Around four in the afternoon businesses open on the streets and sidewalks. In addition to buying food, you can get your shoes repaired, loudspeakers refurbished, custom sewing jobs, electronic components that have been extracted with a small sledge hammer, radios and tapes. End your day with a perfectly prepaired betel nut.

1) Spend three days looking for the most crisp US dollar notes you can find in Malaysia. 2) Exchange your US dollar traveler’s checks into Ringgit and Ringgit back into said US dollar notes. 3) Once in Myanmar carefully iron your dollar bills to take out any wrinkles as they are made from cotton but…

Around four the afternoon turns golden and the streets start teeming with people that previously were hiding from the merciless heat. The sun drops like a stone and it is completely dark before the fresh smell of a pre-dusk application of DEET has worn off. For many, homework, dinner, a chat with friends, takes place…