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Visiting Shwe Ye Mon Hotel and Classic City Tea Salon

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I didn't succeed in blowing their house down  I was up by 5.30 am which correlated with my usual 7 am waking up time in Singapore. My body clock was still working by Singapore time and would continue to do so for awhile. It was the ending of winter period and the mornings were still chilly. After trying to sleep in, I took a walk down towards Shwe Ye Mon, passing by pigs by the roadside and a family who lived on stilt-like housing built over what seemed like undrained water. A small front housed what was a simple provision shop and this seemed to be their livelihood, I presumed the pigs belonged to them. The breakfast at Shwe Ye Mon was basic and filling. I had my usual, eggs and toast and despite arriving sharp at 9 am ( which was when they closed the buffet), the staff were welcoming and allowed me in. As it was Sunday, the school canteen wasn't open and on weekends I would have to figure alternatives. I figured I would head out for a walk and went down the usual w...
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Exploring the surroundings and visiting Hotel Hazel

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One of many beautiful wildflowers dotting the roadside Coming from a country where everything is just around the corner, I decided to check out what was just 'around the corner' from where I was. What struck me most was the flora and fauna around, the wildflowers all around in various hues and shapes. I've always been a nature enthusiast and these intrigue me. Taking a walk out, I followed the road out to the main road walking past large KTVs. I had learnt that these had sprung up just recently. Turning left, I followed the road down to see how far I could go. Walking by the roadside (as I soon learnt) meant dealing with lots of dust. The road users were relatively considerate, many giving way to me. There weren't any traffic crossings particularly for pedestrians and the few that existed seemed to be far and few. Wearing jeans, a tshirt and a blue drybag cross slung, I drew a number of stares and smiles. In all my interactions, I find local burmese very warm and...
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Settling in and a first glimpse of the neighborhood

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The morning sunrise greeting me as I reached the school The process of settling in began almost immediately as I arrived to the school compound around 6ish in the morning. The first thing that caught my eye was the heavy sliding metal gates that seemed really heavy set. Moving in I learnt my accomodations were at the top floor and I was excited. Having worked at an island, I am used to living on campus and well aware of the benefits. My first picture taken at the top floor was the rising sun and the beautiful mountain range that rose in the distance.                    I had alot of things to get and the school arranged me a driver to bring me around. For a few hours and 3 destinations I was quoted around 12000 khat ( around 8 usd) and I found this very reasonable. Moving around in the tuk tuk was fun and the dust hardly seemed to get in though I realised soon enough that certain areas were catered for tourists while there were...
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Moving to Mandalay, Myanmar

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Just off the plane and heading to school Been awhile since I had a reason to travel and the opportunity to work in Myanmar came like a bolt out of the blue. I'd always been a traveller and enjoyed getting lost just for the sheer fun and thrill of it but this is my first experience working abroad therefore it felt really good to touch down in Yangon. My first few glimpses of Yangon showed a fairly developed part of the country as we drove out to the Yangon branch of the school where I was to work. As my bus journey down was only in the evening, I had a number of hours to wait and I was to wait at the school.  As we drove down to the school, ( about 45 minutes or so) it gave me time to take in the surroundings, the kind of architecture the buildings showed as well as the overall movement on the street. Children walked by as we stopped at the traffic junctions, trying to sell small garlands of jasmine flowers knitted together. Amidst the large hotels and buildings, this wa...
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