Notes

Aviation Note: When the cover popped off the emergency-door handle and the handle itself dropped with a clank on an Air Bagan flight from Bangkok to Yangon, the man seated next to the door---which luckily did not open---asked if he could sit elsewhere. There were no empty seats available, but the cabin crew located a monk who agreed to switch. We were seated nearby and noted that the monk sat looking serene, in that way that they do. He did, however, keep his seatbelt securely fastened throughout the remainder of the flight.

Law-enforcement Note: Every police station in Myanmar has a sign out front in Burmese and English that asks, "May we help you?", not, more fitttingly, "May we hit you over the head?"

Monetary Note: The day we arrived in Yangon, we exchanged U.S. dollars at a rate of about 1100 Myanmar kyats (pronounced "chats") to the dollar. Two weeks later, we received under 1000 kyats per dollar. The kyat is one of the world's pariah currencies. What does this mean?