Meeting Maung-Maung

I think the theme of this essay is that sometimes it is the people on meets on a trip that make the trip truly memorable. Throughout this essay, we learn very little about Iyer himself, and we do not learn much about the city of Mandalay, but we learn the details of Maung-Maung's entire life, because meeting him and getting to know him was the part of the trip that stuck out to Iyer the most. This story is not about a man traveling to a foreign place, it is about a man meeting an fascinating and kind person whom he would not have met if he wasn't traveling. I thought Iyer's choice to keep Maung-Maung's broken English intact rather than to paraphrase him was very effective, because it made their conversations seem more realistic. I also thought the little details Iyer provided throughout the story, such as the price of Maung-Maung's room, or the fact that his roommate drinks, were incredibly effective because they helped to paint a vivid image or Maung-Maung and his life.