As we have prepared for the start of our mid-October trip to Burma a week from today, we feel we have accomplished a good deal. Our (quite fancy and very contemporary-looking) visas have been acquired. We've read up on the country, the travel destinations in our itinerary, Burma's religious life and recent current events. We've watched videos and films about its modern history since the end of World War II and the experiences of recent travelers. We have become very familiar with Aung San Suu Kyi and her role in Burmese political life. We've ordered appropriate medications and gotten requisite shots.
But we still have had one major to-do item yet unaddressed: we needed to pick up our travel cash - not just any "cash" but crisp, new, unmarred, pristine bills, enough to last us throughout the entire tour.
Burma has been so isolated internationally until very recently that the country has no ATMs, doesn't accept credit cards, won't cash foreign checks and demands payment from tourists only in American dollars. And those dollar bills must be in absolutely perfect condition before being accepted as payment or exchanged for Burmese kyat.
So off we went this morning in quest of crisp bills in a variety of denominations. In the end we visited three different bank branches before assembling the needed wad; and, even then, we had to compromise on the condition of some of the accumulated bills.
All we can do is hope they'll pass muster once we're in Burma. Some reports indicate that even the crispest of bills have been turned away because the serial number has been regarded with suspicion for beginning with the wrong letter of the alphabet ...
But we still have had one major to-do item yet unaddressed: we needed to pick up our travel cash - not just any "cash" but crisp, new, unmarred, pristine bills, enough to last us throughout the entire tour.
Burma has been so isolated internationally until very recently that the country has no ATMs, doesn't accept credit cards, won't cash foreign checks and demands payment from tourists only in American dollars. And those dollar bills must be in absolutely perfect condition before being accepted as payment or exchanged for Burmese kyat.
So off we went this morning in quest of crisp bills in a variety of denominations. In the end we visited three different bank branches before assembling the needed wad; and, even then, we had to compromise on the condition of some of the accumulated bills.
All we can do is hope they'll pass muster once we're in Burma. Some reports indicate that even the crispest of bills have been turned away because the serial number has been regarded with suspicion for beginning with the wrong letter of the alphabet ...
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