I meet a number of expats who live in mid and downtown. I like it up here in uptown and being one of relatively few foreigners in the area. In my little neighbourhood, I enjoy the greeting I receive each morning and evening, especially from the children. Its a poor part of town with open drains and water channels. People wash from buckets or standpipes in the street and some live in wooden houses amongst the concrete apartments. There are two little classroom s...

This morning is really great. An hour and a half of meditation and then a small group of Ellen, Savita, Kathleen Chris and Melani meet up and head for coffee and breakfast at a nearby cafe. The other trip today is to see the Aung San house, which is where the Myanmar leader lived and where his daughter Aung San Sui Kyi lived as a young girl. Aung San was a revolutionary and nationalist, who is still revered today and considered the 'Father of the Nation'. H...

The concept of 'retreat' is popular in Myanmar for organisations to get away and take time out for relaxation. My Akhaya team were originally planning for a three day beach retreat but today it has become a one day there and back visit to a local hotel complex. the Shwe Pyi resort just short of Bago is an interesting place. Pin addition to the restaurant area, it has many lakes , a small golf course and most bizarrely of all, an aero plane which is being conve...

It's Thadingyut festival this weekend which is an important date in the Buddhist calendar. It represents the end of Buddhist lent and a time when the Buddha 'returned from heaven to earth'. It is also a full moon day and a symbolic end to the wet season. On the Friday, I wear my longyi in the office and take in a cake for all my Akhaya colleagues. At six o'clock on Sunday evening, I meet up with Savita and Ellen at Kyaik Waing pagoda just as the sun is setting...

Tonight the French Instiute is putting on a music night with rock bands, a circus act and a techno set. When I arrive home from work, I fall asleep and when I awake, I have to motivate myself to get changed and take the half hour journey into town to this event. I'm really glad I did! The event attracts a lot of foreigners/expats in their 20s to 40s and so I get into my 'young at heart' frame of mind. The entrance gates are protected by guards with rifles and t...