Day-to-day life in Myanmar

[Caldera]

Thanks a lot for your very interesting updates from Myanmar, Simon! I hope you'll keep them coming.

 

What you've been doing there for education for many years (just looking at your poster and app) has been amazing work. I hope you'll have the energy, good health and motivation to keep it up for many more years, and I wish you all the best.

[simon43]

As usual, I get up at 6am for an exercise walk/jog of about 2km, to help to keep my lungs clear.  For now, this is just up and down the road outside the hotel.

 

The fresh vegetable seller is already doing business, and yes - that woman does have a bunch of bananas on her head.... and why not? 🙂

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

On 11/21/2024 at 4:13 PM, simon43 said:

I'm teaching Science at an 'international' school in the city.  As I'm a scientist,

Not a Rocket Scientist by any chance?

 

You may get some work on the side, a war monger, militarist could do with your skill set. 

 

[chiang mai]

Just now, SAFETY FIRST said:

Not a Rocket Scientist by any chance?

 

You may get some work on the side, a war monger could do with your skill set. 

 

As it happens Simon was a rocket scientist but was not able to renter his old field of training here in Asia.

[simon43]

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Not a Rocket Scientist by any chance?

 

You may get some work on the side, a war monger, militarist could do with your skill set. 

 

Lol, yes a rocket scientist (in a way).  I designed equipment and antennas for military, weather, scientific and TV satellites.

 

As to the military angle, when I was last working in Naypyitaw, I designed and started to build a small, academic'Cubesat' on my kitchen table - small satellites like these are rather easy to build... here is the (defunct) link to my website at the time.

 

https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/C4E22AQFu9_Qyj5vMUA/feedshare-shrink_800/feedshare-shrink_800/0/1576925697917?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=M2fO2DC9I3qWNlTju0sTByelPTE-CSRg17UVh4-boLU

 

This little bird was going to transmit images of famous Myanmar sites (Shwedagon Pagoda etc) down to earth - a purely educational project. My plan was to ask China to take it up to their space station on their next Astronaut visit, 'open the window' and chuck it out into space.

 

All was going wonderfully until I got a visit from 'the military', who were very friendly and asked if I could help them to build a satellite!

 

So I decided to put that Cubesat on the back-burner for a while...

 

 

 

 

[recom273]

On 11/23/2024 at 9:44 AM, simon43 said:

 

Hi Card, there are plenty of dogs, but (unlike Thailand), I have never had a problem with those dogs?  They looked rather meek last week. The only 'savage' incident was a Burmese woman who was insistent that I buy her Buddha flowers 🙂  (I didn't!).

 

As to helping with the education in Myanmar, of course this is really difficult to figure out something that actually will benefit the local students.  My view is that donating to the big charities is akin to throwing your money down the drain! Many years I sat down (with myself) to try to figure out a way that my small amounts of $ could actually make a difference.  So I wrote an Android learning app which allows students/teachers to download videos while in a wifi cafe, and then to study/watch those videos 'offline' at home.  I add to these videos most weeks, and they have lesson content that mirrors the Myanmar school curriculum.  (I am also going to add videos in Burmese that help students to learn Korean and Japanese).  Some of these videos are created by myself, and the others are downloaded by me from YouTube.  Does that break the copyright rules? Probably.  But I make no money from these videos and my conscience is clear.  Of course, most poor kids won't have a mobile phone, but their local teachers certainly do, and it;s important to educate the teachers, so they can pass on this knowledge to others.

 

The other way to help is to buy school books etc, but in the current state of the country, it's impossible to physically travel to many areas. You also need to be sure that you are not 'throwing loads of mud at a wall in the hope that some will stick'.  I used to visit each school or orphanage, make a note of how many students and what grades, and then 'customise' the contents of my donation box to ensure that my $ was actually going to help those students.  Now, since I am stuck in Mandalay, I have a list of all the government schools, monastery schools and orphanages in the city that I can try to help.

 

I take the view that since I have managed to survive for 22+ years in south-east Asia on a relatively small income, I will be able to continue doing that on my UK state pension.  I don't need to leave money to my overseas family, so I might as well use it to make a small difference to the lives of others who - by fate of birth - were born into the situation where they find themselves today.

 

I had a colleague who was working at an international school in Myanmar, idk if there was any truth in it, but he said he was teaching kids of the generals and the financial rewards were very attractive.

 

Im currently teaching online in an African school, although the country has been war torn for many years yet these kids wear gold watches and brand name sport shoes. 

 

Do you get the feeling you are teaching the kids of the elite? How do you feel about that?

[Burma Bill]

4 hours ago, simon43 said:

As usual, I get up at 6am for an exercise walk/jog of about 2km, to help to keep my lungs clear.  For now, this is just up and down the road outside the hotel.

 

The fresh vegetable seller is already doing business, and yes - that woman does have a bunch of bananas on her head.... and why not? 🙂

 

 

Hi Simon. 

With the greatest respect to your fascinating posts, I hope you do not mind me posting one or two photos from my visits to Burma - such happy memories! The lady with the bananas on her head reminded me of three ladies struggling with a heavy basket of pineapples at Hsipaw Station. Not on heads, but the basket was eventually carried on a shoulder, guided by the other ladies!

 

[Patong2021]

A rocket scientist who teaches English. 😶‍🌫️

Have you ever read the Myanmar Sanctions of 2021 (updated October 2024), particularly Regulations 26 and 27,  Prohibitions on the provision of technical assistance, financial services or funds relating to military goods or technology? I was wondering how you would explain your presence in a country that is subject to multinational sanctions, if you ever travel to the USA or a Commonwealth country?

 

Do you have a contingency plan if you need to evacuate? Are you registered with the UK?  

 

In respect to lodgings, I was once told that one of the better areas for  peaceful living was around the universities (e.g. the medical school and the general campus).  There were a number of foreign company owned residences (serviced units) for their employees in the area too. With the international sanctions and civil issues with a resulting exodus of foreign labour, I expect that some of the residences might be open to other foreigners living there.

[simon43]

42 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

A rocket scientist who teaches English. 😶‍🌫️

Have you ever read the Myanmar Sanctions of 2021 (updated October 2024), particularly Regulations 26 and 27,  Prohibitions on the provision of technical assistance, financial services or funds relating to military goods or technology? I was wondering how you would explain your presence in a country that is subject to multinational sanctions, if you ever travel to the USA or a Commonwealth country?

 

Do you have a contingency plan if you need to evacuate? Are you registered with the UK?  

 

In respect to lodgings, I was once told that one of the better areas for  peaceful living was around the universities (e.g. the medical school and the general campus).  There were a number of foreign company owned residences (serviced units) for their employees in the area too. With the international sanctions and civil issues with a resulting exodus of foreign labour, I expect that some of the residences might be open to other foreigners living there.

Hi, I'm fully aware of the relevant sanctions.  At the time of building my Cubesat (2017) there were no sanctions, and the project was purely for educational purposes.

 

When I taught in Naypyitaw, certainly some of my students were senior military/police, and again - there were no sanctions at that time.  Nowadays, I doubt very much if any of my students are from police or military families, for the simple reason that they would not be welcome at the school.  I'm teaching at a grade 2 school, with a much lower salary than my Naypyitaw job.  This is because:

1 - I also teach online, and don't need a high salary

2 - I will soon start to receive my UK state pension, so don't need a high salary

3 - This job gives me free time to further my educational charity work

 

I think teaching primary grade science to 8 year olds will not see me fall foul of any sanctions 🙂

 

Similar to Thailand, landlords do not like to rent to foreigners, because they must then register the presence of the foreigner to the authorities, which then exposes them to demands for tax payments...

 

I never bother to register with the UK embassy, because experience demonstrates (in many countries), that the UK embassy has little interest in helping the citizens of their country....

 

@BurmaBill, yes please do post your photos!  Perhaps others can also post photos of this amazing country.

[Burma Bill]

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

@BurmaBill, yes please do post your photos!

 

Thank you Simon. 

Just one of the Kuthodaw Pagoda in Mandalay which houses the World's largest book (Google/wikipedia) - absolutely amazing!

Created by King Mindon in the 19th century, 729 stone inscription "caves" each containing a marble tablet representing a page of the book Tipitaka Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, each page being inscribed on both sides in gold. A more recent tablet (730) has been inscribed representing UNESCO recognition.

 

 

[Mahseer]

For anyone tempted to visit Burma aside from Mandalay Rangoon is perfectly safe with just the odd barbed wire barricade outside a building or two. Have visited 3 times in the past year and will visit again next month if I can get permission to travel to Keng Tung. Other tourist cities which are presently open includes Bagan, Kalaw & Nyaung Shwe (Inle Lake) along with the beach areas to the west of Rangoon but don't expect to see more than the occasional tourist in any of them.

 

Direct flights to Rangoon from Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

 

Be safe folks.

[simon43]

@BurmaBill, wonderful photo.  I don't have to teach at the school on Mondays, so I usually walk round the moat (almost 8 KM!), then up and down Mandalay Hill. So your photo location is exactly where I was last Monday?

 

@Mahseer, I want to try to get to Inle Lake/Nyaung Shwe maybe at Christmas to visit some orphanages that I previously donated to..  There is the home for disabled kids/adults just outside nearby Taunggyi, an orphanage in Taunggyi, one in Nyaung Shwe, Sasana Orphanage just outside the town, yet another poor monastery school at Htet Eian (near the vineyard) and another orphanage at Mine Thaut, by the lake. An Italian charity that I work with supports staff to look after the boys at Sasana, so I will try to visit to report on this.  The only practical way to get to Nyaung Shwe from Mandalay is by 6 hour bus journey, but I'll have some holiday time at Xmas to do this 🙂

 

Please keep the photos and reminiscences (real word?) coming!

[Mahseer]

Was in Taunggyi last November for the Tazaungdaing Festival which involves sending up hot air balloons some with fireworks attached the largest of which had to be 10mts tall with a gondola packed with enough fireworks to last fully 10 minutes. Incredible for first timers unless they have any association with health & safety.

 

 Taunggyi still considered safe to visit last month.

 

[kevozman1]

On 11/23/2024 at 1:29 AM, simon43 said:

[quote]

...

What is your assessment Simon? I do recollect you posting many years ago that you had enough of Thailand and was planning to move to Myanmar.

...

[/quote]

 

Well, checking where I've been living since 2012, I note that the majority of my time has been spent living and teaching in Myanmar, followed by Laos and then Thailand. I've been a teacher in Yangon several times, Mandalay several times, then Naypyitaw and Mahlaign (spelling?).

 

Myanmar is never my idea of a retirement or leisure destination!  I go there to help with student education.  The lack of decent amenities, hospitals, retirement visas etc rules it off my list.  My plan is still to eventually retire in the Philippines (index-linked UK pension), but I find that I do not feel ready to retire.

 

It's National Day on Monday next, so the amount of anti-junta activity will probably increase.

 

Yonks ago, , I established a very small enterprise called Xtrer (XTRER), whose modus-operandi was to generate small but regular amounts of money for under-privileged families living in developing countries. "A little xtrer helps" was the company tagline, and I realised that you do not need to throw $$$ of cash at a project, in order to get results IF you cut out the middlemen and those charity workers who were greedy, lazy, and exploited the local women (or men) etc.

 

Back in 2012, I used to see the charity workers from the big-name charities securing all the rooms in the 5-star hotel in Yangon, occasionally venturing out in their brand new landrovers for a spot of shopping.  I found it disgusting!  I went directly to the school book supplier, negotiated a large discount (because I was using my own cash to buy and donate the books), and I was able to help deserving students by creating mini-libraries of the books required by the school syllabus at each school or orphanage.  This cost me only a small amount of money, but would make a big difference in the student's education 🙂

 

Here's one of these mini-libraries at SaMa Mountain orphanage in central Myanmar.

 

 

 

There are other friends of mine also living and helping in Myanmar, and making a difference to the communities that they help.  It doesn't require much money, just the desire to help 🙂

 

Yes I had/have the impression that Myanmar would be a bit of an adventure or project rather than somewhere to locate to long-term. However I have to be honest on your plan of retiring in the Philippines.. that is not somewhere I would choose either. The locals are definitely looking to take advantage of people more than in than in Thailand and are less trustworthy overall. Towards the end of my stay in the Philippines I was pretty much just interacting with other expats/tourists and dealing with locals as little as possible, not to mention the absolute mess they make of their environment, the food... I will stop because I could go on. Maybe you can find a decent barangay/family to chill will but I would really take your time if I were you. Good luck.

[simon43]

2 hours ago, kevozman1 said:

 

Yes I had/have the impression that Myanmar would be a bit of an adventure or project rather than somewhere to locate to long-term. However I have to be honest on your plan of retiring in the Philippines.. that is not somewhere I would choose either. The locals are definitely looking to take advantage of people more than in than in Thailand and are less trustworthy overall. Towards the end of my stay in the Philippines I was pretty much just interacting with other expats/tourists and dealing with locals as little as possible, not to mention the absolute mess they make of their environment, the food... I will stop because I could go on. Maybe you can find a decent barangay/family to chill will but I would really take your time if I were you. Good luck.

The reason for retiring to the PI is based on 1 simple fact:  The UK state pension is index-linked in the PI, and therefore increases with each annual increase awarded to pensioners living in the UK. That pension is frozen for UK pensioners living in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia etc.

[Mahseer]

Chin State. Only visited twice and likely will never get the opportunity to visit again but I live in hope. Can be tricky to get there once the rains arrive but so worth the effort. 

 

 

[simon43]

^^ wonderful photos!  Much more interesting than mine 🙂

 

Today (25th) is National Day in Myanmar, so it's a holiday.  Not that it makes any difference to my daytime teaching job because I don't have to teach on Mondays!

 

So I planned a few actions to fill my day.  First I took a yellow tuk-tuk taxi to the printing shop where I previously ordered some sample prints of large-size alphabet flash cards.  The cards were sort of OK, but the card that they are printed on is rather thin, but the shop doesn't have anything thicker.  Hmmm...

I also asked them about printing of some colour A3 vocabulary posters for schools.  They can do this, but not on the thicker material that I want, and the price is really rather expensive (bear in mind that I hope to print maybe 6 different posters for perhaps 100 schools and you can imagine how the price adds up).

It might actually be cheaper to buy a colour printer and a laminator and do the work myself.  This is actually what I did some years ago when I lived in Naypyitaw.  I need to get my calculator out!

 

As I wandered around one of the temples, I spotted a printing machine that definitely would be rather slow to use.

 

 

How old is this printing press? I remember my school in England had one of these in the basement for printing posters from metal alphabet printing 'dies'.

 

Having exhausted what I can do as regards printing for today, my next task was to buy 2 small living plants.  These are for my primary grade science students.  They usually just sit and learn rote-style from the local teachers, but since I joined the school, I have got them involved in 'real' science projects.  This week it's "what do plants need to stay alive?".  So 2 identical plants, stop water for one plant for a few days and observe what happens, then repeat with no light and then repeat with no air (er... that last experiment might be a little difficult!).

 

By driving around slowly in a tuk-tuk, my driver was able to find a garden shop and I purchased 2 very nice identical plants for 12,000 kyat, about $3.70.  So a good price to educate my students 🙂

[Mahseer]

Simon, your $ conversion rate is odd. Official rate is around 2000/$ and black market in Rangoon 4400/$ and although no doubt slightly lower in Mandalay yours works out at 3200/$.

[Lacessit]

I can remember remarking there seemed to be no motorbikes in Yangon, only to be told the junta had banned them for fear of assassination.

 

The junta also decreed vehicles should drive on the right, to shed the links with its British colonial past. Then stopped the importation of cheap second hand right-hand drive vehicles from Japan. So now there's a mix of RHD and LHD cars driving on the RHS, in what can only be described as a cluster you know what.

 

Many fond memories of the Burmese people, their wages are a third of what they earn working in Thailand. Aung Sang Suu Khy is still deeply revered, referred to as "The Lady".

 

A lot of intermarriage of Indians and Burmese in Yangon, the mix produces some stunningly beautiful women.

 

Photo is one of the oldest Toyotas I have seen, I think pre WWII.

[simon43]

1 hour ago, Mahseer said:

Simon, your $ conversion rate is odd. Official rate is around 2000/$ and black market in Rangoon 4400/$ and although no doubt slightly lower in Mandalay yours works out at 3200/$.

Well, I've been quoted rates anywhere between 2,000 - 5,000 kyat/1 dollar.  I'm not actually exchanging USD into kyat anyway - I do a mental conversion just to get a feel for the cost 🙂

 

@Laccesit, beautiful car! Because of sanctions (now and previously), the Burmese people are able to fashion almost anything from almost nothing!  I remember watching a man in Yangon take some old electrical motor with windings that had burnt out, completely remove the old wire and rewind with wire from another old electrical motor, and obtain a fully-working electrical motor again!  Because of the difficulty in sourcing items in Myanmar, my trips to Bangkok between school terms saw me coming back with items for science lessons, such as fridge magnets, electrical switches and the like!  My ham radio antennas were all DIY and made from earthing wire.....

 

I also got interrupted with my previous post - I had to teach a couple of science lessons 'online' for students in Hong Kong and mainland China.

 

On the subject of teaching, it's often commented on this forum that most teachers in Thailand/south-east Asia are a bunch of drunken TEFLers, earning a pittance to stay in the country so that they can either satisfy their alcohol or sexual needs!

 

Now I'm not actually a teacher, in that I never studied for an education degree or post-graduate diploma. That situation should maybe relegate me to the TEFLer garbage can! However, I am a very well-qualified and hands-on scientist, and this knowledge, together with my impeccable Oxford accent (!), coupled with my British eccentricity has made me very popular with young students.  I do have various pedagogical certificates (phonics, speech therapy etc).

 

Anyway, one plus point about teaching science online is that it is better-paid than teaching general English.  So my online classes and in-class teaching brings in about $4,000 a month, tax -free. In 7 months, add another $1,000 to that income when my UK state pension starts 🙂

 

I walked up Mandalay Hill again today and took a photo from near the top.  The city of Mandalay stretches away to the Irrawaddy river that you can just see in front of the hills.  Over those hills and you're into the region of violence in Sagaing 😞

 

[Burma Bill]

15 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Well, I've been quoted rates anywhere between 2,000 - 5,000 kyat/1 dollar.  I'm not actually exchanging USD into kyat anyway - I do a mental conversion just to get a feel for the cost 🙂

 

I also got interrupted with my previous post - I had to teach a couple of science lessons 'online' for students in Hong Kong and mainland China.

 

On the subject of teaching, it's often commented on this forum that most teachers in Thailand/south-east Asia are a bunch of drunken TEFLers, earning a pittance to stay in the country so that they can either satisfy their alcohol or sexual needs!

 

Now I'm not actually a teacher, in that I never studied for an education degree or post-graduate diploma. That situation should maybe relegate me to the TEFLer garbage can! However, I am a very well-qualified and hands-on scientist, and this knowledge, together with my impeccable Oxford accent (!), coupled with my British eccentricity has made me very popular with young students.  I do have various pedagogical certificates (phonics, speech therapy etc).

 

Anyway, one plus point about teaching science online is that it is better-paid than teaching general English.  So my online classes and in-class teaching brings in about $4,000 a month, tax -free. In 7 months, add another $1,000 to that income when my UK state pension starts 🙂

 

I walked up Mandalay Hill again today and took a photo from near the top.  The city of Mandalay stretches away to the Irrawaddy river that you can just see in front of the hills.  Over those hills and you're into the region of violence in Sagaing 😞

 

 

A wonderful view Simon. I well remember it. If my memory is correct, in the distance behind you, looking away from the Irrawady River, would have been the high ground of the Shan Plateau.

[Burma Bill]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Photo is one of the oldest Toyotas I have seen, I think pre WWII.

 

Many thanks for posting your photo - very interesting. 

During my travels around Burma, I saw many old vehicles which these days would be regarded as "classic" and would fetch "a bomb" back home in the UK. My photo below shows an old Dennis Brothers fire engine, converted into a water carrier, that was built around 80 years ago at the start of WW11 or just before, at Guildford in Surrey (UK).  It was located just down the road from my hotel jn Mandalay, near a fire station, and its Burmese driver and his family lived alongside in a tented shanty. 

 

[Lacessit]

26 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

 

Many thanks for posting your photo - very interesting. 

During my travels around Burma, I saw many old vehicles which these days would be regarded as "classic" and would fetch "a bomb" back home in the UK. My photo below shows an old Dennis Brothers fire engine, converted into a water carrier, that was built around 80 years ago at the start of WW11 or just before, at Guildford in Surrey (UK).  It was located just down the road from my hotel jn Mandalay, near a fire station, and its Burmese driver and his family lived alongside in a tented shanty. 

 

This is an example of the secondhand modern Toyotas one can see all over Yangon, big and luxurious. Due to strict environmental licensing in Japan, it's prohibitive to keep a car there for more than 2 or 3 years. Smart countries import them quite cheaply.

 

The junta in 2020? decreed LHD vehicles only, so they are no longer imported. I guess that means Myanmar has joined the dumb countries. Australia being one of them.

[RAZZELL]

Simon, over the years I've always enjoyed your posts and your not always enjoyable personal stories!.

 

Another interesting read.

 

RAZZ

[Celsius]

On 11/21/2024 at 4:13 PM, simon43 said:

I'm in the city of Mandalay

 

Did you ever meet Seb or Joko?

[simon43]

27 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

Did you ever meet Seb or Joko?

I know Seb for many years.  We ran into each other around 2017 when he visited Htet Eian monastery school, just outside Inle Lake region. I was donating school books etc at the time.

 

Joko?  Never heard of him... Sorry, that's a joke!  I teach at the same school as Joko...

[NewGuy]

I took a day trip by bus from Mandalay to Monywa to look around, especially for the huge reclining Buddha. Around it were English signs announcing it was the 2nd or 3rd largest Buddha in the country. I saw signs saying 3rd largest all over the country. A few years after my visit they built a huge standing Buddha. Walking along the Chindwin river north of Monjwa I noticed adult women bathing in the river, washing their hair, wrap around still on. The ladies were full figured and beautiful; generally women’s hair in Myanmar was by far the fullest, most beautiful of all countries going north, east and west from Singapore. Someone should find out what lotion they use; it must come from a plant in the forest, they can’t afford such stuff in the stores. Some drug stores were loaded with skin whitening products from Thailand. I never saw a local ‘whitey’.

 

I remember how hard it was hitching back from the Buddha complex (I got their by bus). Practically no traffic, and nobody stopped until a police car came up; I was quite frightened by their presence but I thanked them, got in, and had an uneventful trip into town.

 

i hung out with three guys in a Monywa bar across from my hotel. They bought all the drinks. I was older than them (56/7 at the time). When the most dedicated drinker went to the bathroom the others told me the doctors had told him he must stop drinking, he would die within the year if he didn’t stop. He owned the hotel across the street, nice place, but hit the bar every day.

 

Easy bus back to Mandalay.

 

Learn at least one Myanmar phrase before going, mingalaba (sp?). It means hello or good day and it is really appreciated. A door opener.

 

 

[simon43]

[quote]

...

Learn at least one Myanmar phrase before going, mingalaba (sp?). It means hello or good day and it is really appreciated. A door opener.

...

[/quote]

 

Yes, always gets a friendly 'mingalaba shin' in return.

 

I can read Burmese (slowly), and write it, although I have no need to do that.  My spoken Burmese is still at conversational level (my Lao is much better and my Thai is eons better!).  But I practice a little every day with the school local staff 🙂

[norfolkandchance]

An enjoyable thread for a change on AN Simon. I don't need to visit Myanmar. Hundreds of youngsters have been shipped into our village to work underpaid at the local garment factory. Friendly enough but a nightmare at night on bicycles with no lights.

[simon43]

Today I have 'hijacked' by another school in Mandalay to be the judge and chief pronunciator for a Spelling Bee competition.  This is because they couldn't find any native English speakers in town...  But the school has made a bad error (IMHO) by appointing a US teacher as the second judge.

 

Imagine the problems we are going to have:

 

"The correct pronunciation for R-O-U-T-E-R is 'rooter' "

"Hey ya all wrong buddy!  It's 'rowter' "

 

Looking forward to more fun today 🙂