Betel Nut, also known as Paan or Kun-ya, is a combination of a nut (betel and areca) and cured tobacco all wrapped in a betel vine leaf. It is chewed and spat out or swallowed. Betel nut is very common here and is sold on every street corner. It produces a slight high and is very addictive. It has a long history here in Myanmar where often visitors were greeted with an offering of green tea and betel nut. Although the government has started to discourage the chewing of this due to serious health problems, it is going to take a long time to wean people off this habit. The other downside is that it causes teeth to rot and turn red over time – then of course there is also the red splatters of spit out betel all over the streets. It is not a pleasant thing. But of course our recent couchsurfers, Rachel & Jo’di, were keen to try it since it is special to Myanmar and Kim decided to join them just this once. Here is the video of the making process and their reactions.
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