After the Gaw Daw Palin Temple, my driver asked me if he can borrow 1,000 Kyats. I had no idea what it was for, nor did he tell me what it was for. I am kind of wary of lending people money, let alone someone I just met. But since this was Myanmar, I thought it was normal for someone to do that or maybe he was a very good reason to borrow money from his client.
He brought me to this roadside stall with Vegetarian Food and Myanmar Food on this clear plastic window. So I guess he was hungry and wanted some lunch. After all, he didn’t have lunch at the Kaungmon Restaurant earlier. He ordered stuff and asked me to join him eating under the tree. He was having some vegetarian food and was offering me some, most of it was fried, so I guess I can also have some of that. It was mostly tofu and some deep fried unidentified vegetables. The fried stuff was then dipped in a slightly spicy sauce.
Though it didn’t look really appetizing, it was surprisingly good, it was fried after all, how bad could it be? The fried vegetables are expectedly crispy on the outside but still a bit soft on the inside giving it a nice texture in the mouth. It seems that my driver isn’t really a big eater like me, and I ended up finishing the whole plate. This was after had lunch. I actually liked it, and told my driver that he should have brought me here in the first place. I guess he wasn’t sure whether I can take such stuff so he brought me to a relatively safer choice.
While we were waiting under the shade of the tree, he asked for a flask of hot tea and started serving me some tea. I found a bit strange to be having hot tea in the middle of the hot afternoon, but he explained that it was actually good for you and that it makes you sweat, thereby releasing the heat from the body. He also brought out his favorite and what seems like everybody else’s favorite snack – a pack of betel nuts.
The betel nuts are ground and then rolled in betel leaves painted with lime. This concoction is chewed throughout Myanmar, mainly by the men. It also stains the teeth a blood red and would keep the chewers spitting blood red spittle throughout the day. The streets of Myanmar are probably covered in the stuff. He politely offered me some of the betel nuts but I refused, I consider myself adventurous but I don’t really like the looks of that. I just preferred sipping my hot tea in the hot summer afternoon. Which I did, eventually finishing the entire flask of tea and even asking for another one.
As for the 1,000 Kyats he borrowed, he tried to return it but told that it would be my treat. Hey, for only 800 Kyats, why not?
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/GawDawPalinTemple.kmz} zoom=14]