I wanted to upload some pictures but again it doesn't work. It seems like Thailand doesn't want me to help me out either.
I'm in Bangkok for a renewal of my entry to Burma. I don't need a visa this time (having a 6 month one) but i still have to leave the country after 10 weeks...).
Yesterday the airport was the quietest I'd ever seen. There was 1 person in line before me at immigration. But here in Khao San (or just off Khao San where i am) it seems like there is nothing going on here in Bangkok. There are slightly fewer tourists but there are still plenty of people. And i wonder... After all, most countries have issued a 'don't travel unless you have too' warning. Seems like there are a lot of tourists who really have to travel....
Oh, time's up
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Our Thyingan disaster....
We'd decided to go to Chaung Tha beach during Thinggyan. Yangon was very very hot and besides, there isn't much to do in Yangon in general when you have a few days off, but during Thingyan it is even worse. Besides getting very very soaked, there is nothing. So a few days at the beach would be really nice we thought. Since we'd be 4 adults (Pap and Jet were over for as holiday) and a toddler we, hired a mini van and driver (cars always come with drivers in Yangon) because it would be much more comfortable than the bus. And we could stop anywhere we'd want, driver anywhere we'd want and in general be more comfortable. At least, that is what we thought...).
We started out 2 hours later than planned because the driver changed the seats so they faced all in the same direction. This was something i had asked him 2 days before but he didn't start on it until the morning we had decided to leave. And then he ran into a problem. So with a 2 hour delay we were finally on our way. Since it was the first 'real' day of Thingyan it was very difficult to get out of Yangon since it was party time everywhere. That cost us quite some time. But all in all, things progressed fairly smoothly. It would normally be a 6-7 hour drive to Chaung Tha and we figured we'd be there late in the afternoon.
Just after Pathein trouble started. Our driver obviously didn't know that the normal road to Chaung That was blocked due to a bad bridge. We'd been on that road for about half an hour but there was nothing to be done than to turn back towards Pathein and go over the only other available road. This was a dirt road through the hills and had obviously been used already for quite some time (so our driver should have known about the road being blocked). They were paving the road everywhere but it was a really bad road where it hadn't been paved yet (which turned out to be almost everywhere still). We hadn't gone far on this road when we ran out of gas. Luckily our car was gas and petrol so there should be no problem. Yeah right. In hindsight my dad thinks that the driver just ran on gas all the time back in Yangon so the petrol system had gotten disused and dirty... But we didn't know that at the time.
The driver started to work on the motor. This was at about 4:30 in the afternoon. 2 hours later almost he had the car going again... By that time it was dark and soon after we'd started out again, we decided to turn back towards Pathein. None of us did know how long the dirt road lasted and how bad it would get. and it had already gotten worse since we started driving again. Traffic was scarce and we didn't want to get stuck half way with nowhere to go.
On the junction to Pathein we decided to go to Silver Beach instead of back to Pathein. We were assured we'd be able to get a room there so it would be better than going back to Pathein. We did arrive in Silver Beach fairly quickly (8:30-ish). The first hotels we tried were all full so we we decided to first have a bite before looking further. We were all rather tired having been in the car or waiting for the car since 8:30 that morning.
By the time we'd found a hotel it was 10:30 and we were ready to put up with anything (or so we thought). We ended up in rooms that were terribly dirty and the fan/aircon that was promised turned out to be the sea breeze that blew in through lattice work above the windows. Unfortunately, that breeze never got to you when you were in bed breezing at ceiling height!
The next day we decided to go to Chaung That after all. There wasn't a hotel room available in Silver Beach under $100 which we thought a bit steep. (mind we paid $70 for those two dirty rooms we really thought disgusting).. So we piled back in the car. The driver had gone to the village that morning very early to have the car checked and according to him, the car was fine now. So we went back to that really bad road. And bad it was. Before long we were all orange because of the dust. Dad even looked 10 years younger with a yellow-orangy hair colour... The dust came into the car in clouds sometimes so thick that we had to stop the car since we literally couldn't see anything. It had been a wise decision to turn back the evening before
since the road really did get much worse. And our car started to have trouble again.Before long we were really stranded. A mechanic working on a stranded road paving machine helped out for a little while but when the car stalled almost immediately again when we started to drive uphill, he was called back by his supervisor. In the end, we were towed to the junction with the 'normal' road to Chaung Tha by a big truck. There we could get immediately onto a passing bus which we did and at 7:30 that evening we were having a well deserved meal in the restaurant of a hotel. That didn't mean that we had accommodation. Oh no. We still had to figure that out. We ended up with KK, Xenne and I staying in a very hot room at that hotel (the fan didn't really do much), while Papa and Jet went to the hotel we stayed in last year. KK and I thought they'd had the better deal but the ext day we were told it had been much worse that our room. Their place had been dirty and hot while ours was just hot. Besides, they hadn't even been given any breakfast. That is a place we never go back too, that's for sure.
Luckily that day we could get two very nice rooms in the place where KK, Xenne and I had stayed. And we had 2 very pleasant days there. Xenne loved the beach and the water and had a great time. And then it is easy for the adults to have a good time too.
Of course we had to drive back. There was nothing for it. We dreaded the bad road but miraculously we made it over that road in record time. We'd left Chaung Tha at 9 am and were at the junction at the other side of the bad road at 11:15. We'd really started to think we'd be back home soon and have a nice shower (being all sweaty and dusty again). Things didn't turn out that positively. The car had already had a motor that overheated once on the bad road. We'd thought it was from all the steep hills and dust and general state of the road. Not so, before long we were stopping every half hour for a half hour break to cool the motor... At 4:30 we stopped at the same restaurant we'd had lunch on the way up. We decided to have a drink while we waited. At 5 we piled back in the car. The driver started the car but nothing happened... At 7:30 we were willing to do anything to get away from there. We were 1,5 hour away from Yangon and had no means of getting there. We couldn't hire a taxi since there were none, there was a pick-up truck available but no driver and the owner didn't want our driver to driver his car... At 8 we finally managed to get a truck to tow us to Yangon. And that wasn't easy either. Not that there was anything wrong with that truck but the car's battery was empty and so we had no lights... We must have gone 15 mile per hour or so arriving in Yangon at just before midnight... The driver of our car decided to stop at a gas station. according to him the car would be fine when he had gas again. When the gas station opened again 10 minutes later, we pushed the van over to the pumps, he filled the up the tank and tried to start the car. Again, nothing. At 12:30 that morning we decided to hire another taxi who happened to be at the same gas station. We put all our stuff in that small car and managed to worm ourselves into the car too and drove back home. Here KK had to climb over the fence since everybody had gone to bed already but finally at 1 am that morning after a 16 hour drive that should have lasted only 6 hours, we did have a glass of beer or wine and we could relax...
What an awful trip that was. Luckily, Xenne did most wonderful. Although he still has a habit of saying things like 'car no gas', 'car broke' and, 'papa fix car'. I wonder where he got that from...
We started out 2 hours later than planned because the driver changed the seats so they faced all in the same direction. This was something i had asked him 2 days before but he didn't start on it until the morning we had decided to leave. And then he ran into a problem. So with a 2 hour delay we were finally on our way. Since it was the first 'real' day of Thingyan it was very difficult to get out of Yangon since it was party time everywhere. That cost us quite some time. But all in all, things progressed fairly smoothly. It would normally be a 6-7 hour drive to Chaung Tha and we figured we'd be there late in the afternoon.
Just after Pathein trouble started. Our driver obviously didn't know that the normal road to Chaung That was blocked due to a bad bridge. We'd been on that road for about half an hour but there was nothing to be done than to turn back towards Pathein and go over the only other available road. This was a dirt road through the hills and had obviously been used already for quite some time (so our driver should have known about the road being blocked). They were paving the road everywhere but it was a really bad road where it hadn't been paved yet (which turned out to be almost everywhere still). We hadn't gone far on this road when we ran out of gas. Luckily our car was gas and petrol so there should be no problem. Yeah right. In hindsight my dad thinks that the driver just ran on gas all the time back in Yangon so the petrol system had gotten disused and dirty... But we didn't know that at the time.
The driver started to work on the motor. This was at about 4:30 in the afternoon. 2 hours later almost he had the car going again... By that time it was dark and soon after we'd started out again, we decided to turn back towards Pathein. None of us did know how long the dirt road lasted and how bad it would get. and it had already gotten worse since we started driving again. Traffic was scarce and we didn't want to get stuck half way with nowhere to go.
On the junction to Pathein we decided to go to Silver Beach instead of back to Pathein. We were assured we'd be able to get a room there so it would be better than going back to Pathein. We did arrive in Silver Beach fairly quickly (8:30-ish). The first hotels we tried were all full so we we decided to first have a bite before looking further. We were all rather tired having been in the car or waiting for the car since 8:30 that morning.
By the time we'd found a hotel it was 10:30 and we were ready to put up with anything (or so we thought). We ended up in rooms that were terribly dirty and the fan/aircon that was promised turned out to be the sea breeze that blew in through lattice work above the windows. Unfortunately, that breeze never got to you when you were in bed breezing at ceiling height!
The next day we decided to go to Chaung That after all. There wasn't a hotel room available in Silver Beach under $100 which we thought a bit steep. (mind we paid $70 for those two dirty rooms we really thought disgusting).. So we piled back in the car. The driver had gone to the village that morning very early to have the car checked and according to him, the car was fine now. So we went back to that really bad road. And bad it was. Before long we were all orange because of the dust. Dad even looked 10 years younger with a yellow-orangy hair colour... The dust came into the car in clouds sometimes so thick that we had to stop the car since we literally couldn't see anything. It had been a wise decision to turn back the evening before
since the road really did get much worse. And our car started to have trouble again.Before long we were really stranded. A mechanic working on a stranded road paving machine helped out for a little while but when the car stalled almost immediately again when we started to drive uphill, he was called back by his supervisor. In the end, we were towed to the junction with the 'normal' road to Chaung Tha by a big truck. There we could get immediately onto a passing bus which we did and at 7:30 that evening we were having a well deserved meal in the restaurant of a hotel. That didn't mean that we had accommodation. Oh no. We still had to figure that out. We ended up with KK, Xenne and I staying in a very hot room at that hotel (the fan didn't really do much), while Papa and Jet went to the hotel we stayed in last year. KK and I thought they'd had the better deal but the ext day we were told it had been much worse that our room. Their place had been dirty and hot while ours was just hot. Besides, they hadn't even been given any breakfast. That is a place we never go back too, that's for sure.
Luckily that day we could get two very nice rooms in the place where KK, Xenne and I had stayed. And we had 2 very pleasant days there. Xenne loved the beach and the water and had a great time. And then it is easy for the adults to have a good time too.
Of course we had to drive back. There was nothing for it. We dreaded the bad road but miraculously we made it over that road in record time. We'd left Chaung Tha at 9 am and were at the junction at the other side of the bad road at 11:15. We'd really started to think we'd be back home soon and have a nice shower (being all sweaty and dusty again). Things didn't turn out that positively. The car had already had a motor that overheated once on the bad road. We'd thought it was from all the steep hills and dust and general state of the road. Not so, before long we were stopping every half hour for a half hour break to cool the motor... At 4:30 we stopped at the same restaurant we'd had lunch on the way up. We decided to have a drink while we waited. At 5 we piled back in the car. The driver started the car but nothing happened... At 7:30 we were willing to do anything to get away from there. We were 1,5 hour away from Yangon and had no means of getting there. We couldn't hire a taxi since there were none, there was a pick-up truck available but no driver and the owner didn't want our driver to driver his car... At 8 we finally managed to get a truck to tow us to Yangon. And that wasn't easy either. Not that there was anything wrong with that truck but the car's battery was empty and so we had no lights... We must have gone 15 mile per hour or so arriving in Yangon at just before midnight... The driver of our car decided to stop at a gas station. according to him the car would be fine when he had gas again. When the gas station opened again 10 minutes later, we pushed the van over to the pumps, he filled the up the tank and tried to start the car. Again, nothing. At 12:30 that morning we decided to hire another taxi who happened to be at the same gas station. We put all our stuff in that small car and managed to worm ourselves into the car too and drove back home. Here KK had to climb over the fence since everybody had gone to bed already but finally at 1 am that morning after a 16 hour drive that should have lasted only 6 hours, we did have a glass of beer or wine and we could relax...
What an awful trip that was. Luckily, Xenne did most wonderful. Although he still has a habit of saying things like 'car no gas', 'car broke' and, 'papa fix car'. I wonder where he got that from...
7-4-2010 - Wednesday
Wow, the Science Fair is over (that was today), International Day is over (last Saturday) and soon it’ll be Thingyan (Myanmar Waterfestival/New Year). We do celebrate this at school as well, so it’ll be a wet affair on Friday afternoon I’m sure. All in all a very, very hectic week. But with a week and a half of holiday coming up, I’m not complaining…..
The intention is still to go to the beach. Not sure whether we’ll succeed though. Thingyan is THE most expensive time of the year (like trying to book a great destination during Christmas back home). Many places are book full and prices are double what they normally are. Still, we keep looking and hopefully we’ll find a good and affordable place.
I am actually too tired to really write anything remotely interesting. Today we did 2 periods of normal class stuff, English and Math, after which the whole Science Fair Frenzy started. It was fun, don’t get me wrong and the kids had some really great projects (especially my kids of course), but by the time we had put the tables back where they belonged it was time for the kids to go home. After which we still had a 1 hour training (part of a 4-hour intense training course for special needs kids). By the time I left school, it was pretty late….
What about Xenne you ask me... Well, he is doing great as always. He becomes more and more fluent in all 3 languages although it is obvious that he is most fluent in
For the rest, it is regularly 38 to 40 degrees here. Stifling hot. We’re extremely lucky that we still have electricity most of the time and always in the evening (knock on wood). And we have green mango salad on a regular basis since they keep falling on the roof and drop to the side of the house where they are collected and made into a salad….Yum....
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Mmm.. did i say Bangkok was better?
I wanted to upload some pictures here but in this internet cafe near Khao San Rd where i am now every single computer has a problem with the cd/DVD-drive..... Man that sucks!
So much for my new year resolution
It is march and i haven't posted a thing. Worse even i haven't written anything for this blog either. Ok ok, i HAVE been busy with the workshop en toystore we've set up. We're making wooden toys. A great idea (if i say so myself) unofrtunately it isn't bringing in much money yet..... So we do a lot of work to get that going. And truth be told, the internet sucked big time since well Christmas time. Either it didn't work (backbone trouble they said when ever you got as far as the closest internet server) or it was soooooooooooo slow you could get 5 cups of coffee AND drink them!
We're in Bangkok now until tomorrow. Xenne and I needed a new 6 months visa. i will TRY to do better and write my comments and remeniscences regularly and post them every once in a while when i can.
Now i amactually too busy can you believe that...
We're in Bangkok now until tomorrow. Xenne and I needed a new 6 months visa. i will TRY to do better and write my comments and remeniscences regularly and post them every once in a while when i can.
Now i amactually too busy can you believe that...
Sunday, 27 December 2009
New year's resolution number 1....
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.
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, 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...).
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