Blame it on the local media which has shaped a stereotype of Myanmar people as vicious killers. For years Thai media has reported news of Myanmar employees or maids killing their Thai employers, presenting them as violent people.
But a recent visit to Yangon opened my eyes to another side of Myanmar people. From five days of talking and interaction with many locals, I realised Myanmar people are as friendly, polite and generous as Laotians or Thais.
For example, when I stood in front of a house near a voting station in Kawhmu, a town southwest of Yangon, a woman in her fifties showed up with a smile and opened her hand to invite me inside her house. Another time, when we stopped in front of a simple bamboo hut in this rural town to have breakfast we bought in Yangon, a woman approached us to ask if we needed chairs.
In front of many houses in Yangon or on footpaths, clay pots full with drinking water are placed on a wooden shelf, together with a plastic cup for passers-by to drink, which is similar to a common practice in remote villages in Thailand a long time ago.
When we aimed our camera at anyone, they smiled at us. Children always liked their pictures being taken. They smiled cheerfully while their parents also encouraged them to smile. Street vendors do not mind having their pictures taken, either. They even teased each other and laughed about the pictures.
In some decent restaurants serving traditional Myanmar food, we did not have to order anything except kab-khao, or side dishes, because other things were offered for free. They included white rice, hot tea, a big plate of boiled and raw local vegetables served with fermented fish sauce and a bowl of hot soup. After these were finished, a cool traditional dessert and mixed beans were always served to customers on every table. All of these dishes and snacks were offered without any charge and were also refillable.
The Myanmar people also have good manners. When waiters and waitresses serve a dish or present a bill to customers, they use their right hand and put their left hand under the right elbow to show their politeness.
Whenever we stopped to ask locals for any information or a direction, they would try to find someone who could communicate in English or else tried to explain with body language until we clearly understood.
Basically, I felt people were generous. Like our taxi driver. He tripled his role from a driver to also be our guide and translator. He even paid for car park fees, toll fees and brought us bottles of water without a request for an extra charge. On the last day of hiring him to take us around, he offered us four CDs of Aung San Suu Kyi's campaign rallies as he is one of her supporters. He might have thought that we were also fans of her because we requested him to drive us around to find Ms Suu Kyi and he did not even ask the questions why or what we did for a living. He was very much on time, too.
I also felt safe walking along the street in Yangon, although I had to be more careful when people were spitting. It reminded me of when I was young and many elder Thais would spit here and there. One reason Myanmar people keep spitting is that they still chew betel nut. When asked how the taste was, the answer was that it was like smoking. But this might be even better than smoking because one bite can last for half an hour. But that is also half an hour of spitting. And so many people do it. Looking around, I found so much red-coloured spit staining Yangon's streets.
Apart from walking with caution on the footpath, crossing a street was also a challenge. It was not because of too many motorcycles as they have been banned in Yangon since December 2009. It was because of the car drivers who did not stop or even think about slowing down when seeing people about to cross a road. They even honked their horns when someone was using a zebra crossing or standing in the middle of the road waiting for a chance to cross to the other side. The car drivers beep their horns like crazy except in some areas, especially near government offices, which have signs ordering no honking.
Some might feel it is offensive, but I think it is funny to know that when Myanmar people want to get the attention of someone, they make a short hissing sound like "ssshhh". At first, I did not realise the call until I heard many locals do it to their friends or strangers. It is their common way of calling each other and reminded me of when I went to the Philippines where the locals attract attention in a similar way.
When going to a place, we might find things we like and things we do not like. And the longest-lasting memories are always our experiences with people. I believe it was not because of my luck, but the nature of locals in Myanmar. As a wise man once said, travelling can change one's perspective and I totally agree that it is true.
Karnjana Karnjanatawe is a travel writer for the Bangkok Post.