Life in Myanmar : Outnumbered

Going local all the way.....

Mingalabar! Once again, hello from Myanmar J (actually, I'm posting this while I still have great internet in KL!!)

After being here for close to two months, the one thing that I am so aware of everyday, everywhere I go is the fact that I am the odd one out. It really seems like foreigners are few and far in between here in Yangon. Compared to Cambodia where I spent the last 4 years, I can go by a full week in Yangon without meeting another foreigner. Whereas in Phnom Penh, every corner you turned, there were at least a couple of foreigners hanging out.

So, obviously, I attract a lot of stares. Now, initially, I thought – OMG, they are just like the Cambodians! But then, having interacted with both locals and foreigners alike, I realized that I just look strange to them. Even stranger than a mat salleh would, simply because I look like one of them, but I am not one of them. In other words, I just look strange. In the way I dress, my hairstyle, my tattoos (yes, while tattoos are a big norm here for local men, it isn’t so for the women and definitely not when there’s a slapping big one on the thighs!)

On the odd days where I see a foreigner (who isn’t associated with us via work or friends), it gets a bit like “Oooh! Oooh! Look! Foreigner!!” Being the odd one out has brought about very odd behavior from me as well :P Before we moved to Myanmar, MOH and I had decided that we will not live in an expat bubble – which also explains why we’re in a very local neighbourhood (complete with geese-rearing, nurseries and local markets). I will not be one of those hi-so expat tai-tais either (darn it!) hanging out for tiffin teas and such. And by gosh – it is so easy to stay out of the expat bubble here that I want to get in!!

Having said that, OF COURSE there are other expats in Yangon. Just that the city is so huge, you don’t meet them unless you go to the expat hangouts like 50^th Street Bar which is in downtown Yangon or otherwise – a sure place to meet them would be at the hotels or the gyms. Though at the gym – it also depended on the hours you go. Oh, and of course, you definitely meet other expats at Marketplace – which is a high-end supermarket by Citimart, much like the “Marketplace” we have at The Gardens Midvalley. Still, I can count the number of foreigners in one hand. The long lines are usually made up of locals.

I think I mentioned this before – you know for sure you are outnumbered when you called the gas delivery guy and all you had to say was “Malaysia!” and he’ll know where to deliver the gas. Since I haven’t mastered the language yet, it’s great because then there’s no need to speak too much, thereby avoiding any confusion or miscommunication J Even the taxi driver does that! Here’s a funny conversation I had with our regular taxi driver – “Hi Ali (yes, we have a regular taxi driver who is Muslim), you remember me?” and he’ll be like “Yes! Malaysia!” And I wouldn’t even need to tell him where to pick me. How great is that? I suppose, when the expats start pouring in, the taxi drivers or gas delivery guy or the water delivery guy would just have to do ‘Malaysia 1’, ‘Malaysia 2’,  otherwise, he would have to start remembering names or keeping a proper record book.

I have also done an orientation prior to my starting volunteering with Life Garden Orphanage – an orphanage supported by Friends of The Children of Myanmar (FMC). They told me that they have other volunteers and I had expected foreigners but ALL their volunteers are locals. MOH and myself would be the only foreign volunteers except for when the FCM team from UK visits. It is really very different here. We constantly have to re-tune our mindset to adjust to this “being outnumbered” situation. But it’s a good situation to be in, I suppose since there’s nothing like learning the country’s culture and customs by getting down with the locals.

Just over the weekend, my first floor neighbor made the climb all the way to the fifth floor to invite MOH and myself over to their home for housewarming. This marked our first visit into a local’s home. It was a pleasant surprise. As I said before, the locals are very kind, gentle and helpful people. And now, we’re going to add warm and hospitable to that as well. A Do Sheila (which just means Aunty Sheila) stays in the apartment with her 3 daughters (and very pleased to know that the eldest daughter is a trained paramedics!). When MOH finished his second helping of mohinga – a staple diet of curried-noodles for the locals, he told A Do Sheila that he “loves curries.” She excitedly replied saying “I love cooking! Good! I’ll adopt you as my son!” That was a funny moment. She told us too that if we ever need any help, please look her up. Best of all, A Do Sheila and her sister, A Do Vicky both speak the Queen’s English! Yay! I foresee me visiting her to brush up on my Burmese and I foresee MOH growing at the waistline.

I will begin my work at Citimart soon after I am back from a 3-week break in KL. I have since met one of my soon-to-be colleague who hails from Manila. She was so excited when I told her I was joining the team, albeit part-time only. She said this : “It’s good to have more foreigners join the team because right now, there are only 2 foreigners. You want to get anything done, it’s like 2 versus 100! Majority always win!” Oh dear. She also gave me tips on having extreme patience and adopting the attitude of “letting things be” at work. I see I will be having loads of fun at work, eh? Like I said, I’m excited to start and I’m sure there’ll be days where I’ll tear my hair out (internet speed aside) but it’ll all be part of my learning experience of life in Myanmar. I’m going to be praying for more patience everyday and luckily, from the balcony of my apartment, I can see the Shwedagon Pagoda – one of the must-visit places when in Yangon J

I have bags to pack and a flight to catch. I had a blast at home the past 3 weeks but I had missed Yangon despite all ‘complains’ I have launched about telecommunications and internet J So, folks, till the next time around……… Be well J

Safety : We're Doing Our Part. Now Do YOURS

I'm back home in KL for 3 weeks for the event of planning and celebrating my brother's wedding. Whilst it is good to be back to civilization (note : super-fast internet), there is something rather alarming happening in Malaysia that is annoying me greatly. That would be the spike in crime rates, especially targeted at women.

Coming back from Yangon, Myanmar - a place where people carry kilos of cash in black plastic bags and nonchalantly leave it on the bus aisles while going on their ride without blinking an eye - I find this sudden "heavily unsafe zone" which we all call Malaysia very discomforting. How can a country as poor as Myanmar be safer than our "developed" Malaysia? Or am I disillusioned somehow, having lived away for the last 5 years? Has Malaysia moved backwards? If so, nobody sent me the memo.

The reports after reports of robbing, raping, slashing, etc.. - whether on social media or in the mainstream newspaper has caused major concerns for my parents. It feels as if my being home isn't so welcomed and causing them more stress. I'm NOT happy about that of course.  I mean, I don't particularly want to choose this celebratory period (bro's wedding and all) to pick a fight with them about me being an adult and all that jazz. I can understand, as parents, surely they worry. Everyone's been telling them how unsafe the country is! But you see, Mom always over-worry and over-react. However, when even my Dad insists on sitting under our ciku tree and telling me that I may only go out running as long as I make a loop around the house every 3 minutes, I thought that was ridiculous! Now, my Dad had always been someone who doesn't worry and he trusts that we are independent and smart enough to know how to handle ourselves and whatever situations we get in. Seeing him under that ciku tree as I make myself dizzy running round and round and round to make it a 15km training for me, I had no chance of enjoying my run. Eeeesh!!

Before contemplating writing this article, I wasn't so sure if it was in my place to say anything since I don't reside in the country. But then, all my friends and loved ones do and I worry about their safety too. From my parents to my business partners - mostly females - who has to go traveling alone most of the time and we all don't get the luxury of traveling in pairs or in a group always. Obviously, I do not want anything untoward to happen to any of them. Or towards my running & cycling buddies who used to train with me together when I was still living in KL (in fact, we were actually attacked by a group of mat rempits once when out cycling at Mont Kiara).

Well, I am also still a taxpayer and a registered voter. So I have this to say.

Today, 6th July 2012, in The Star, pg 16, Malaysia's Home Minister (no need for me to name names, right?) said "There was no surge in crime but rather a shift in interest in the type of street crimes..." He also said "We do not hear much about snatch thefts now...." Errrr.... HELLO?? HELLO?? Earth to Malaysia, Earth to Malaysia! It is also the mainstream newspapers that are reporting all these crimes that are happening in the country! (although in the same papers today, names of shopping malls have been ommitted). Why don't you block off coverage of such news and so all the rakyat can live in blissful ignorance?

That is beside the point actually. The point is - it is not a matter of whether there is a surge in crime rate or there is a change in "types of crimes" - it is a MATTER OF FACT that people DO NOT FEEL SAFE and are constantly looking over their shoulders when out and about on the streets. I can tell you this - my Dad is someone who BELIEVES that walking or taking the public transport builds character and even if I said "I don't know how to use it", his response would be "Learn." But today, he is volunteering to be my full-time chauffeur throughout the period whilst I am in town. On top of that - he is willing to do so FOC. So, YOU tell me now, if the country is safe or not? Or is it simply that my parents are over-reacting, my friends are over-reacting? Everyone I've been meeting up with are all over-reacting? If so, I need to meet different groups of people. Really.

I think my girlfriends and the public at large are all doing their part : We are :
- as best as possible, going around in pairs / groups
- looking left, right, behind, everywhere - wherever we go
- basic 101 safety tips as provided by The Star (again :P)
- avoiding being alone in dark, deserted areas
- avoiding running alone before sunrise - which is extremely annoying for me
- letting people know where we are, what time to expect us, etc..
- sitting under ciku trees to keep an eye out on daughter who insists on running alone - after sunrise
- THIS LIST GOES ON.

So, now that we are doing our part (I think we always have been) I think it is now time the authorities and rightful parties to play THEIR part. Or we could simply hope to force them to do so.

Until they do, I don't think it is too idealistic for me to ignite a SELAMAT 1.0 copycat version of BERSIH, right? We could make the theme colour red. And we could start small - aim first of all to avoid going to the shopping malls in town until the management have publicly declared all the steps they have taken to ensure customers' safety - including working with the PDRM (if they can so be trusted at all since our own Home Minister is in so much denial) to catch the criminals. You see, to what I think, as long as people are still willing to sit in the damn jam every evening or weekend to get into the malls would only make the management think that "Hah! People are still flocking to my mall! Woohooo!" Unless, they are suddenly met with a ghost-town-like mall one fine day, then only will they sit-up straight. Very simply, in my idealistic mind - loss of customers = loss of profit / disgruntled tenants.

*I quote Ms Dawn Jeremiah here - a recent victim of attempted snatch theft : "You would think that despite the recent series of unfortunate incidents in shoppingmalls throughout the Klang Valley that at least one mall would step up to launch a safety awareness campaign and to take steps to raise their security levels. Not one has been doing it."

* I did not verify the story on social media, however - point is, what she said was true : Not one has been doing it."


You may think that it is so easy for me to suggest that because I don't live here. Everything we need is in the mall these days! Well, get in, get what you need and get back out. Get a friend to drop you off and pick you up and return the favour the next time. Ta Pao food back home. Or simply spend the one hour eating and leave. And if you ladies really want to do some de-stress shopping, go with friends in one car. Whatever it takes.

I know it is a tall order but if we could all unite for BERSIH in the name of free and fair elections for the future generation, why can't we unite for SELAMAT in the name of safety for all our loved ones - both females and males, young and old?

I have a week left in Malaysia and if you asked me, honestly, I'd rather live in a country with slow internet than to live in a country where I can't run alone at 4am in the morning. Worse off, I don't want to train outdoors in a country where the sound of approaching bikes or cars get you all tensed up, ready to pounce or sprint. Forgive me for not being here to fight this good fight alongside you because I do have commitments back in Myanmar and am unable to stay longer. You could always just ignore my rants and continue looking over your shoulders everytime, everyday. Or you could suggest something better and more realistic. I do admit, I am always hopeful and idealistic.


Till we are able to pressure the authorities to fight crime  - Stay Safe Always.

Life in Myanmar : Disconnected

I figured I better post this article (to be out on Vanity Shack soon) on my blog while I am still within the "super-fast" internet zone :)
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Welcome To The World Of 128k At The Ridiculous Price of Gold. Mobile phones included.  

Photo ripped from stupid-ideas.blogspot.com

Mingalabar! Greetings from Yangon! Time seems to fly by and I’ve been here a month now. Since I last wrote, I am happy to say that it really seems like the government is delivering what they promised with regards to electricity. We haven’t been out of since 1^st June 2012 (Knock-Knock Wood!). [rev : there's been some relapse but none as dreadful as 7 hours of power cut]

I’ve been keeping busy. No, no…. not as a full-time housewife – hah! I could only take being a full-time housewife for a week. That was my limit. To all those who have actually chosen to be a full-time housewife, I salute you. I for one, was never cut-out to be one. Anyway…despite me saying that I will take it slow in adjusting to life in Myanmar, I’ve gone to fill up my plate over the last two weeks. I figured, you either swam or drowned – something I preach to my team in Cambodia every day. Therefore, I’ve confirmed a part-time consultancy job with the biggest retail chain in Myanmar and have also confirmed my voluntary work with an NGO for underprivileged youth as well as another voluntary work for an orphanage in Yangon. On top of that, I have started my Burmese language class too. A kind old teacher offered to teach me for free – which was super awesome and besides teaching me the language, she brings me local food too. She says I need to know everything about Myanmar – starting from the food. I really like her, though my waistline doesn’t! As I said in my previous post, most of the locals here aren’t exactly motivated by money (well, not yet anyway) and they help you not because you can afford to pay them, but it’s just them being kind. I have to keep reminding myself to stop thinking that there is “udang di sebalik batu” when someone offers to do something for me for free here! I’ve also definitely started training at a gym – one where I enter and I step back into the 1980s. Yes, please laugh. More about gyms in Yangon next time around.

For now, whilst it seems like life has gained some sort of normalcy here and fallen into a routine that doesn’t revolve around power cuts, I still have a major frustrating issue – the INTERNET. I’m not going to talk about how it is government-controlled and everything (there are only two ISPs in this country) – but the fact is it IS ridiculously priced. Not funny at all! USD650 – USD750 for one time installation and thereafter, it is USD50-USD60 per month. MOH and I had a bit of disagreement over this. He was not keen to pay that much for internet at home – which doesn’t work like 50% of the time – as experienced at his office (they subscribe to BOTH ISPs at work!) whilst I wasn’t keen on being disconnected from the world! In the end, he relented and we installed the cheapest option available (which happens to be the slowest speed – the 1980s speed of 128k :P and still USD50 per month!!!)

And….m…y….G..o…d….. w….a…s….. it……s…..l…o…..w…….. I thought Cambodia was slow! This was far-out! It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve been using this 128k. And it is sooooo frustrating! Given the nature of how I run my businesses, this slow speed and the unstable connection just doesn’t cut it! I connect with my partners in Malaysia and my team in Cambodia and all my clients around the world via emails, chat, skype, etc. Right now, I can barely send emails without banging my head on the wall. I can’t download attachments or large files. Sometimes, while downloading, it just cancels by itself. Oh – and like right this very moment as I am typing this piece, the internet connection has disappeared. Yup! Just like that!

I don’t think words can describe how frustrating it is for me to work this way. From super-speed Eileen who chases other people to work faster, respond faster, this Gordon Ramsey The Second has been reduced to an apologetic wimp simply because I feel desperately unproductive and as well as very sorry for my Cambodian team – who have been unable to send me any proposals for me to vet through. I can’t even scream at them for missing deadlines! All I can tell them is “SWIM OR DROWN!” and pray the email goes through and pray that they present their ideas well enough to clients. You guys try it one day – just try when your email isn’t working, your server is down or UNIFI decides to switch off service. Just for one day – and then you think about me. I will be living with this for awhile. [rev : some of you wouldn't even come visit me saying that you'll wait for internet issues to be solved first :P]

I’ve also never felt this cut-off from home before. I used to chat with my Mom almost every other day. Since I’ve arrived in Myanmar, Google Talk had never succeeded in launching on my computer :P For some reason though, FB seems to work a little faster and sometimes, the chat works. Sometimes too, the status updates take like 10minutes before it is updated. Really, really *slap forehead ten thousand times* moments for me. Of course, there are days where the 128 functions like normal and everything seems to be a breeze. That is the moment I would choose to hurry-hurry-hurry and email all I need to email and while at that – upload some photos on FB so that friends can catch up with me too!

Actually, I’m eager to start work with Citimart. I would then be able to really experience how the locals work despite the setbacks of the internet. Best you know that this problem of s-l-o-w speed and constant dropped connections doesn’t just happen to me. Ask anyone who provides internet service here and they’ll tell you that “The whole of Myanmar have internet problems.” Yes, perhaps like what some of my friends so kindly suggested, I need to go back to the time of fax and telegraphs :P But using the fax would then mean I need a landline which would then mean, I need to apply with the correct authorities for said line and who says it would be cheap???  

SIM cards are also an expensive commodity. Foreigners cannot own SIM cards (though visitors have the option of renting a SIM-ready phone at the airports – be prepared to fork out the dough!) and my SIM card was applied-for by MOH’s office. It cost me USD350. Yes, welcome to Myanmar. And despite the fact that this is an international SIM card, I am unable to send or receive any text messages outside of Myanmar!! OMG! Again – very disconnected from the world. If not for the patchy internet, I might as well be a cavewoman!  Not just that, when making calls sometimes, you get that recorded lady’s voice telling you a bizarre story that there is “no such number.” What do you do? You hit the redial button over and over again until the call connects. Oh Lordy. Yes. Even local calls are subjected to such “disconnections”. MOH and I have this joke that there is actually a person sitting behind this giant board with plugs trying to connect all the phone calls manually. And obviously, this dude is overwhelmed, hence “number not in service.” :P

While in the process of planning my brother’s wedding, Westin KL wanted to do a conference call with me since email was ridiculously slow. When I saw that email, I wanted to literally ROFL. After explaining my situation to the manager about the internet and phone communications, he said “So dangerous leh…” referring to my situation of being so disconnected. Damn right. I’d hate to think that in a dramatic tragedy, where with my last breath and strength, I dial MOH’s number only to hear that lady telling me “no such number” or “number not in service”. OMG. OMG. OMG. My only consolation is that after applying for it and password permission granted, I have internet connection on my mobile as well. But again – this isn’t free of charge :P [rev : When I finally met the Kayumanis Team during my bro's wedding, they actually commented "Usually you are super-fast with the emails! What happened?" Hmm... 128k happened.]

But like with the electricity, I am still keeping (and praying everyday) a positive attitude and vibe that it CAN only get better. With the influx of investments coming in to wake this sleeping giant up, there is no way internet or mobile phone connections can remain the way it is otherwise, there’ll just be too many people with holes in their heads (from banging on walls too much). Especially since Myanmar will be hosting the SEA Games 2013.

Here are more photos of life in Myanmar for me thus far. And OMG – the internet connection is up again! So… nauq-twe dhe da baw!! [rev : you can view the photos when the article appears on VS :)]

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Having said that - whilst it is good to be back to super-fast internet and the joys of Maxis, I am actually missing Yangon and I cannot wait to get back :)