factory on the lake. Pomelo For Myanmar. This post is just to warn you of what you are purchasing so you aren’t left disappointed. People outside Myanmar may believe that Burmese are new to snacks. Great read! More and more tourists have been attracted to this small country. You can smell and find Mohinga anywhere and everywhere in Myanmar. The vendors kindly took our shoes off us when we entered the temple and said they would look after them for us. If you venture just out of Bagan you’ll see exactly how the locals live and you will see the poverty these people live in. I’m sure I’ve walked away with more than one fake souvenir on one of my trips. Souvenirs are the same for me but I hate being lied to. But we did also got caught in the ‘let us watch your shoes’ scam, though they didn’t try to keep our shoes, they just yelled at us for taking advantage of them when we declined to buy anything from them. They are light weight, dry quickly and they are the traditional wear in Myanmar. (They have both kinds, different price and different way to make.) So please use this post to understand what kind of souvenirs are available and to help with your purchasing decisions. If you like the sand paintings then I wouldn’t feel bad about buying them. But our longyi’s are by far the best thing we got! Most Myanmar snacks are made of rice or glutinous rice, milk or grated shreds of coconut, and sugar or jaggery as sweeteners. Natasha. Downtown Yangon is especially famous with a number of stalls specializing in Mohinga variants. Myanmar, or Burma as it was previously known, is a land of golden pagodas, mighty rivers and generous deltas. Combined with its tropical climate, Myanmar is the ideal habitat for honeybees and the production of a diverse range of honey flavours and profiles. Cooked with ginger oil, garlic and curry powder this dish will send out the heavy coriander flavor. Myanmar is one awesome country! I know this is partly my naivety that leaves me disappointed but souvenirs in Myanmar are not cheap unlike other Asian countries so when your spending $100 on a sand painting you want to know its hand painted not printed…but otherwise I agree souvenir shopping can be fun. Mark Wiens. Where to find Mohinga in Myanmar? Bountiful Myanmar. Myanmar has over 130 ethnic groups and has been called a meeting point for peoples around Asia. I’m going to Myanmar, can you recommend a broker so I may get the same high-quality ring? Cambodia Transportation: Get to and around Cambodia, Vietnam Restaurants: delicious Vietnamese food, Vietnam Travel Tips: Vietnam Currency, Vietnam Visa…, Cambodia Shopping: what to buy & where to shop, Cambodia Weather: Wet Season and Dry Season. The best thing to buy at Bogyoke Aung San Market is Longyi’s! This article really made me smile. I’m working in Myanmar as a Chef for the last year, Inle, Bagan,Ngapali, always do your homework before leaving your country and BRING YOUR BRAINS ALSO. We were simply allowed to walk around at our leisure, people smiled, children played and it was an enjoyable experience. Our best wishes to the most enterprising family. She didn’t really have an answer and she just smiled. . Street food is the best in Myanmar ,especially every street food you can get in China town is the best Reply. “OK final offer 6000!” To which point I thought OK it didn’t seem unreasonable for a “silver plated” bracelet with red stone beads and the tiny elephants were kind of cute so I accepted.