Holidays

It is the hols at the moment and somehow I put in a lot of work for school but very little on writing anything on this blog. We also don't go to Ocean a lot since we can access email and even facebook with KK's phone. It doesn't work great but well enough to not bother with 'proper' access.

Anyways, a quick hello and more posts in the next year.

Have a fabulous holiday time and I wish everybody a wonderful 2013. 

Alamanda Inn

A few weeks ago I finally made it to this place. We were in the neighbourhood and had wanted to eat at a place not too far away but that place had closed due to lack of business. Then someone in our group mentioned going to the Alamanda Inn for a bite. And iI must say I was pleasantly surprised. Of course we were in good company but the food was great and the ambiance is excellent. We stayed much longer than we had planned and were eventually the last to leave.  

I really like this place and I'm sure we'll be back here sometime soon. The prices are not much more expensive then anywhere else when you have good western food (there are cheaper places but then the food is usually less good as well). 

They have their own website Alamanda Inn and even a facebook page but I found the facebook page remarkably empty and of no help at all. This might change over time though.

 

 As always, my pictures don't do the place justice. I think it might be time for a new camera.

Yeah, Teletubbies!!!

BBC takes Teletubbies, TV news and Doctor Who to Burma

 

The Teletubbies have proved to be hugely popular with pre-schoolers

The Teletubbies, 24-hour news and Doctor Who are being introduced to Burma as the BBC launches three pay-TV channels there next January

Finally some good tv-programmes here.Unfortunately for us, I don't think it is the provider that we have. There are basically 2 choices and they didn't differ much. Now, this might be a reason to switch. That, and the fact that we have paid for all channels that our provider offers (58, most of them rubbish) but we get less than half for real and usually not the channels that we want. 

Great location, ok food

General Aung San's workplace

 Yesterday we had a  birthday party at this place. The food was good, the company better and the location really nice. After dinner, one of the party members suggested we'd have a look upstairs because General Aung San used to work here. So, upstairs we went. Me, I'm just a sucker for old buildings and history so I enjoyed our 10 minutes looking around.

I just like this room

From outside the building is fabulous. Unfortunately my camera doesn't do it justice by any means.

Beautiful colonial building that my camera can not capture

Downstairs

Upstairs

I did and still do find the menu uninspiring. I saw a lot of Thai dishes, some western food a bit of Indian. Almost as if they can't make up their minds. That said, we ordered a couple of Indian dishes and it was nice.



 Adress: 290, U Wisara Road
Kamayit Township
Yangon

Tel: 09501 534 242


Or follow them on Facebook House of Memories

Grade 4 sleepover

Tonight we had our holiday show and for the last 3 years I have had a class sleepover after. For most westerners that sounds like good fun, here we usually have to convince parents that it is ok for their child to sleep away from home that is not with family or with family in a hotel.

My kids are on average 10 years old and for the majority this is the first experience of this kind they have ever had. And again this year  the kids are hyper exited and the parents hoover around for ages. They find it really tough to let go. Which is difficult of course but most parents have this phase a little earlier.

I have had parents unpack their son's pajamas and every year we have one family where we have to stop the maid going along with the kid to change. though I didn't notice this this time now I think of it.

This year I had one of my kids ask me who was going to sleep with them. He meant an adult. Now my TA usually sleeps with the girls (more for her sake than the kids mind). The classrooms are very close together and I always sleep where I can hear everything (with the door open. The mosquitoes will have a field day.) The first year I had a TA and a shadow teacher staying the night as well and they were wondering where I was going to sleep if I did not sleep in the boys or in the girls room. I told them I'd be sleeping in the small room we used as video room. They got really worried whether I would be ok. It was their first sleepover as well. I thought it was endearing but it was kind of sad as well. I can't believe being around 24 years old and never have had a sleepover in my life.

Update: we had a parent call us the next morning at about half past 6. She hadn't been able to sleep all night and was waiting for us in the teashop. She and her husband were there when we arrived. Their daughter wasn't too interested in seeing mum and dad, she was too busy with her friends (as it should be). Apparently, it was the first time their daughter had slept somewhere without her parents.

Sinterklaas

Every year Sinterklaas arrives in Yangon for a short visit and he did so again this year. Unlike previous years, he did not come across Inya lake but he did come with two Zwarte Pieten, several young Zwarte Pieten, and two small horses.

Sint wrote to the children in the dutch community that Magic Piet had cast all kinds of helpful spells though some turned out better than others. When Sinterklaas asked him not to do this anymore since it distracted the Pieten from the important task of wrapping and labeling all the presents, Magic Piet promised not to do magic until after December the 6th.

One Piet was disappointed though. He had wanted to ask Magic Piet to make Sinterklaas' horse bigger and stronger. When Magic Piet was not in his room, he got the big book of spells, made a potion and gave it to the horse.

We knew that something had gone wrong but not what. The kids loved the ponies though since they were allowed to ride them. I know Sint has asked them for help to make his horse complete again but I'm not so sure the kids don't like the status quo.

Since Saturday, every time Xenne does something less nice, he immediately says "mama, please don't tell Sinterklaas".  I haven't' even told him yet that Sinterklaas is supposed to take badly behaved children off to Spain yet....

Myanmar lessons

For a few weeks now, one of our Myanmar teachers gives us lessons in the language. It is quite embarrassing to have to admit that I've been here almost 7 years now and still can't speak the language apart from some useful (and some less useful) words.

Twice before did I start but on both occasions I was pregnant shortly after and was too tired to continue. That won't happen this time I'm sure.

We learn not only to speak but also to read and write but the Myanmar alphabet is horrendous.

To give you a few letters of the Myanmar alphabet (all consonants except one letter, the vowels, tone-symbols, and what else are not included):

U and V both have the ‘ba’ sound

Cand Dboth have the  ‘za’ sound

Yand Xboth have the  ‘ya’ sound

One of these days I'll post the complete alphabet. Then you can see the difficulties us poor Myanmar-learners face.

Finally, cool weather

This morning was the first morning the morning air had that little nip of cold that I like and that means that winter has arrived here in Myanmar.  It is already early December and it seemed like winter would never arrive.

This is the one season most westerners who live here find nice since the temperatures hoover around the 20 degrees Celsius.

Thandar even ran back into the house to get a light jacket and I think I'll dress Eaindra and Xenne slightly warmer to tomorrow morning.

I'm very happy since it'll also mean we can leave the aircon off at night and have the windows open.. Yes!

First motorbikes in Yangon

Actually, what I wrote in the title is not correct. Motorbikes have been here for a while but there were very very few of them and you only saw them every once in a blue moon.

Lately there are more and more of them and I see them regularly in my quarter. They are not allowed on the main roads and Yangon is in that respect very unlike other Asian cities. I think it is a good thing they are not allowed since traffic is already bad enough without the motorbikes weaving through traffic. The majority of the drivers in Yangon (and Myanmar for that matter) are awful chauffeurs and barely know the difference between the accelerator and the brakes. You don't really want to encourage an environment where the death toll is set to rise.

The banishment of the motorbikes on the main road is a good thing, like I said, but I think it is difficult to stop the tide. We were on a main junction waiting for the traffic light and there she was; the first mum to drive her daughter to school on a motor bike. It was bound to happen of course and she will be the first of many. Give it a year or two and even Yangon's streets will be swamped with those horrible machines defying all traffic rules and regulations.