I fly a lot, and still, this was definitely the weirdest airport I’d ever departed. Most of the time, when you arrive at an airport, the process is fairly straightforward. Check in, either online or with an agent at a desk. Tag and wave farewell to your baggage. Proceed through security, then look at the big screens to find your gate. Wait until your group is called. Board the aircraft, and off you go.
This? Wasn’t that at all. Just a few years ago, I was in Burma (Myanmar), flying to Mandalay from the old domestic airport in Yangon (formerly called Rangoon). Checking in, I was given a handwritten slip, and a sticker with the airline’s logo which, if I remember correctly, was an illustration of a rather fierce-looking dragon. Without any further explanation, the friendly young woman advised me to affix the sticker to my shirt. A young man appeared from nowhere and took my suitcase, walking away with it. I don’t believe that he was wearing any sort of uniform, and didn’t provide a baggage receipt.
