dispatches from Yangoon with Neighborsmama

As some of you know, my dad is on a temporary assignment in Burma, so my mom has just gotten there. I always enjoy her descriptions of places to visit and thought you might enjoy reading this. I should add that communication to that country is pretty tough. It costs about $5 a minute to call there. And my dad said that sometimes the rain knocks out all communication.

I am in Yangoon. The place is a little strange, starting from the airport and immigration. All the airport employees wear kind of white button down shirts, half untucked, long pants and flipflops. Or blue tops and pants (like garage repair men), baseball caps (no logo), and flipflops. I fully expect them to come fix my motor cycles and sell me beetle nuts as well. In fact, even the flipflops are optional, they go barefoot indoor. This includes my fellow passengers, they took off shoes, as soon as they sat down at the waiting/departure room. Their carry on suitcases are interesting to look at. Most of us had to open our carryons, including me, with the Jongs. (neighborsgrrl's note: jongs are sticky rice stuffed with goodies, like mungbeans, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. We eat them for Dragon Boat Festival. My mom was bringing some homemade ones over from Hong Kong for my dad to enjoy).

Several people's suitcases had nothing but fruits, pkgs of strawberries, plums, peaches, nectarines. Some had nothings but chocolates and candies. One had all the sandwiches bought from Changi airport (in Singapore). Do they know something I don't know? And then the transportation modes. One pickup truck looks like a school bus, with kids hanging out everywhere. Two or three standing up on steps outside, some hanging out sideway. My god. They wear shirts and long wraps and flipflops and school bags. Baba said that one was not even considered packed.

I went swimming as soon as I arrived yesterday, just to clear my head. Then we had dinner at the secretary's house with her mother, aunt, cousins, and a friend who is chief of Burmese section BBC in London. It was a good dinner. They are Shan people originally, one cousin is half Chinese (father from Yunan). I found out being minority, such as Chinese and Indian, is no good in Burma. You have to hide the fact and change name.

...We are now in Baba's office and we'll go a French restaurant near by for lunch. The cook/house keeper is Maureen. She's Burmese. Where did she get the name I don't know. I just send her away to buy more vegetables and fruit and some fish and tofu. She was going to cook mutton for tonight. Awww. (neighborsgrrl note: my mother hates mutton, and beef)

The temperature here in not as high as DC or HK. A surprise. But very humid. It rains buckets in the afternoon, like yesterday at 4pm.