simon43

Thanks for the advice and comments. I'm in Yangon right now, flying to Bangkok tomorrow. Interestingly, there is no block/throttling of laptop internet speeds in this location.. I thought about this and the reasons. Several Myanmar people at Inle Lake said that laptop speeds are throttled because the pdf (civilian fighters) in this Shan State use laptops to control their drone flights to drop bombs! They don't use mobile phones. This could be a true explanation, because the pdf don't drop bombs in Yangon. Anyway, I still need to find a solution. As others have said, using a Chromebook with LTE might not actually solve the problem becaue of the IMEI. Yesterday, I managed 2 online lessons using Zoom and sharing my screen with pdf documents on my mobile phone. It was a challenge, but the lessons went fine and the internet speed was good. Perhaps it would be better to improve this scenario by adding an external bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and also linking the mobile phone to my Asus laptop display. Perhaps even buy a large screen Android device (if they exist - I'll check tomorrow MBK).

None of those Lazada Chromebooks seem to have lte support...

Yes, that's what I want, but nothing on Lazada Thailand etc. Looks like I will have to buy it on Amazon UK and then ship it to Thailand (therefore probably being 'kidnapped' by the tax police and a huge ransom demanded...)

I used to own a small drone without a camera that I used to pull up my wire ham radio antennas over tall supporting trees. Unfortunately, the drone was damaged beyond repair when I accidentally flew it into the side of a cow.....

I think the guy in the pick-up was muff-diving and accidentially bit her....

I need to explain the scenario - I'm sure that this is NOT a problem with my laptop :) I'm in Myanmar for a few days, and the internet connection is very unreliable for my online lessons, (I knew this before my visit). Specifically, the internet speed using my laptop is 'throttled' back to a snail's pace, BUT my internet speed directly from my mobile is about 30 MB/sec. If I tether my mobile to my laptop using either the hotspot, USB or ethernet, then the 30 MB/sec drops to perhaps 0.5 MB/sec. That leads me to assume that the military government is identifying that I'm trying to connect to the internet from my laptop. To try to resolve this problem. I'm spoofing my browser user-agent (using the Chrome extension) to be an Android device. But although the download speed has improved to about 2 MB/sec, I think this is because of the simpler webpages being delivered to my browser by the website. I also configured the TTL value to be 65, as suggested on some websites, but no change... Can anyone suggest other things to try? Cmd pings from my laptop to google.com are about 87msec, so I don' think it's a DNS resolving problem (I switched to Googles 8.8.8.8 but that made no difference.. Thanks!! PS - My reason for wanting to resolve this problem is to allow me to do my online Zoom lessons from my laptop (as usual). Otherwise, I will have to do them using Zoom on my mobile phone, but that does have some limitations, so using my laptop is much preferred!

For the sake of those with limited reading comprehension skills, no where in the article does it say they expect others to pay. The GoFundMe was set up by the man's employer, not by the couple. The latter also accept the insurer's decision and have paid out a large sum from their own savings, with no 'begging' off others.

I'm in Myanmar right now, doing some charity work :) But I also have to teach online for several hours each evening. Having been a teacher in this country for many years I'm aware of some of the problems of unreliable internet and unreliable mains electricity, but things are a lot worse now! I'm using an Asus TUF A15 laptop to teach online, which is 'overkill'. Although I've applied recommended 'tweaks' to reduce the energy consumption, with the mains power off for about 18 hours/day, I'm having to use car batteries and an inverter to keep my laptop going :) I need a laptop with a much lower energy consumption/longer battery life. I can't do much about the unreliable internet, but it would be nice to have a low-power laptop that has a built-in LTE/4g SIM card support. Mobile internet is more reliable than hotel wi-fi, and it would be nice (but not an absolute need), if I can avoid USB/ethernet tethering etc. This laptop will be my Zoom lesson laptop, so it simply needs to be able to handle Zoom video lessons and shared screen (2 students max) for me to play YT videos etc during the lesson. Any recommendations? Or questions? Thanks for your advice.

I went up to Taunggyi today to visit 3 orphanages. I went on a motorcycle taxi, and the driver insisted I wear a full face helmet with tinted visor, and forbade me to lift the visor! Every time he saw a police checkpoint on the main road into Taunggyi, he turned off onto the side roads to skirt around the checkpoint.... Was this because of me? Or perhaps he was a wanted mass murderer! At the first orphanage in the middle of Taunggyi, the staff (with limited English) said "she's dead!" when I asked to see the founder of the orphanage - a venerable old lady called Daw Gyi. This orphanage was established in 1905 and managed by 3 spinster sisters for the past 67 years, with each sister dying off over the years and leaving the last sister aged about 95 when I visited her last year. So it was no big surprise that she had passed away. My visits to this and the other 2 orphanages all went well and the Sisters (all 3 orphanages are run by Christian nuns) informed me of their educational needs. One childrens' home I hadn't visited previously, (because I didn't know of its existence). About 80 young students lodge and learn courtesy of the Zetaman Sisters of the Little Flower (!!). These students are not orphans - their homes have been destroyed by bombing in nearby Pekon and Loikaw townships, so the Sisters have taken them in since the childrens' parents have been left destitute. They need backpacks for all their school books, and rather than buy these myself (I don't know the required sizes and I'm not about to lug 80 school backpacks around!), I'll find out from the Sisters of the cost and send the money to them. Here's a photo of these happy students, with a taller 'student' (me!) in the back row... BTW, note the various posters on the walls. The Sisters and students have made a great effort to decorate their classrooms with learning resources etc :) After getting back to Nyaung Shwe, I was 'annoyed' to find that internet access was now all but blocked on every wi-fi and mobile connection! Prior to today, internet access had been 'manageable'. This creates major problems for my online lessons, annoying both students, their parents and the online school who employs me. I'll try to see if I can manage my lessons tonight.... On Saturday, I'm due to fly back to Yangon, (and the airline now state that the temporary cancellation of domestic flights is over, so we'll see if that's one big fib when I get to the airport). In any case, if I do manage to get back to Yangon, I might grab a flight straight back to Bangkok (1 week before my scheduled return date), if the internet in Myanmar is going to be restricted too much.

I learn Thai starting about 23 years ago with a teacher in Bangkok, learning the Thai characters (no transliteration) and learning to read first, then correct tones for the different letter groups, then speaking in real-world situations. I learnt Lao language with a teacher in Luang Prabang, mostly to understand where a word common to Thai and Lao have different tones. I learnt to read/write Lao myself, using my existing Thai language knowledge. Now I'm self-learning Burmese, reading and with correct pronunciation assistance from native Burmese speakers. I find myself in situations in Myanmar where no-one speaks English (or are too shy to speak it!), and then I'm forced to speak Burmese. Amazingly (to me), they seem to understand me...

Without more details, one can hardly make an informed comment: Was she wearing a crash helmet? Was she experienced in riding a motorbike? Was she sober? Was the truck driver sober? Was the truck driver driving in a sensible manner? etc etc

Lol - years ago, I 'lived' at Heathrow Airport for 4 days while trying to return to Bangkok after attending my dad's funeral. Money was tight for me in those days and so I took (what I thought) was enough cash to pay for the return ticket (since I did not know how long I would have to stay in the UK). Alas!, plane tickets were more expensive from London to Bangkok than Bangkok to London! The only ticket that I could afford was Egypt Air via Cairo, leaving 5 days later. So I spent some time at the airport terminal, with a few quid to buy water and a little food. On the second day, the patrolling police asked me what I was doing, and kindly allowed me to stay in the warm terminal building since there was snow outside and it was bitterly cold. Airport seating is not designed for a comfortable night's rest :) Just one of life's experiences.... (I didn't vlog about it!)

Another nice sunny day. Since the electricity has been 'out' for a few hours, I wandered over to the print shop to collect my laminated posters, (having had my loan application to pay for them approved!). I chatted with the owner, who bemoaned the cost and lack of availability of printing supplies - she had given me a discount on the price because of the charity aspect. I chatted with this young hat seller (the adult, not the baby) down by the canal. She was very interested to improve her English and for her other daughter. That got me thinking to place a small poster down by the canal in the window of a cafe. A quick design with Photoshop, an online message to my Burmese translator (I don't trust my own Burmese language skills for creating a professional poster!), a refusal by the translator to accept any payment from me (he is on Fiverr and does excellent work), and hey-ho, back to the print shop to print up and laminate a few A4 posters:)

Came here (south-east Asia) 25 years ago for a better climate for my weak lungs (Bronchiectasis). Still here and my lungs thank me for it.

I never go to gyms - I walk outside for my exercise.

I think most of those gym guys are actually closet gays.....

Today is a day to mostly relax. I went to the print shop this morning to order some more sets of my posters for orphanages that I'll visit in Taunggyi on Friday. These sets of laminated A3 posters are not cheap to print, especially because A3 paper, colour ink and laminating plastic are all in short supply. I returned to my hotel by the canal. As usual, the mains electricity was off, so I'm relaxing on the veranda and listening to an audio file of Burmese Days by George Orwell. Although this novel was written about 100 years ago, many of the themes in that novel seem not to have changed at all! On the small road by my hotel the bullock carts amble slowly past, and about 20 'little nuns' in their pink attire receive balls of rice from the small shops lining the road. On the far side of the road, about 12 women are tolling in the verdant green paddy field. It's a long way from my home country...

Nowadays, since I'm not currently teaching in Myanmar, I base myself in Siem Reap. $300 buys me an annual multi-entry retirement visa, with no funds in the bank needed. I can come and go as I wish, with no re-entry stamp required and no 90-day reporting. 10 days ago I popped over to Myanmar, flying via Bangkok Don Muang and Suvanabhumi. No IO issues to enter Thailand for a day or so to allow me to transit between airports.

Thanks Xylophone :) All is going OK and my lungs are not making any problems (touch wood!). Tomorrow I will go to Taunggyi (Shan state capital) to visit a home for disabled (mentally/physically) kids and adults. No point in bringing English language resources, but I have some (small) physio equipment for the physically-disabled and a portable player (USB stick/TF card) for the blind, with the stick preloaded with Burmese language stories and poems :) Also, another 2 kids orphanages to visit in that city....

It's a sunny Monday morning, and I'm off to the Pa-Oo ethnic group orphanage for young teen boys and girls in the village of Minethout, about halfway down Lake Inle. I don't want to cycle that distance in the heat of the day, so opted to take a longtail boat from Nyaung Shwe to Minethout dock, then grab a motorcycle taxi for the 5 minute trip up to the orphanage. This all went well, and as I reached the orphanage I heard the local teacher calling out "Teacher Simon!" This orphanage already has my English vocabulary posters all displayed on the walls of the classrooms. Today was going to be science donations, and I donated a new digital microscope and sample slides, as well as a pair of powerful binoculars for star/planet gazing. Apparently, I was the first foreigner to visit them this whole year... I already knew the orphanage facilities, but had another look around and especially in the weaving room, where large weaving looms are used by the girls to weave cloth and then make items to sell in the local market. I was given a nice scarf that had been weaved by the girls :) This is a great example of a spinning wheel, made out of a bicycle wheel. With my trip to Minethout over, I headed back to Nyaung Shwe by boat. Worrying about the lack of mains electricity while teaching online yesterday (my laptop battery and 2 car batteries just had enough juice to power my computer for all the lessons), I was able to buy a 30,000 mAh power bank in Nyaung Shwe. I'm charging it up right now (yes, there is mains electricity today for the moment - but I'm sure it will be cut just before my first lesson!)

The events in the Middle East are seriously affecting the availability of jet fuel in Myanmar, and most (all?) domestic flights are cancelled until further notice. MAI assure me that my flight from Heho to Yangon on 4th April is OK, but I guess that is just 1 big lie! I don't want to miss my flight back to Bangkok on 5th April, so I really need to make alternative travel plans, since I don't want to get to Heho airport on April 4th and be greeted with "Mingalaba, sorry but we lied...". I still need to visit orphanages in Taunggyi and Kalaw, and I will take a local taxi to reach those destinations. So my cunning plan is to take a taxi from Kalaw to Naypyitaw, about 5 hours away. In NPT, there is a 1,000 kids orphanage (Sama Mountain Orphanage) to visit, which I have supported with books etc for years. So I can stop for a day or 2 in NPT, perhaps visit my old school, and then take the DEMU train or taxi back to Yangon. I've got plenty of time to do this - the extra cost is annoying, but I guess Trump isn't going to send me any refunds......

^^ Thanks VERY much! I appreciate your comments. The electricity came back on late yesterday evening - so I took the opportunity to try to push some energy into this old battery. At 6.30am precisely, the mains electricity went off again. I had 2 60-minute lessons to teach that morning. The first was fine, using the stored energy in the battery, but it failed at the end of the lesson and so the final lesson was taught just running on my laptop battery - but I bailed at 50 minutes before the laptop shut down! Now that the shops are open today, I went out and bought a new 12 volt car battery for 240,000 MMK, which is either $120 or $60, depending if it's a bank rate or money changer rate. I wanted to pull some money out of my Bangkok Bank account, but the few ATM machines in the town were all switched off and out of service. Luckily, by waving a $100 bill in the air, several local Burmese came running and I was able to get some local currency at 3,900 kyat = $1, which is ok. I bought the battery, installed it in my hotel room. Hurrah! The mains electricity came on and so I started to charge it and went out, intending to rent a bicycle to go to an orphanage a few km out of town. No bikes to hire, motorbike hire is banned for foreigners, no local taxis etc because of the fuel shortages. So I started to walk, but it really was too hot for old me and I surrendered to an iced latte instead at a local cafe. The best I managed was a photo of the local paddy fields.... I returned to my hotel and am posting this with the mains electricity off again!! I only have 1 more lesson to teach today, but 4 tomorrow. Truly, it is a real challenge to teach online. When the mains electricity is off, so is the hotel wi-fi router, so I have to rely on mobile data. I need to quickly find out how to top up my data package (I can't use my UK cards to do this - the UK has sanctioned Myanmar. My Bangkok Bank ATM card sends an OTP to my Thai mobile number - well, that is really useful NOT!!)

I have a couple of 10-12 hour audio books on my phone - George Orwell (Burmese Days), with a real narrator and which I have listened to many times and never get bored hearing it again. Plus some Buddhist meditation music. It keeps me relaxed. Plus continual wriggling of my toes to avoid IVT.

How to teach online with the very intermittent mains power (off at the moment). I come prepared with a car battery charger, 12v/220v inverter, mobile internet packages on 3 Myanmar networks and a car battery lent to me by the hotel owner :)

Friday, and I hoped to rent a motorbike to visit 2 orphanages on the edge of Nyaung Shwe. However, not only have the authorities forbidden foreigners to rent motorbikes, there was also no chance of a motorbike taxi or car taxi, because of the fuel shortage. So I had no choice to walk the 3 km to the orphanages :) I had visited these 2 orphanages several times over the past 8 years or so. I visited a small christian orphanage on the edge of town that last time was packed with refugees fleeing the fighting in Loikaw. This time, the refugees had moved on and only the 10 orphans were in residence. This orphanage used to receive many donations from foreign tourists (because of its proximity to the twon). The kids used to joke with me that they could open a shop selling toothpaste and toothbrushes! Since now there were only a small number of children staying at the orphanage, their basic needs were well looked after and my educational resource donations welcomed. I need to return perhaps in May after the mayhem of the water festival to donate some more specific items. Sasana Yaung Orphanage looks after 70 Buddhist boys. Their day-to-day needs are provided by local donations of food and the boys' welfare (clothes, medicine etc) are provided by a great little British charity called Children Do Matter. I took some photos to report back to this charity. My educational donations (flashcards, vocabulary posters etc, mobile app installation etc) were well received! I'll return in May because the teacher explained that the boys were learning all about Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, but had no resources to explain/illustrate these. So that's another topic that I need to create posters for :) I hope to rent a bicycle to cycle the 10 Km to an ethnic (Pa-Oo) orphanage in Minethout, half-way down the lake. Or even rent a boat since there's a jetty at Minethout. That's a trip for maybe tomorrow or Sunday :)