BURMA BUYER'S GUIDE

If you're entering a pagoda in Myanmar, you buy chains of flowers from local sales ladies to place on altars inside. 

If you're at a market, you might pick up some candles from this guy.  

Or perhaps some of these carved statues, necklaces, or bracelets from this lady.

If you're visiting a market that sells ugly hats, you might pick up a tribal beauty like this one, made of a boar skull nicely decked out with hundreds of buffalo teeth. Price was $250--way out of our price range luckily--otherwise, a couple of these would no doubt be decorating our walls back home some day.

If you're at a fish market, you can order a plate of freshly fried nga hpein (lake carp)..as long as a cat doesn't get at them first. 

Sometimes in Burma, you don't need to buy anything, and you can enjoy a priceless moment making a new friend or two for free while watching a sunset. 

This guy liked Liz almost as much as the "swing me" kid (see photo at bottom of link) near Lake Inle.