N 94 My Annual Visit to Yangon
I don’t remember how
many years I have come back to live in Taunggyi. But during these years I
usually went to stay in Yangon for the winter, because Taunggyi is too cold in
the winter months.
But this year I
decided to go later and see if I can braveTaunggyi’s winter. And… I saw I can
do it quite well. It is nothing much compared to colder places, not to mention
the world’s cold places, but only in our country. Even places like Pinlaung,
Namsang, Loilem, Mogok, Momeik, and the Chin Hills are colder than Taunggyi.
The temperature at those places are only a little degrees above 0* like 3 or 4
degrees . But I found the indoor temperature in my house is over 10* on colder
days. I wonder how people can live in sub zero degrees with snow covering everywhere.
So it was on the 6th
of February that I finally went to Yangon. The main reason was I have to do
some paper signing at a bank where we have home loan and I also want to do some
medical checking. The paper signing work at the bank was done within a few
hours after we reached Yangon.
I did the medical
check up the next day. I have some problems with my heart, narrowing of the
arteries.. I had planned to check up with my nephew Sai Kyaw Tay Zar who is now
a cardiologist. He examined me with echo machine and told me the result is not
so bad, to do some more checking after some months and gave me prescriptions
for some medicine.
On the 8th
I attended the wedding ceremony of another nephew Sai Kyaw, who is the brother
of Sai Kyaw Tay Zar. Sai Kyaw lives in the US and also the bride’s parents and
they are going to US after a few days. The wedding was held at the pool side of
Sedona Hotel. This was my first time there and everything was nice and pretty
for me. The bride and groom, the environment, the preparations and agenda, and
also the food. I wish the couple to have a long, happy and pleasant life
together in the US.
On the 10th
I attended another wedding which was held at Pandittayama Monastery near our
house. Hsun was offered to Sanghas and yogi’s , and guests were treated with
buffet lunch in commemoration of their wedding. The bride Aye Aye Myint is my
daughter’s friend and we also met with some other friends at the ceremony.
The next day we had
a gathering of friends whom we had lived together in Kunhing. Not many of them
but only five. We had lunch together at my house, and we talked about our past
and present lives. To meet friends and having some talks is a pleasant and
happy thing to do. It is nice because it means that we are still alive and can
go about, even some including me are not quite well and healthy enough. We
cannot meet like this if we are gone forever. Next year if I am well enough I
will have a more bigger gathering with people whom we lived together in
Kunhing.
When I didn’t go
out I did some dusting and cleaning at home. Because the house had undergone
major alterations and repairs there is dust everywhere, but this time it was a
lot better. I did some organizing of the wardrobes in my room and the book
cabinets.
As I love books I
collected some starting from long ago. I
still have Reader’s Digest and novels from my school days and Time magazines of
40 years ago. I keep my books in cabinets with unsystematic catalogues. Whether
systematic or not I can know how many books I have and how many I have lost
(but I don’t have many ). I have lost
more during my absense but I don’t let this trouble me. Anyway nothing
is permanent in this world, but it is distressing that my children, my grand
children are not reading books anymore. (Exception…Nang
Nang and Naung Naung who has started to read , but they read English books only
)
I had asked my
granddaughter Baby to send me to bookshops and she did so one Thursday when she
didn’t have tuition. Because we left late and of traffic it was time to eat
lunch when we reached downtown. So I was taken to 800 bowls Restaurant where we
had noodles and dumplings. Then we went to Sarpay Beikman , the Goveernment’s
bookshop where I bought some books to take home.
A short walk on the
platform around there brought me memories of long ago. When I was young I liked
walking on the platforms where there are vendors selling everything. I would
walk on these platforms tirelessly looking at inexpensive things and buying
some upon seeing things I needed. During this short walking I saw a book I had
wanted( Pascal Khoo Thwe’s From the Land of Green Ghost …. a book I had read
its translation and had liked )and I bought it happily. Though I had wanted to
go to other bookshops I cannot do so because to go from one place to another in
the downtown area is not a simple and easy thing to do but a complicated and
time consuming thing .
I didn’t want to go
back home without visiting at least one new shopping mall. So I was taken to
Junction City . It was my first visit there and upon entering it I couldn’t
help mention that it looks like a shopping mall in neighbouring foreign countries.It is a modernized
one with some garden like decorations and a plant wall where people were taking
photos.But most shops are selling branded items and the prices are not cheap.
Many shopping malls
like this one are sprouting here and there around Yangon . And we are hearing
that our country is facing economic recession at the moment. But there also is
a wide gap between the rich and the poor. So shopping malls and branded things
will be for the elite, the rich and the upper class people only.
I had posted about
my one and only visit to Signature restaurant on the bank of Kandawgyi Lake in
my facebook account. So my daughter and her friend commented they will send me
again when I come to Yangon the next time.And they really did send me there on
the last day of my stay. I don’t like to go out much ,but it is nice to do so
sometimes. We ate those foreign foods and took pictures with the nice
surroundings there. The pleasant weather and environment,the food , the
relaxation I had, all are great experience for me. Thank you…Ying, and Hnin Yu
Khine for sending me to a nice place like this. Let us go to another nice place
when I come again next year……
