To take the time to keep this blog more updated again....
Somehow i completely let it slip this past half year. Ok, i have the usual excuses.. Busy with school (i never taught grade 4 before, a completely new school anyway since we've just finished our first half year of the school's existence, an autistic kid in the class who's shadow teacher bailed out after only 3 weeks and so on), busy with Xenne of course, and we're not very near any internet cafe. The nearest internet connection is my school (we live very close to the school which is very nice. It takes me 10 minutes on foot to get there). At school i can't access blogger and it as been just too much effort to go to an internet cafe just to post a bit on my blog... Besides, the 2 times i actually was at an internet cafe, i couldn't access this site... But i'll try and do better next year.
What has been going on....
We've moved to a house. The floor is crumbling under our feet (literally) but hopefully the owner will fix that soon. Xenne loves playing outside and that is one of the main reasons we wanted a house. It was rather difficult to find something suitable since prices here are absolutely ridiculous. Besides, you have to pay a year's rent in advance. So we were very lucky to find this place and they settled for a 6-month advance fee.
Xenne is growing nicely (i think). He is very active, very inquisitive, very social, and very bright (again i think). He speaks a bit in 3 languages now. Some words he knows even in 2 languages. When he points to his ears he sometimes says 'ear' and sometimes 'oor' (dutch for ear). Of course he also speaks a fair bit of myanmar. And here, even at my school, people ask me regularly in which grade he is (kids start at nursery, aged 3) because he is tall for myanamr standards. And i keep explaining over and over again (even to the teachers at my own school) that he is not yet 2 years old.... I'll post pics as soon as i have a computer i can access. The one i',m sitting behind is hidden somewhere. Maybe tomorrow if i have time between furious book shopping in Thailand (one day for my re-entry stamp).
KK and i have finally started the toy shop. We're at Bogyoke market, the biggest market in Yangon. We have a small stall/open shop there. The workshop is more trouble since we have problems hiring good people.
Xenne and KK are standing behind me. Xenne finished playing and wants to ride in the car (in the supermarket). So time to go.
Sunday 27 December 2009
Sunday 20 September 2009
Ages and ages later
Ok, so we're back in Burma. And Europe seems like it was a long long time ago, even though we're only back since the 8th of august.
So, what happened apart from the fact that i haven't had time to keep this blog updated (or even to write some posts at home).
School has begun and i have obviously made the right decision in May when the school split. We already have more students now than we had at the other school. And the facilities are great. Ok, i have 20 kids in my class (which makes it the biggest class in the school this year) so i have a bit more work to do than i had to last year. Apart from the fact that i now teach Grade 4. But all in all, nothing to complain about there.
Then there was the matter of housing...First we stayed in a hotel in downtown, thinking that we could find a place relatively quickly, like an apartment for three months, after which we would have time to look for a house. But that proved a much more difficult goal than we had anticipated... It is extremely problematic in this country to get a 3-month contract for anything (not to mention a normal contract where you just pay up every month...). And the prices were ridiculous for what was on offer... We saw an apartment where we'd have to give up the master bedroom to have a decent living room and they still wanted more for that place than we paid for our apartment last year. And that one was furnished! We also saw a house which on the outside looked very nice with a lovely big garden area. Ok, it was brand new, not lived in yet and the garden was a bare piece of land but i thought those were all things in its favor. And then we saw the inside. Honestly, even now a month later i still don't know what these people were thinking when they build it. There was a kid of overgrown hall that would have to be the living room. But for taht it was too small. Then there were 3 bedrooms but at odd angles with the hall/living room or the other non-bedroom place that wasn't big enough to put a table in so it wasn't the dining room/kitchen (there already was an outside kitchen ) but the only 'free' non-door was was completely covered by a counter with sink and cupboards everywhere. So i was wondering where anyone was to sit down at a table and enjoy a meal. There was no space in either this room or the so-called living room. Another example of a waste of time....
Then we decided to move to a hotel closer to my school. Much closer.. 5 minutes walk. Which was absolutely great. And Xenne and KK often accompanied me to school. Xenne, especially. loved it since he always was immediately surrounded by half the teachers staff and a bunch of school kids all trying to give him more attention than is good for him... We stayed there for quite some time. Still searching for a place to live. We'd extended ouur time for an apartment up to 6 months rent since it was just impossible to find a decently priced one for 3 months. But even then, no luck at all. And the same with the houses. We were eventually considering a house we didn't really want since it was quite far away from the school when a taxi driver told us he knew a guy who new houses for rent in the quarter we were staying in. Ok, it wouldn't hurt to talk to him. That same day (it was a sunday) Kk and I walked to a massage place near the hotel when the taxi driver came up to us and introduced us to that other man. He had several houses we could see immediately. Since we were due to give an answer about the other house on Monday and Xenne was well taken care of, we decided to go and see those houses. The first house we saw is the house we live in now. It is on the other side of the big street from my school so now it takes me about 10 minutes to walk there (including the 3 minutes it takes to cross that busy street). Unfortunately they sold of the big garden part (big for a Yangon garden but in my opinion way to small to but a house but who am i). There are guys now building a separation wall between that property and where we live. The owner lives on the same land as our house is on, right behind us. Easy if we want something. The house needs some work but nothing we can't handle and most important of all, it has a big outdoor area for Xenne, a garage KK can use for what we plan to set up and they were ok with a 6 month contract. Which is still a lot of money to pay up front, luckily i could get that as an advance from school.
I wanted a western toilet downstairs and they even put in a bathtub. Now Xenne is really happy... Not to mention it is easy for the girls that have the room behind the garage. I know Myanmar has few luxuries but having a housekeeper and a nanny for less than $100 a month + a room to live in + food is one of the things that make life in this country a little less difficult. These girls think they have a wonderful job and for Myanmar standards we pay quite well. Especially since they have a day of every week. I think it is rather embarrassing about how little we pay. And it has it's downsides.. I can't find anything in my own kitchen...
For the rest... it is too hot here. And too humid. Last week it just wouldn't rain. It was horrible. Luckily we have decent power most of the time though every day at least for an hour or 2 the power is off. And it is still rainy season. Unfortunately it is worse than last year everywhere through Yangon. Even the expensive service apartments have problems at the moment.
Ok, let's see if i can post this and then i have to go shopping. It is amazing how many small things you need when you move (and how much that all costs...).
So, what happened apart from the fact that i haven't had time to keep this blog updated (or even to write some posts at home).
School has begun and i have obviously made the right decision in May when the school split. We already have more students now than we had at the other school. And the facilities are great. Ok, i have 20 kids in my class (which makes it the biggest class in the school this year) so i have a bit more work to do than i had to last year. Apart from the fact that i now teach Grade 4. But all in all, nothing to complain about there.
Then there was the matter of housing...First we stayed in a hotel in downtown, thinking that we could find a place relatively quickly, like an apartment for three months, after which we would have time to look for a house. But that proved a much more difficult goal than we had anticipated... It is extremely problematic in this country to get a 3-month contract for anything (not to mention a normal contract where you just pay up every month...). And the prices were ridiculous for what was on offer... We saw an apartment where we'd have to give up the master bedroom to have a decent living room and they still wanted more for that place than we paid for our apartment last year. And that one was furnished! We also saw a house which on the outside looked very nice with a lovely big garden area. Ok, it was brand new, not lived in yet and the garden was a bare piece of land but i thought those were all things in its favor. And then we saw the inside. Honestly, even now a month later i still don't know what these people were thinking when they build it. There was a kid of overgrown hall that would have to be the living room. But for taht it was too small. Then there were 3 bedrooms but at odd angles with the hall/living room or the other non-bedroom place that wasn't big enough to put a table in so it wasn't the dining room/kitchen (there already was an outside kitchen ) but the only 'free' non-door was was completely covered by a counter with sink and cupboards everywhere. So i was wondering where anyone was to sit down at a table and enjoy a meal. There was no space in either this room or the so-called living room. Another example of a waste of time....
Then we decided to move to a hotel closer to my school. Much closer.. 5 minutes walk. Which was absolutely great. And Xenne and KK often accompanied me to school. Xenne, especially. loved it since he always was immediately surrounded by half the teachers staff and a bunch of school kids all trying to give him more attention than is good for him... We stayed there for quite some time. Still searching for a place to live. We'd extended ouur time for an apartment up to 6 months rent since it was just impossible to find a decently priced one for 3 months. But even then, no luck at all. And the same with the houses. We were eventually considering a house we didn't really want since it was quite far away from the school when a taxi driver told us he knew a guy who new houses for rent in the quarter we were staying in. Ok, it wouldn't hurt to talk to him. That same day (it was a sunday) Kk and I walked to a massage place near the hotel when the taxi driver came up to us and introduced us to that other man. He had several houses we could see immediately. Since we were due to give an answer about the other house on Monday and Xenne was well taken care of, we decided to go and see those houses. The first house we saw is the house we live in now. It is on the other side of the big street from my school so now it takes me about 10 minutes to walk there (including the 3 minutes it takes to cross that busy street). Unfortunately they sold of the big garden part (big for a Yangon garden but in my opinion way to small to but a house but who am i). There are guys now building a separation wall between that property and where we live. The owner lives on the same land as our house is on, right behind us. Easy if we want something. The house needs some work but nothing we can't handle and most important of all, it has a big outdoor area for Xenne, a garage KK can use for what we plan to set up and they were ok with a 6 month contract. Which is still a lot of money to pay up front, luckily i could get that as an advance from school.
I wanted a western toilet downstairs and they even put in a bathtub. Now Xenne is really happy... Not to mention it is easy for the girls that have the room behind the garage. I know Myanmar has few luxuries but having a housekeeper and a nanny for less than $100 a month + a room to live in + food is one of the things that make life in this country a little less difficult. These girls think they have a wonderful job and for Myanmar standards we pay quite well. Especially since they have a day of every week. I think it is rather embarrassing about how little we pay. And it has it's downsides.. I can't find anything in my own kitchen...
For the rest... it is too hot here. And too humid. Last week it just wouldn't rain. It was horrible. Luckily we have decent power most of the time though every day at least for an hour or 2 the power is off. And it is still rainy season. Unfortunately it is worse than last year everywhere through Yangon. Even the expensive service apartments have problems at the moment.
Ok, let's see if i can post this and then i have to go shopping. It is amazing how many small things you need when you move (and how much that all costs...).
Monday 3 August 2009
The countdown has begun
We're back in The Netherlands after a long haul from the South of France. Now the holiday is unofficially over..... Tomorrow Xenne will get his last vaccination shots, and the grueling task of packing will begin.... 50 kilos we can take as lugagge with an additional 30 as carry-on, It sounds like a lot but i can tell you it is not. Especially not if you have a lot of kids stuff to take with you. And don't forget that those 30 kgs of carry-on we need to drag around ourselves in addition to steering an active child in the right direction (or carrying him if he is too tired).
The hotel in Bangkok has been booked. It is a hotel that i know since my parents stayed there once so it'll be nice to go too after a long flight. In Burma we want to go to a hotel we know but somehow we hear nothign from them. Then again, i haven't heard anything from there in a over a week and i still need my papers from teh school for my visa. So maybe there are some problems with the internet there. Who knows.....
We'll be staying in a hotel for a few days in which we hope to find a decent apartment for 3 months. When we have that, we have a long period to look for a nice place.
Anyways, 'real' life is knocking on the door again. There's work to be done. In more than one way....
The hotel in Bangkok has been booked. It is a hotel that i know since my parents stayed there once so it'll be nice to go too after a long flight. In Burma we want to go to a hotel we know but somehow we hear nothign from them. Then again, i haven't heard anything from there in a over a week and i still need my papers from teh school for my visa. So maybe there are some problems with the internet there. Who knows.....
We'll be staying in a hotel for a few days in which we hope to find a decent apartment for 3 months. When we have that, we have a long period to look for a nice place.
Anyways, 'real' life is knocking on the door again. There's work to be done. In more than one way....
Tuesday 28 July 2009
A hi from the south of France
Here we are enjoying a nice, often sunny back terras with occasional trips a bit further afield like the local abbey, St. Emilion and, tomorrow, Spain. KK is amassing countries this trip: the Netherlands; Belgium (camping), Germany (sandwich), France (visiting my parents) and Spain for some tapas.......
Xenne is doing great, he,s got a whole new, huge backyard to play in. Of course there are many places he's not allowed to go and that is exactly where he would love to go most... Luckily there is much that distracts him like the mini-pool, the real pool (when we are in it too obviously), the most recent addition ( a present from some acquaintances here) an aircastle with a slide of sorts and a baby-pool.
As i'm trying to write this I actually am stuck. There is so much to write and so little time to do so. Where do I start. Do I start at all? I think i will be my usual lazy self and abandon the real info for a later date.... I know I know you don't think there'll ever be that date. Maybe. But now i need to book our hotel in Bangkok since i don't fancy dragging our tired selfs, Xenne, and all our stuff through Bangkok in search of a hotel for 2 nights. So first things first....
Xenne is doing great, he,s got a whole new, huge backyard to play in. Of course there are many places he's not allowed to go and that is exactly where he would love to go most... Luckily there is much that distracts him like the mini-pool, the real pool (when we are in it too obviously), the most recent addition ( a present from some acquaintances here) an aircastle with a slide of sorts and a baby-pool.
As i'm trying to write this I actually am stuck. There is so much to write and so little time to do so. Where do I start. Do I start at all? I think i will be my usual lazy self and abandon the real info for a later date.... I know I know you don't think there'll ever be that date. Maybe. But now i need to book our hotel in Bangkok since i don't fancy dragging our tired selfs, Xenne, and all our stuff through Bangkok in search of a hotel for 2 nights. So first things first....
Saturday 11 July 2009
Some pictures of our trip to the Netherlands
Well, we haven't finished with the holiday yet but since i couldn't sleep this morning it'll be an excellent opportunity to post a bit here....
At the nieuwe Maasvlakte where we'd seen how they are claiming new land from the sea after which we went to the beach.
Xenne and his great grandma.
Here he shows her how he knows head-shoulders-knees-and-toes.....
Xenne and Kyaw Kyaw eating a sandwhich with real german sausage in Germany....
KK showing the entry sign for The Netherlands....
At Castle Te Haar in Haarzuilen.
After the visit to the castle when we were exploring the gardens.
Who is afraid of the big bad dinosaur?
Not US!
A fantastic view from the St. Catharine church tower over Brielle.
Kyaw Kyaw at the mill in Brielle.
At the nieuwe Maasvlakte where we'd seen how they are claiming new land from the sea after which we went to the beach.
Xenne and his great grandma.
Here he shows her how he knows head-shoulders-knees-and-toes.....
Xenne and Kyaw Kyaw eating a sandwhich with real german sausage in Germany....
KK showing the entry sign for The Netherlands....
At Castle Te Haar in Haarzuilen.
After the visit to the castle when we were exploring the gardens.
Who is afraid of the big bad dinosaur?
Not US!
KK in The Hague before our parlament buildings.
In the Escher museum in The Hague.
In Amsterdam from a canal boat....
Saturday 4 July 2009
Time flies when you have fun
Another week (and a bit) have passed and we've spend time in Soest and Zoetermeer and The Hague. And we've visited Scheveningen en Amsterdam (which KK loved). So we're all a wee bit tired but we have a few more busy days ahead of us but then Xenne will get his vaccination shots and we'll 'relax' for a few days to give him time to be sick of that if he needs to be.
There is so much to write that i don't know where to begin so i give up before i start.....
There is so much to write that i don't know where to begin so i give up before i start.....
Tuesday 23 June 2009
Ewold got married!
Ewold, one of my long-time friends, finally got married today. I'm so happy. Especially since we were all there, even Kyaw Kyaw. It was very early this morning, at 9, so it was an early rise-and-shine but it was really nice. I did miss some of it since Xenne was so busy but KK filmed a lot and Ã'm sure that, soon, i will see the pictures...
Now everybody is eating roti and kouseband, drinking wine and enjoy the late afternoon sun in the garden. We'll go to Soest soon to visit another friend. So very busy. especially since we only got here late yesterday evening after having spent the weekend near the German border at another friend's house. It was great there. Xenne had Jonas and Wiske (her kids) to play with and loads of toys. KK loved it since we went to Germany to eat pie!
Ok, time to go and keep an eye on Xenne. He's just come over to have a look at what i'm doing...
Now everybody is eating roti and kouseband, drinking wine and enjoy the late afternoon sun in the garden. We'll go to Soest soon to visit another friend. So very busy. especially since we only got here late yesterday evening after having spent the weekend near the German border at another friend's house. It was great there. Xenne had Jonas and Wiske (her kids) to play with and loads of toys. KK loved it since we went to Germany to eat pie!
Ok, time to go and keep an eye on Xenne. He's just come over to have a look at what i'm doing...
Wednesday 17 June 2009
Already more than 2 weeks in The Netherlands
So far we've been very fortunate with the weather. Ok, not every day has been sunny and warm but we have had only one really bad day in which it was raining almost continuously. But even that day we could take Xenne uit in the evening for a short walk.
KK still is amazed at all the differences between Burma and Holland. He loves Brielle (the old town), which isn't so strange since it has beautiful old buildings. I love it too and wouldn't mind onwing a house there (but for that you need to have access to about a million Euro or more...) .
Xenne loves the garden and spends most of his day there chasing the dog and cat. The cat is called 'momo' (he uses the same word for when he wants something to eat) and the dog is called 'wawa'. The cat doesn't mind being handled a bit roughly every once in a while but the dog doesn't like it too much so we have to keep a good eye on that.
Now the 2 gentlemen are at the palyground which is right behind the house. Xenne climbs up the ladder of the slide and then slides down on his belly. Which he loves to do and can't get enough of....
What else.. oh we've been able to buy some excellent shoes for Xenne for discount prices. So hopefully he'll be covered for a year with that. It is so difficult to buy shoes in Burma since it is almost always plastic and/or sandals with no proper support. In Thailand it isn't much different. You can get a bit more there but still there isn't much choice and the prices are high for good quality shoes. So with this i was really happy.
We also bought tons of toys on a local fair for absolutely rock bottom prices ($0.50 to the most expensive item of $2,50). Now wé just have to find a way of taking it all back with us without paying for excess luggage. After all, we've also planned to bring some cheese (if it is packed properly it should be possible we've been assured) and other goodies...
The fair was a blast. For one thing there were loads of interesting things for sale (like wooden clogs and i actually needed a pair but eventually i settled for a few miniature versions. Easier to pack), and there wasx live music with old style instruments. Xenne loved that. He stood in front of the stage and danced the afternoon away. It was so cute and it looked like more people were watching Xenne than they were watching the artists. And we overheard many comments on him being so adorable.... What more could i want form a nice afternoon ;-)
KK still is amazed at all the differences between Burma and Holland. He loves Brielle (the old town), which isn't so strange since it has beautiful old buildings. I love it too and wouldn't mind onwing a house there (but for that you need to have access to about a million Euro or more...) .
Xenne loves the garden and spends most of his day there chasing the dog and cat. The cat is called 'momo' (he uses the same word for when he wants something to eat) and the dog is called 'wawa'. The cat doesn't mind being handled a bit roughly every once in a while but the dog doesn't like it too much so we have to keep a good eye on that.
Now the 2 gentlemen are at the palyground which is right behind the house. Xenne climbs up the ladder of the slide and then slides down on his belly. Which he loves to do and can't get enough of....
What else.. oh we've been able to buy some excellent shoes for Xenne for discount prices. So hopefully he'll be covered for a year with that. It is so difficult to buy shoes in Burma since it is almost always plastic and/or sandals with no proper support. In Thailand it isn't much different. You can get a bit more there but still there isn't much choice and the prices are high for good quality shoes. So with this i was really happy.
We also bought tons of toys on a local fair for absolutely rock bottom prices ($0.50 to the most expensive item of $2,50). Now wé just have to find a way of taking it all back with us without paying for excess luggage. After all, we've also planned to bring some cheese (if it is packed properly it should be possible we've been assured) and other goodies...
The fair was a blast. For one thing there were loads of interesting things for sale (like wooden clogs and i actually needed a pair but eventually i settled for a few miniature versions. Easier to pack), and there wasx live music with old style instruments. Xenne loved that. He stood in front of the stage and danced the afternoon away. It was so cute and it looked like more people were watching Xenne than they were watching the artists. And we overheard many comments on him being so adorable.... What more could i want form a nice afternoon ;-)
Saturday 6 June 2009
Saturday
Wow, how time flies... We've been shopping and walking around Beautiful Brielle town. We've done some shopping in Spijkenisse too. We had too. We'd forgotten Xenne's buggy at the airport. That obviously can happen when your overly tired and hold a screaming baby (Xenne wasn't too happy when he couldn't take a cart through customs .....)
Life is good of course. KK saw a real cheese shop 2 days ago. He was stunned and didn't know where to look. So much cheese. And the owner of the shop has told us that we can take cheese with us depending on the kind of cheese and how they pack it. So.. we need to make a reservation for a few kilos in our luggage... ;-)
Today we're going to meet up with some of my friends and see the market in Rotterdam or The Hague. I'm not sure what the plans are exactly... I think none of us knows. I wouldn't be surprised if we just go out for lunch and talk.....
Life is good of course. KK saw a real cheese shop 2 days ago. He was stunned and didn't know where to look. So much cheese. And the owner of the shop has told us that we can take cheese with us depending on the kind of cheese and how they pack it. So.. we need to make a reservation for a few kilos in our luggage... ;-)
Today we're going to meet up with some of my friends and see the market in Rotterdam or The Hague. I'm not sure what the plans are exactly... I think none of us knows. I wouldn't be surprised if we just go out for lunch and talk.....
Tuesday 2 June 2009
In the Netherlands-all 3 of us!!!
This time i write an update from the Netherlands. Finally normal internet access ;-)
KK got his visa and so all three of us are here. KK finds it all a bit overwhelming but he really enjoys it. Luckily it isn't too cold really, yesterday it was a whooping 27 degrees celsius so we sat outside and Xenne loved playing in the garden. The dog isn't too wild about having him here though, Xenne keeps trying to pat him but the dog runs away....
Anyways, with normal internet connections for the next 2 months, i'm sure i can keep this blog updated a bit more... And i'm sure i'll have much to tell
KK got his visa and so all three of us are here. KK finds it all a bit overwhelming but he really enjoys it. Luckily it isn't too cold really, yesterday it was a whooping 27 degrees celsius so we sat outside and Xenne loved playing in the garden. The dog isn't too wild about having him here though, Xenne keeps trying to pat him but the dog runs away....
Anyways, with normal internet connections for the next 2 months, i'm sure i can keep this blog updated a bit more... And i'm sure i'll have much to tell
Sunday 10 May 2009
Ok, internet is working again
It was out for ages and ages. Apparently some boat had broken the cable that connects Burma with Singapore for internet use and there was a land line they said but well, the connection was often so slow that it was just impossible to do anything. Anyway, things seem to have returned back to normal internet wise so i hope i can keep this updated a bit more until we go back to the Netherlands for the summer holidays. I have a 2,5 month holiday this year since our school starts following the IGCSE-program and in the UK schools don't start before September 1. We do start a little earlier than that but not much.
A lot has happened since i last wrote. The school's board of directors had a fall-out so now there'll be 2 schools. I've decided to go to the new school. Luckily i'm not the only one. And now we're all hoping that the students will follow. Fortunately most preschool and primary school teachers are going to the new school so we are optimistic that parents will follow. In a way it is fun since we can start with a whole lot of new ideas, materials, books etc, not to mention a more spacious environment but it is also a bit stressfull. Even more so since the board that keeps MIES is putting rather a bit of pressure on certain teachers to change their minds. Besides, the headmaster has been relieved of his duties (since he has decided to go with the other side) and so the office staff that has left too.
The water festival (and Burmese New Year) has taken place as usual mid-april. Papa and Jet were here so they've been doused with water as well... It is difficult to avoid getting wet, especially when you are a foreigner. We also went to the beach with them for a few days. A story in itself which i've already written back home but, as usual, this morning the power was off again so it['ll be for another day. We're still on our schedule for the electricity and with the temperature around 40c i often feel like anging my head against the wall. It's been 6 months since it started!
Xenne is growing like weed. He now climbs on everything. He's found out that if he gets on the dining room chair, he can get onto the table. He also hangs of the bookcase regularly, can open the fridge and freezer and can push the heavy door of the bathroom open.... He's also producing 3 more teeth at the moment.... He was also in our nursery class for about a half hour on thursday. They loved him, he loved it and afterwards the teachers told me that he was a very confident little kid (meaning he wasn't afraid of anybody and anything...).
Friday i did a field trip with my kids and the kids from the special care class. We first went to the fun park (for as much as you can imagine we have here....) and then hopped accross the street to see how ice cream was made. The kids loved it. Of course the ice cream was very very good but they were also allowed to make their own cones and we has the soft, freshly made ice cream to fill the cones with. I've had already 2 other classes who have asked me if they can go as well.....
Alright, i promised KK that i wouldn't be too long. He and Xenne are in Sule Paya where Xenne can run around and have all the burmese look after him. They all think he is super cute.
A lot has happened since i last wrote. The school's board of directors had a fall-out so now there'll be 2 schools. I've decided to go to the new school. Luckily i'm not the only one. And now we're all hoping that the students will follow. Fortunately most preschool and primary school teachers are going to the new school so we are optimistic that parents will follow. In a way it is fun since we can start with a whole lot of new ideas, materials, books etc, not to mention a more spacious environment but it is also a bit stressfull. Even more so since the board that keeps MIES is putting rather a bit of pressure on certain teachers to change their minds. Besides, the headmaster has been relieved of his duties (since he has decided to go with the other side) and so the office staff that has left too.
The water festival (and Burmese New Year) has taken place as usual mid-april. Papa and Jet were here so they've been doused with water as well... It is difficult to avoid getting wet, especially when you are a foreigner. We also went to the beach with them for a few days. A story in itself which i've already written back home but, as usual, this morning the power was off again so it['ll be for another day. We're still on our schedule for the electricity and with the temperature around 40c i often feel like anging my head against the wall. It's been 6 months since it started!
Xenne is growing like weed. He now climbs on everything. He's found out that if he gets on the dining room chair, he can get onto the table. He also hangs of the bookcase regularly, can open the fridge and freezer and can push the heavy door of the bathroom open.... He's also producing 3 more teeth at the moment.... He was also in our nursery class for about a half hour on thursday. They loved him, he loved it and afterwards the teachers told me that he was a very confident little kid (meaning he wasn't afraid of anybody and anything...).
Friday i did a field trip with my kids and the kids from the special care class. We first went to the fun park (for as much as you can imagine we have here....) and then hopped accross the street to see how ice cream was made. The kids loved it. Of course the ice cream was very very good but they were also allowed to make their own cones and we has the soft, freshly made ice cream to fill the cones with. I've had already 2 other classes who have asked me if they can go as well.....
Alright, i promised KK that i wouldn't be too long. He and Xenne are in Sule Paya where Xenne can run around and have all the burmese look after him. They all think he is super cute.
Saturday 28 March 2009
quick update
Xenne and i are in Thailand for a quick visa trip. We do have a 6-month multi-entry visa but in Burma that means that you still have to leave every 10 weeks..... Luckily we don't have to go to the embassy, just leaving the country is enough. So yesterday afternoon we flew out and this morning we'll go back. I'd planned to do some shopping but that never happened. We went into the nearest department store and spend enough time there for Xenne to be exhausted by 5. He fell asleep shortly after we got back to the hotel. Only to wake up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. Now he's keeping the receptionist busy while i time this quick update.
When i opened this i realised how long i haven't been online. In Burma they are doing some maintenance on the internet backbone. At least that is what they say. Amazingly enough it is mostly news sites and email that we can't access.....
But we're all ok. Xenne is busy exploring the world and he can already do that by running around on his little baby legs. So yesterday at the airport it was a game of him running ahead and me following with the stroller..... All the time till we could board. Then he fell asleep......
Ok, i'm going to see if any of the malls or supermarkets are open.....
When i opened this i realised how long i haven't been online. In Burma they are doing some maintenance on the internet backbone. At least that is what they say. Amazingly enough it is mostly news sites and email that we can't access.....
But we're all ok. Xenne is busy exploring the world and he can already do that by running around on his little baby legs. So yesterday at the airport it was a game of him running ahead and me following with the stroller..... All the time till we could board. Then he fell asleep......
Ok, i'm going to see if any of the malls or supermarkets are open.....
Friday 13 February 2009
Lagging behind
I hate it when i've just typed a huge post and then when i want to send it, the page just deosn't want to go trough. And of course i handn't paid attention and missed that there were no drafts either... So i have to do it all again. It'll probably be shorter this time.....
Kyaw Kyaw is in Bagan (or actually in Nyaung-U which is literally next door to Bagan). He needs 1 paper for his passport extension (yes here in Burma you can get a passport extension!Then again, a passport is valid for only 3 years). even though he hasn't lived in his village or Nyaung-U for over 15 years, he still needs to go there to get this one paper. Or pay an exhorbitantly high fee to have someone else arrange it for him. Even family isn't authorized to do it except when they pay a lot. Anyway, on the bright side, he visited his family yesterday so that was nice. He had troubel (again!) on the way up there. Apparently he and his fellow passengers slept alongside the road becasue the bus broke down. He arrived in Bagan 24 hours after he'd left Yangon. Even though it is normally 15-16 hours. And it has been like that for the last 3 times that he went there. So he wasn't all that happy since he had planned to get the paper he needed on wednesday which would allow for an extra day if need be. Now he can only hope that it can be done in one day otherwise he'll probably need to stay the whole weekend.
Me, i spend my time in a whole different manner. Yesterday i had a lovely day alone with Xenne. Even the maid had a day off which both she and i enjoyed. The only drawback was that we didn't eat pasta yesterday as i had planned. Xenne wanted to be held all teh time yesterday evening. And since he was ill last week i couldn't deny him that. But cooking AND carrying a toddler at the same time does't work very well. So i ordered in some fried rice. He only wants to eat whatever i eat anyways now. I had made him some nice porridge and yoghurt yesterday but when we were at the teashop he wouldn't eat anything else than my noodlesalad. No matter that the salad was medium spicy... And this morning it was no different, though i was prepared this time and asked them not to but in any chilli.....
Wednesday we had our annual sportsday at school. Well, sportsday.. More fun-and-games day. Coconut shell relay (where the kids walk on coconut shells cut in half), sponge toss, banana relay (which involves blindfolds and unpeeled bananas), water balloon toss, golden coin relay (with the attributes of bowls of flour), tug-of-wars etc..... Much fun. But i think we should have some more water-based games next time. Even though it wasn't extremely hot yet, being out in the sun all day just asks for a waterfight.....
Ok, let's see if i can post this....
Kyaw Kyaw is in Bagan (or actually in Nyaung-U which is literally next door to Bagan). He needs 1 paper for his passport extension (yes here in Burma you can get a passport extension!Then again, a passport is valid for only 3 years). even though he hasn't lived in his village or Nyaung-U for over 15 years, he still needs to go there to get this one paper. Or pay an exhorbitantly high fee to have someone else arrange it for him. Even family isn't authorized to do it except when they pay a lot. Anyway, on the bright side, he visited his family yesterday so that was nice. He had troubel (again!) on the way up there. Apparently he and his fellow passengers slept alongside the road becasue the bus broke down. He arrived in Bagan 24 hours after he'd left Yangon. Even though it is normally 15-16 hours. And it has been like that for the last 3 times that he went there. So he wasn't all that happy since he had planned to get the paper he needed on wednesday which would allow for an extra day if need be. Now he can only hope that it can be done in one day otherwise he'll probably need to stay the whole weekend.
Me, i spend my time in a whole different manner. Yesterday i had a lovely day alone with Xenne. Even the maid had a day off which both she and i enjoyed. The only drawback was that we didn't eat pasta yesterday as i had planned. Xenne wanted to be held all teh time yesterday evening. And since he was ill last week i couldn't deny him that. But cooking AND carrying a toddler at the same time does't work very well. So i ordered in some fried rice. He only wants to eat whatever i eat anyways now. I had made him some nice porridge and yoghurt yesterday but when we were at the teashop he wouldn't eat anything else than my noodlesalad. No matter that the salad was medium spicy... And this morning it was no different, though i was prepared this time and asked them not to but in any chilli.....
Wednesday we had our annual sportsday at school. Well, sportsday.. More fun-and-games day. Coconut shell relay (where the kids walk on coconut shells cut in half), sponge toss, banana relay (which involves blindfolds and unpeeled bananas), water balloon toss, golden coin relay (with the attributes of bowls of flour), tug-of-wars etc..... Much fun. But i think we should have some more water-based games next time. Even though it wasn't extremely hot yet, being out in the sun all day just asks for a waterfight.....
Ok, let's see if i can post this....
Sunday 1 February 2009
Somepictures from our trip to Moulemein/Hpa-an
Sunset seen from our ferry
A beautiful river trip it is
This is the way we use the buggy in Burma ;-)
Xenne, being his usual happy self. I think he likes to travel.Saturday the 31st
Slowly I’m getting behind on this blog too… But I’m trying, really I am. But it is a bit harder since Xenne got his hands on the laptop again. Now we’re not only missing the ‘D’ but the spacebar is not working very well either. I know that we have to get the laptop to the repair shop but somehow it is never the right time even though I haven’t used it much in the past weeks…
As I wrote last time in my quick update, school has started again. And my class is much smaller. Now I have only 11 kids. The brothers are back in Malaysia, their father was transferred back there. And another boy now lives in Singapore. It makes huge difference 11 or 14 kids. Actually 14 or 10 kids since one of the girls only comes back from holiday this week. She didn’t show after the holidays so we called to check up and her aunt told us that the family was away and wouldn’t be back until after Chinese New Year. No message was given to the school and I doubt there’ll be an excuse apology either. But it does mean a lot of extra work for me since she has to catch up of course. It is so funny, many parents here take their kids out of school during the term for a holiday. Sometimes we’re told, sometimes, like now, we find out later. But the parents still expect their kids to be top of the class and sometimes blame the teacher for their kid’s lower scores…. Like we’re magicians!
It is the end of January and I have the feeling that the temperatures outside are already rising again. March and April are the scorching months here, summer they call it. I’ll probably think with nostalgia and regret of these past 2 months when, on occasion, I had to cover myself with a shawl because it was a bit chilly. And the last few days we’ve had thick, all-covering mist in the very early morning. So much that it almost looked like it had rained. But now it is nice. The windows are open, there is a nice, light breeze and I’m looking at Inya Lake and kids playing football outside.
Alright, I’m of to play a bit with Xenne…..
As I wrote last time in my quick update, school has started again. And my class is much smaller. Now I have only 11 kids. The brothers are back in Malaysia, their father was transferred back there. And another boy now lives in Singapore. It makes huge difference 11 or 14 kids. Actually 14 or 10 kids since one of the girls only comes back from holiday this week. She didn’t show after the holidays so we called to check up and her aunt told us that the family was away and wouldn’t be back until after Chinese New Year. No message was given to the school and I doubt there’ll be an excuse apology either. But it does mean a lot of extra work for me since she has to catch up of course. It is so funny, many parents here take their kids out of school during the term for a holiday. Sometimes we’re told, sometimes, like now, we find out later. But the parents still expect their kids to be top of the class and sometimes blame the teacher for their kid’s lower scores…. Like we’re magicians!
It is the end of January and I have the feeling that the temperatures outside are already rising again. March and April are the scorching months here, summer they call it. I’ll probably think with nostalgia and regret of these past 2 months when, on occasion, I had to cover myself with a shawl because it was a bit chilly. And the last few days we’ve had thick, all-covering mist in the very early morning. So much that it almost looked like it had rained. But now it is nice. The windows are open, there is a nice, light breeze and I’m looking at Inya Lake and kids playing football outside.
Alright, I’m of to play a bit with Xenne…..
Monday 26 January 2009
No i haven't forgotten about you
I wanted to write several times in the last weeks but somehow i have never gotten around to it. Of course, it is difficult to use the laptop if there isn't any electricity (and you have a very cheap chinese-made laptop with a battry that lasts about 20 minutes...) but it isn't much of an excuse. Truth is, i had better things to do. And of course, school has started again. So that also takes a fair bit of time. Hopefully i can write some this week. There are many things i'd like to write about. The new term, the parents who consider it absolutely normal that you can take your kid for an extended holiday without informing the school (one of my kids is due back tomorrow evn though school started again 2 weeks ago), the slowly increasing temperatures (yes, already) and more....
Anyways, i'll post this first so y'all know i'm still alive (and so are Xenne and KK ;-) )
Anyways, i'll post this first so y'all know i'm still alive (and so are Xenne and KK ;-) )
Saturday 10 January 2009
Our trip to Moulemein/Hpa-an part 2
Ok, where did I leave off before everything got really hectic around here…
Oh yeah, the boat trip to Hpa-an. Xenne nowadays loves throw things away and then look where it has gotten to. The German couple who sat next to us (true, they sat in the only available chairs) had a small bag of mandarins. We had them too but they were in the stroller, so Xenne saw the German’s bag first. And he loves those. He wasn’t hungry so he started to play with the fruit and both the German woman and the tour guide played with him. He would roll the fruit to them and one of them would roll it back. And then suddenly Xenne threw the fruit overboard and wanted to see where it had gotten to. All at once there was a big scramble of adults going for a baby…. In the end he managed to get three mandarins in to the river but we managed to keep a fair few on board…
.Kyaw Kyaw and I took turns in keeping Xenne busy while the other would admire the view and decide whether it was possible and worthwhile to take a picture. There is a much-acclaimed boat trip between Mandalay and Bagan which many tourists take every year (at least many of the people that actually come to Burma, which in tourism standards is not a high number). I did that trip to a few years ago and found it terribly boring. But this part between Moulemein and Hpa-an is a whole different matter, that trip is fantastic. For one thing, the views are much more spectacular and the boat is a local boat and not a tourist boat (which does a whole lot to the price and for me personally, I like a beautiful view much more when I know I haven’t paid through the nose to see it). Besides that, the trip is about half the time which is also very nice since it leaves you with time to do something else (instead of getting up at 5 am in the morning to get to the boat on time).
In Hpa-an we got to a hotel that was reasonably priced (we thought) until we saw the bathroom. Ok, it was a room on the first floor (nice with a baby and a stroller) and it had a hot-and-cold shower (also very nice with a baby) but the bathroom was so yucky we asked for a different room. There we all crashed. Xenne fell asleep almost immediately and spread himself out on the bed as much as he could. KK went out to get us fried rice (we’d skipped lunch so were fairly peckish). At around 9 we were all fast asleep.
The next day we hired a yep, what shall I call this, a motorcycle with attached car? A pick-up motorcycle? It isn’t really a tuk tuk but similar I suppose. Though for me it is more a cross between a motorcycle and a blue taxi (in the back you sit facing each other parallel with the sides of the car. And off we went to see some cave outside Hpa-an. Along the road were beautiful, traditional style, wooden houses that I tried to photograph in vain. There were too many bumps in the road to get even a half-decent picture. But KK and I kept yelling at each other to turn around and see that beautiful house behind us. The cave where we got to was small but full of Buddha statues. Even the roof was decorated with small, clay Buddha figurines. Fantastic. And while I tried to take the best possible photo of that ceiling (or a part of it), I completely forgot that I was standing on a small platform. So with my eyes and camera looking upwards, I stepped into a void and sprained my ankle…. So while I sat there massaging my ankle, our driver went out for tiger balm and KK tried to keep Xenne busy AND check whether my camera was still working properly…Luckily all that was ok. And my ankle, well that has been a mess for ages…. We hang around a while longer since it was such a nice spot and Xenne liked to walk some more. On the way back our driver told us that there was another interesting place to see and it was only a short distance from our way back. Sure, we said expecting another cave of sorts. We drove through some jungle and ended up at the foot of what, to me, looked like stairs. So I asked how far up this interesting place was. The driver asked one of the women who had a teashop there. An hour’s climb was the return answer. Like that was an option with a baby, not to mention a sprained ankle…. So instead we drank some tea and enjoyed the tranquillity of the village square. Xenne was tired so after a Burmese lunch we headed back to the hotel where both Xenne and KK instantly fell asleep. In the evening KK wanted to visit the bonehealer (physiotherapist?) for my ankle but she didn’t feel well. So I still haven’t met a traditional medicine man/woman…. Instead we went straight for dinner and after that back to the hotel. We had an early bus to catch (7 am).
The bus was a little less luxurious than KK had thought (after seeing a leaflet or something like it). The aircon was a big, open window. And the seats weren’t too comfortable either (one was a little broken) but all in all it wasn’t too bad. We did start out almost an hour too late though. I assume that this is more often the case but somehow the driver got all confused about the stopping schedule so the first break was when someone yelled to the front when the bus was going to make a stop. People do have to pee and all that (cigarettes and tea amongst others). So the bus made an unscheduled stop and people scrambled over everything (the middle path was filled up with plastic stools for people to sit on) to get out for the things they needed to do. Then suddenly the driver realised that there were 4 monks on the bus and monks are not allowed to eat after 12 noon. It was already 11 o’clock. So the bus stopped at a tiny restaurant so that the monks could eat. Everybody else stayed in the bus. It took them 10 minutes before they found out that there was no food for the monks to eat. For the next hour the driver asked at every possible place whether there was food. He didn’t succeed until 11.55. The monks got out and had their lunch while the rest of us stayed in the bus, in the scorching sun. It took them over 20 minutes to finish and all this time not a single person complained. I knew that monks were very revered but I couldn’t imagine a bus in the west spending an hour and a half to satisfy the need of a religious person or anybody else for that matter).
The rest of us didn’t get a chance to eat until around 1 when we pulled up at what was obviously their usual stop. We came home at about 6 and KK’s brother who had been house-sitting for us, made us a quick meal. It was nice to be home again even if it was only so that Xenne could rest a bit again. Travelling was much fun and he loved it but it was tiring. For all of us. Maybe next time we should book hotels and things like that in advance. I say now. Knowing us, we’ll go off without anything like that again next time…
Xenne’s birthday (9-1-2009)
A quick note on Xenne’s birthday. It was busy all day with people dropping in at all times. But it was fun. And he got so much attention that he was laughing out loud half the time. Of course he also got some presents. A huge (ugly) bear which he immediately tried to chew on and our present that we had brought from Thailand (the nearest place to buy kids toys since here you only have bad Chinese quality and nothing for under the age of about 4-5).
Oh our visitors have arrived. More later (or not).
Oh yeah, the boat trip to Hpa-an. Xenne nowadays loves throw things away and then look where it has gotten to. The German couple who sat next to us (true, they sat in the only available chairs) had a small bag of mandarins. We had them too but they were in the stroller, so Xenne saw the German’s bag first. And he loves those. He wasn’t hungry so he started to play with the fruit and both the German woman and the tour guide played with him. He would roll the fruit to them and one of them would roll it back. And then suddenly Xenne threw the fruit overboard and wanted to see where it had gotten to. All at once there was a big scramble of adults going for a baby…. In the end he managed to get three mandarins in to the river but we managed to keep a fair few on board…
.Kyaw Kyaw and I took turns in keeping Xenne busy while the other would admire the view and decide whether it was possible and worthwhile to take a picture. There is a much-acclaimed boat trip between Mandalay and Bagan which many tourists take every year (at least many of the people that actually come to Burma, which in tourism standards is not a high number). I did that trip to a few years ago and found it terribly boring. But this part between Moulemein and Hpa-an is a whole different matter, that trip is fantastic. For one thing, the views are much more spectacular and the boat is a local boat and not a tourist boat (which does a whole lot to the price and for me personally, I like a beautiful view much more when I know I haven’t paid through the nose to see it). Besides that, the trip is about half the time which is also very nice since it leaves you with time to do something else (instead of getting up at 5 am in the morning to get to the boat on time).
In Hpa-an we got to a hotel that was reasonably priced (we thought) until we saw the bathroom. Ok, it was a room on the first floor (nice with a baby and a stroller) and it had a hot-and-cold shower (also very nice with a baby) but the bathroom was so yucky we asked for a different room. There we all crashed. Xenne fell asleep almost immediately and spread himself out on the bed as much as he could. KK went out to get us fried rice (we’d skipped lunch so were fairly peckish). At around 9 we were all fast asleep.
The next day we hired a yep, what shall I call this, a motorcycle with attached car? A pick-up motorcycle? It isn’t really a tuk tuk but similar I suppose. Though for me it is more a cross between a motorcycle and a blue taxi (in the back you sit facing each other parallel with the sides of the car. And off we went to see some cave outside Hpa-an. Along the road were beautiful, traditional style, wooden houses that I tried to photograph in vain. There were too many bumps in the road to get even a half-decent picture. But KK and I kept yelling at each other to turn around and see that beautiful house behind us. The cave where we got to was small but full of Buddha statues. Even the roof was decorated with small, clay Buddha figurines. Fantastic. And while I tried to take the best possible photo of that ceiling (or a part of it), I completely forgot that I was standing on a small platform. So with my eyes and camera looking upwards, I stepped into a void and sprained my ankle…. So while I sat there massaging my ankle, our driver went out for tiger balm and KK tried to keep Xenne busy AND check whether my camera was still working properly…Luckily all that was ok. And my ankle, well that has been a mess for ages…. We hang around a while longer since it was such a nice spot and Xenne liked to walk some more. On the way back our driver told us that there was another interesting place to see and it was only a short distance from our way back. Sure, we said expecting another cave of sorts. We drove through some jungle and ended up at the foot of what, to me, looked like stairs. So I asked how far up this interesting place was. The driver asked one of the women who had a teashop there. An hour’s climb was the return answer. Like that was an option with a baby, not to mention a sprained ankle…. So instead we drank some tea and enjoyed the tranquillity of the village square. Xenne was tired so after a Burmese lunch we headed back to the hotel where both Xenne and KK instantly fell asleep. In the evening KK wanted to visit the bonehealer (physiotherapist?) for my ankle but she didn’t feel well. So I still haven’t met a traditional medicine man/woman…. Instead we went straight for dinner and after that back to the hotel. We had an early bus to catch (7 am).
The bus was a little less luxurious than KK had thought (after seeing a leaflet or something like it). The aircon was a big, open window. And the seats weren’t too comfortable either (one was a little broken) but all in all it wasn’t too bad. We did start out almost an hour too late though. I assume that this is more often the case but somehow the driver got all confused about the stopping schedule so the first break was when someone yelled to the front when the bus was going to make a stop. People do have to pee and all that (cigarettes and tea amongst others). So the bus made an unscheduled stop and people scrambled over everything (the middle path was filled up with plastic stools for people to sit on) to get out for the things they needed to do. Then suddenly the driver realised that there were 4 monks on the bus and monks are not allowed to eat after 12 noon. It was already 11 o’clock. So the bus stopped at a tiny restaurant so that the monks could eat. Everybody else stayed in the bus. It took them 10 minutes before they found out that there was no food for the monks to eat. For the next hour the driver asked at every possible place whether there was food. He didn’t succeed until 11.55. The monks got out and had their lunch while the rest of us stayed in the bus, in the scorching sun. It took them over 20 minutes to finish and all this time not a single person complained. I knew that monks were very revered but I couldn’t imagine a bus in the west spending an hour and a half to satisfy the need of a religious person or anybody else for that matter).
The rest of us didn’t get a chance to eat until around 1 when we pulled up at what was obviously their usual stop. We came home at about 6 and KK’s brother who had been house-sitting for us, made us a quick meal. It was nice to be home again even if it was only so that Xenne could rest a bit again. Travelling was much fun and he loved it but it was tiring. For all of us. Maybe next time we should book hotels and things like that in advance. I say now. Knowing us, we’ll go off without anything like that again next time…
Xenne’s birthday (9-1-2009)
A quick note on Xenne’s birthday. It was busy all day with people dropping in at all times. But it was fun. And he got so much attention that he was laughing out loud half the time. Of course he also got some presents. A huge (ugly) bear which he immediately tried to chew on and our present that we had brought from Thailand (the nearest place to buy kids toys since here you only have bad Chinese quality and nothing for under the age of about 4-5).
Oh our visitors have arrived. More later (or not).
Tuesday 6 January 2009
Pictures
I have been trying for the past hour to upload some of our holiday pictures but to no avail. Since i still have to write the rest of our trip account anyway, i hope the connection will be better tomorrow.
Our quick trip to Mawlamyain and Hpa-an (05 January 2009)
First of all, I wish everybody a happy, healthy, nice, good, prosperous, and fun 2009!
Mawlamyain (also written Mawlamyine, Moulemein, and Mawlamyaing amongst others) and Hpa-an had been on our “to-visit list” for a long time. We already tried to visit here in 2007 but due to an unkept promise to cover for me by a fellow teacher in return for me covering for her one day, we didn’t have enough time in July/August. And of course it wasn’t an option anymore after October due to me being 6 months pregnant…. But finally we managed to get there. It wasn’t as long as we would have wanted but we had spent way too much money in Bangkok. That place is getting seriously expensive! And we hadn’t given the whole New Year a big thought either; at least not here in Burma where New Year is in April. But apparently the hotel sector has caught on anyway. Prices for a hotel room in Mawlamyain and Hpa-an were among the highest we have ever paid here in Burma. In Mawlamyain we still had a very decent room for that with a river view and all, but in Hpa-an we even had to tell the staff to clean the room again (and how to do it). Of course we could have changed hotels but there wasn’t a lot of choice in Hpa-an and we did require a room with private bathroom (we didn’t think it would be a nice thing for everybody involved if we had to take a baby with a big poo-poo diaper to the showers along a corridor if need arose. Hence our trip being much shorter than we had anticipated. Especially since we had wanted to go to the beach (Setse) for a few days. But when we called to check on availability we heard the prices they were charging and so decided to go straight to Hpa-an after Mawlamyain. It’ll be for another time….
It all began with an interesting train trip from Yangon to Mawlamyain. We thought the train might be easier with Xenne since it would allow him to stretch his legs every once in a while. And walking is the big thing for him at the moment. He does it every chance he gets (or just tries it anyways). The views were very nice but I felt a little apprehensive when the train, on leaving the Yangon station, started to dance all over the tracks. Now imagine a big, open window and a train that sways all over from left to right while you try to hold a squirming 1-year old on your lap. When the train also started to bounce up and down the thought crossed my mind that it was going to be a long long 9 hours. The bouncing wasn’t so bad once we got used to being thrown up in the air (literally!) every once in a while. And Xenne loved in. He positively tried to jump up and down on his dad. It was the swaying that eventually convinced me that it was a once-is-enough experience when one of our suitcases came down from the rack. And I’m not talking about a big suitcase, just a carry-on airplane sized one which did fit in the rack. So think about how much that train must have moved for a thing like that to come down! Luckily nobody got hurt. But I was glad when we finally pulled into Mawlamyain station. Xenne on the other hand had seriously enjoyed the trip. Within an hour after we had left, he had himself installed on some old lady’s lap and was happily eating cake. As I said before, he loved the bouncing and he had no problem falling asleep with the swaying. And of course, he made sure he always had someone who played with him. Even the monk who was sitting behind us couldn’t resist the temptation…
The next day we had a fairly leisurely stroll around Mawlamyain. We visited 2 nice pagodas with the second one having fantastic views of the town. It wasn’t easy getting the stroller up to the pagodas, luckily Xenne did much of the ‘climbing’ himself (read: me putting him on the next step). And we had instant baby sitters once we were on top where there were always people more than willing to keep Xenne busy while we had a look around which was a nice reward for the climbing up with baby and stroller (which we didn’t want to leave at the bottom of the stairs). The second pagoda actually had an elevator which we wanted to use but when we asked we were told that it only worked when there was electricity…. After all that walking Xenne was tired so we went back to the hotel so he could have a nap. KK used that time to buy tickets for the ferry to Hpa-an for the next day. In the evening we took a nice, relaxed stroll along the riverside and enjoyed the views of the islands, the hustle and bustle of the island ferries coming in (there are a fair amount of islands in the Thanlwin river) and every once in a while there was a nice, colonial house to be admired. Unfortunately a big part of the river front has been torn down and it is big building site near the main market (which ‘accidentally’ burned down completely a few weeks ago) where new (and in my opinion ugly) buildings are constructed.
On our second day in Mawlamyain we visited Shampoo Island. The name comes from the fact that the yearly royal hair washing took place here (or they just got the water here, I’m not really sure but it has something to do with hair washing, royalty and ceremonies. It is a small island covered with stupas and a big pagoda. There is a small community of monks and nuns that live there or who are there for meditation. And every day a few women from Mawlamyain come over to clean the place. But here the monks were working too. Something I don’t see often. Some monks were cutting wood, some monks and nuns were busy in the kitchen area and even two monks were painting the pagoda gold. Xenne played in the area near the pagoda while I had a look inside the main building to see the treasures of the place like a jade Buddha, a gold Buddha and some old wood carvings.
Later that day we took the ferry to Pha-an. It wasn’t very crowded which was nice since all you have is space on the deck to sit on. So we spread out the only blanket we had (which we had with us in case it might be a bit cold somewhere) and sat on that. After we had ourselves installed (read: marked our territory by using the stroller and suitcases as borders between which Xenne could play) KK went back ashore to do the necessary shopping because this boat obviously didn’t offer anything in the area of edibles or drinkable liquids. Xenne and I weren’t the only foreigners since we were in the company of 2 German couples. One couple (elderly) travelled with a tour guide and they had the 2 only available chairs.
Mawlamyain (also written Mawlamyine, Moulemein, and Mawlamyaing amongst others) and Hpa-an had been on our “to-visit list” for a long time. We already tried to visit here in 2007 but due to an unkept promise to cover for me by a fellow teacher in return for me covering for her one day, we didn’t have enough time in July/August. And of course it wasn’t an option anymore after October due to me being 6 months pregnant…. But finally we managed to get there. It wasn’t as long as we would have wanted but we had spent way too much money in Bangkok. That place is getting seriously expensive! And we hadn’t given the whole New Year a big thought either; at least not here in Burma where New Year is in April. But apparently the hotel sector has caught on anyway. Prices for a hotel room in Mawlamyain and Hpa-an were among the highest we have ever paid here in Burma. In Mawlamyain we still had a very decent room for that with a river view and all, but in Hpa-an we even had to tell the staff to clean the room again (and how to do it). Of course we could have changed hotels but there wasn’t a lot of choice in Hpa-an and we did require a room with private bathroom (we didn’t think it would be a nice thing for everybody involved if we had to take a baby with a big poo-poo diaper to the showers along a corridor if need arose. Hence our trip being much shorter than we had anticipated. Especially since we had wanted to go to the beach (Setse) for a few days. But when we called to check on availability we heard the prices they were charging and so decided to go straight to Hpa-an after Mawlamyain. It’ll be for another time….
It all began with an interesting train trip from Yangon to Mawlamyain. We thought the train might be easier with Xenne since it would allow him to stretch his legs every once in a while. And walking is the big thing for him at the moment. He does it every chance he gets (or just tries it anyways). The views were very nice but I felt a little apprehensive when the train, on leaving the Yangon station, started to dance all over the tracks. Now imagine a big, open window and a train that sways all over from left to right while you try to hold a squirming 1-year old on your lap. When the train also started to bounce up and down the thought crossed my mind that it was going to be a long long 9 hours. The bouncing wasn’t so bad once we got used to being thrown up in the air (literally!) every once in a while. And Xenne loved in. He positively tried to jump up and down on his dad. It was the swaying that eventually convinced me that it was a once-is-enough experience when one of our suitcases came down from the rack. And I’m not talking about a big suitcase, just a carry-on airplane sized one which did fit in the rack. So think about how much that train must have moved for a thing like that to come down! Luckily nobody got hurt. But I was glad when we finally pulled into Mawlamyain station. Xenne on the other hand had seriously enjoyed the trip. Within an hour after we had left, he had himself installed on some old lady’s lap and was happily eating cake. As I said before, he loved the bouncing and he had no problem falling asleep with the swaying. And of course, he made sure he always had someone who played with him. Even the monk who was sitting behind us couldn’t resist the temptation…
The next day we had a fairly leisurely stroll around Mawlamyain. We visited 2 nice pagodas with the second one having fantastic views of the town. It wasn’t easy getting the stroller up to the pagodas, luckily Xenne did much of the ‘climbing’ himself (read: me putting him on the next step). And we had instant baby sitters once we were on top where there were always people more than willing to keep Xenne busy while we had a look around which was a nice reward for the climbing up with baby and stroller (which we didn’t want to leave at the bottom of the stairs). The second pagoda actually had an elevator which we wanted to use but when we asked we were told that it only worked when there was electricity…. After all that walking Xenne was tired so we went back to the hotel so he could have a nap. KK used that time to buy tickets for the ferry to Hpa-an for the next day. In the evening we took a nice, relaxed stroll along the riverside and enjoyed the views of the islands, the hustle and bustle of the island ferries coming in (there are a fair amount of islands in the Thanlwin river) and every once in a while there was a nice, colonial house to be admired. Unfortunately a big part of the river front has been torn down and it is big building site near the main market (which ‘accidentally’ burned down completely a few weeks ago) where new (and in my opinion ugly) buildings are constructed.
On our second day in Mawlamyain we visited Shampoo Island. The name comes from the fact that the yearly royal hair washing took place here (or they just got the water here, I’m not really sure but it has something to do with hair washing, royalty and ceremonies. It is a small island covered with stupas and a big pagoda. There is a small community of monks and nuns that live there or who are there for meditation. And every day a few women from Mawlamyain come over to clean the place. But here the monks were working too. Something I don’t see often. Some monks were cutting wood, some monks and nuns were busy in the kitchen area and even two monks were painting the pagoda gold. Xenne played in the area near the pagoda while I had a look inside the main building to see the treasures of the place like a jade Buddha, a gold Buddha and some old wood carvings.
Later that day we took the ferry to Pha-an. It wasn’t very crowded which was nice since all you have is space on the deck to sit on. So we spread out the only blanket we had (which we had with us in case it might be a bit cold somewhere) and sat on that. After we had ourselves installed (read: marked our territory by using the stroller and suitcases as borders between which Xenne could play) KK went back ashore to do the necessary shopping because this boat obviously didn’t offer anything in the area of edibles or drinkable liquids. Xenne and I weren’t the only foreigners since we were in the company of 2 German couples. One couple (elderly) travelled with a tour guide and they had the 2 only available chairs.
Little dolls (Monday, 29 December 2008)
This is something I have seen all over Asia but it is something that keeps amazing me; little girls wearing shoes with heels. And I don’t mean a tiny little heel but really already on their way to the high-heeled section…. I noticed it again today when I walked home from the supermarket;a little girl wearing sandals with a substantial heel. She needed to run every couple of steps to keep pace with her father and it was obvious the running wasn’t easy at all since every once in a while she side-stepped her shoe. Sometimes I see little girls as young as 3 years who wear those kinds of sandals and often I seriously wonder what is wrong with their parent’s eyes when you see a girl struggling on those shoes. Or even when it is evident that it does nothing else than to give the girl a bad posture and/or bad feet with shoes worn down completely on one side. But some parents want their little girl to be as doll-like as possible. With all the paraphernalia that goes with it. Little doll-like dresses, little doll-like shoes, little doll-like hairstyles and even make-up….I banned those shoes from my classroom (and therefore basically from the school since we don’t wear our shoes in the classroom anyway) and I have tried to impress upon the parents why it is not a good thing to have their girls wear those shoes on other occasions than a festival or other kind of celebratory event. Though I doubt I make much of a dent in the Asian female population with bad backs and bad postures in a couple of years time….
The whole issue of shoes is a problematic item here (in Asiain general and Burma specifically) anyway. We tried to find decent shoes or sandals for Xenne but there was next to nothing. We finally found a pair of sandals that were not made of plastic or fabric and that would fit his baby feet. In most shops there were rows upon rows of baby and kids shoes, sandals and slippers but every single pair was made of plastic or fake leather. And as mentioned before most of the shoes for girls were heeled ones. At the Hush Puppies and Ecco stores in Bangkok they had some good shoes for kids but they only started at a size much too big for Xenne. Not to mention a price-tag that was a fair bit on the high side. Anyway, it might be one of our only options when Xenne grows up some more…..
The whole issue of shoes is a problematic item here (in Asiain general and Burma specifically) anyway. We tried to find decent shoes or sandals for Xenne but there was next to nothing. We finally found a pair of sandals that were not made of plastic or fabric and that would fit his baby feet. In most shops there were rows upon rows of baby and kids shoes, sandals and slippers but every single pair was made of plastic or fake leather. And as mentioned before most of the shoes for girls were heeled ones. At the Hush Puppies and Ecco stores in Bangkok they had some good shoes for kids but they only started at a size much too big for Xenne. Not to mention a price-tag that was a fair bit on the high side. Anyway, it might be one of our only options when Xenne grows up some more…..
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