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Wednesday, 25th April 2018
On Wednesday, I'm ashamed to say, I never left the Doctor's house. However, you probably wouldn't believe how long it takes to back up my pictures, try to update the blog posts, deal with a few e-mails and recharge my battery-powered equipment. I admit to resting for a while.
I've commented before that, in general, Myanmar people enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner and that I can never believe the sheer volume they enjoy, since their frames are usually much smaller than mine. Because I'm bigger than they are (they always politely say 'strong', not 'fat') they think I should eat more than them. My protestations that half their portion size is right for me fall on deaf ears: they are a very hospitable people. Whilst at the Doctor's house, a consensus emerged and I enjoyed splendid meals tailored to my tastes.
A splendid meal, tailored to my rather conservative tastes, at the Doctor's house in Yangon.
So the combination of the heat, over-eating and (admit it) being old makes me sluggish in these circumstances. So that was Wednesday.
I had some difficulty getting to sleep Wednesday night with itchy skin and slight heat rash. What I learned is that Myanmar people are not immune to this and a plastic bottle of calamine lotion was passed around the household. However, once I dropped off I slept soundly until the alarm, no doubt helped by the air conditioning being set to take the 'edge' off the heat.
Thursday, 26th April 2018
After breakfast on Thursday, the Doctor had arranged a meeting with Eddie Teh, General Manager, Hotels and Cruises (Belmond Governor's Residence, Belmond Road to Mandalay). We discussed the Belmond Myanmar Foundation (of which I am a trustee). This is a British registered charity which helps to fund the work carried out by Doctor Hla Tun.
In the ten years since my first visit to Myanmar, the country has changed rapidly. One change is the advent of ATM machines. When I first came, there were none and banks were not very helpful. Now, there are kiosks everywhere where cash can be obtained on demand, often with the choice of U.S. Dollars or the local Kyat. So, on the way back to the Doctor's house I drew some funds as readily as in my own country.
I spent most of the rest of the day dealing with e-mails and trying to update the blog. Tomorrow morning the Doctor, his wife and the writer fly north to Nyaung Oo then go by road to the Bagan Medical Clinic where the Doctor expects a heavy list of consultations. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get internet access again but there are lots of existing posts on the Bagan Medical Clinic. You can find them (in reverse date-of-posting order) here. The Clinic will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday then we are planning a side-trip to Chin state with the Monk who looks after the Clinic.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar. The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link will show the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports.
My pictures
All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.
[Pictures linked 28-May-2018]
Events of Tuesday, 24th April 2018
After a pleasant breakfast at the hotel, the charming man from Care Myanmar picked us up to take us to the distribution at Hlaing Drop In Centre. With almost 400 children attending this distribution, there is insufficient room for them inside the Drop In Centre itself so, in previous years, collapsible sun shelters have been erected in the field adjacent to the D.I.C. building. But, in 2018, the shelters had been erected on the narrow concrete road outside the D.I.C., leaving a narrow space at one side to allow pedestrians and motor cycles passage. The expectant children were quietly waiting on groundsheets laid under the shelters which were topped with green woven plastic sheeting as a sun screen. I was amused to note that, to prevent the sheeting from sagging, a number of 'U'-shaped lengths of rebar (steel reinforcing bar) had been laid across the framework. Staff and volunteers were busy distributing snacks to the children.
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C.
There were a number of Outstanding Students who were presented with a modest extra reward of stationery by way of encouragement.
Distribution to Outstanding Students at Hlaing D.I.C.
We then moved outside for the main presentations. A 'stage' had been built at the front, filled with shoulder bags containing the items being distributed. Each distribution comprised school uniform, exercise books, pencils or pens placed in a colourful shoulder bag. However, the exact contents depended upon age and sex of the recipient. The uniforms differ between boys and girls and differ with age (primary school boys start with short trousers but then move to the male version of the longyi). Primary school children only use pencils but older pupils use ballpoint pens.
A sound system with a radio microphone had been provided but did not seem to be working correctly so we switched to a battery-operated bullhorn. The Doctor invited me to give a short address so, using the bullhorn, I delivered my homily on the importance of education (in short sections, pausing to let the Doctor translate before continuing).
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C. - the Doctor translates Jan's address.
Next, we had the actual distribution. Volunteers were on hand firstly to check the 'admission ticket' of each child, then to ensure that the Doctor and I placed the correct type of shoulder bag over the student's head. Where children were still clutching the snacks they'd been given, we tried to add them to the shoulder bag to prevent loss. Each child was then allowed to select a lottery ticket which they then examined to look for the all-important 'tick' which indicated that they'd won a towel. In a few rather hectic minutes, we'd handed out most of the 386 bags.
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C.
There was then a much quicker presentation of towels to the winners. Because the staff had been included in the lottery, a few of the towels went to delighted staff.
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C. - lottery winners receive White Towels.
As the children left, all the staff assembled on the steps of the D.I.C. for the staff group picture.
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C. - Staff and volunteers
We then moved inside the D.I.C. where a group of mainly elderly local residents had assembled for the selection of reading glasses from a collection which had been donated. This wasn't a very scientific process - the local people simply picked a pair whose style they liked which improved their ability to read one of a number of newspapers provided.
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C. - selection of reading glasses
By this time, the 'stage' (actually a series of long benches) had been dismantled and loaded onto a motor cycle taxi which was just setting off the return them, probably to a school.
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C. - a motor cycle taxi removes the 'stage'
Hlaing is a very poor area and there are a number of noted 'Poor Houses' where elderly and disabled people eke out a subsistence with the help of charity from local people. We visited a number of very basic bamboo shacks where the Doctor and I made donations of clothing and money. There is no Social Care 'safety net' in Myanmar.
Visiting 'Poor Houses' in Hlaing District of Mawlamyine
We were then driven to our hotel to check-out before moving on to the Care Myanmar offices. The staff kindly placed a sleeping mat and pillow on the office floor so that I could lie down for a while and that revived me.
Care Myanmar Offices, Mawlamyine
Our last distribution was at the 'Future Generation' Drop in Centre in another part of Mawlamyine.
Distribution at 'Future Generation' D.I.C.
Again, the staff and most of the children were unchanged since the previous year. I gave a short address, translated by the Doctor then we made a few presentations to outstanding students. The lottery for towels followed, as always causing great amusement.
Distribution of White Towels at 'Future Generation' D.I.C.
At this D.I.C., the distributions had been packed in plastic bags, so I generally only had to present the bag to each student.
Distribution at 'Future Generation' D.I.C.
The students then changed into their new uniforms for a series of 'Group Shots', taken in the street outside, lit by the late afternoon sun. As always, it was a very jolly affair.
Distribution at 'Future Generation' D.I.C. - the Group Shot
We enjoyed dinner at a tea-shop with two of the local staff.
Evening meal in Mawlamyine
There was then just time to pay respects at the Kyaik Thote Pagoda in Mawlamyine before heading to the Bus Terminal to catch the 9.0 p.m. bus to Yangon. With one stop for toilets and refreshments, we were back at Yangon's Eastern Long Distance Bus Terminal by about 3.30 a.m. on Wednesday. A taxi took us to the Doctor's house in less than half an hour. Despite having slept well on the bus, I happily slept for a few more hours at the Doctor's house after a wonderful but very tiring few days in Mon State.
Total Distributions in Mon State 2018
| Drop in Centre |
Number |
| Ko Dut (total) |
341 |
| Mudon (total) |
191 |
| Hlaing |
386 |
| Future Generation |
130 |
| Total |
1048 |
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar. The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link will show the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next post.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports.
My pictures
Distribution at Hlaing D.I.C.
Distribution at 'Better Futures' D.I.C.
Kaung Myat Hotel, Mawlamyine (2017 pictures)
Care Myanmar Offices, Mawlamyine (2017 pictures)
All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.
[Pictures linked 10-May-2018: Pictures inserted 28-May-2018: Naming corrected 25-Feb-2019]
Events of Monday, 23nd April 2018
After our second night sleeping at the Drop In Centre, we said 'Goodbye' to our friends at Ko Dut. There was time for a final 'group photo' with the staff present before we set off by taxi.
Ko Dut D.I.C. - leaving on 23rd April 2018
Our first destination was Khaikhami Yele Paya Pagoda, built over the sea. I've visited this important shrine a number of times, mentioning my last and earlier visits in the post here.
Khaikhami Yele Paya Pagoda
Our first distribution was at the Drop In Centre at Ka Mar Wet. I'm afraid in earlier reports, I may have confused some of the names but I hope I have it correct this year. Some of these places are quite difficult to find unless you are local. As arranged by mobile phone, we were met on the main road by a man on a motor cycle in a silver crash helmet who conducted us through the narrow streets to the D.I.C.
Our motor cycle guide conducting us to Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.
I may confuse the names, but not the people and warm greetings were exchanged. I can't claim to remember each child but some are firm in my memory. When the Doctor enquired, the majority of the children remembered our last visit - long-term commitment to this type of programme is essential. Once again, the Doctor held a lottery to determine who received one of the limited number of white towels. I admit to initially having doubts about the lottery idea but these were dispelled by the sheer sense of fun created. I was pleased that the staff were included in the lottery and the winners from this group seemed even more excited than the children!
Ka Mar Wet D.I.C. - White towel winners proudly show their prize.
Then the distributions to all the children took place - a new school uniform and items of stationery.
Ka Mar Wet D.I.C. - the distribution.
The children proudly donned their new uniforms so that photographs, including the 'group shot' outside the building, could be made to record the event.
Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.
The children were then able to leave but, finally, the Doctor refunded certain other agreed expenses to the manager.
Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.
I was wearing the longyi they'd given me the previous year (described here) and, before we left, they presented me with another longyi in a beautiful Mon pattern.
Our motor cycle guide then conducted us to Mu Don Drop In Centre for our second distribution of the day. The journey concluded in a baffling series of narrow alleys barely suitable for a motor cycle, let alone a taxi. We started with a special presentation of stationery items to a number of Outstanding Students.
Distribution to Outstanding Students at Mu Don D.I.C.
Then, we conducted the lottery for the limited number of towels which created great amusement.
Distribution at Mu Don D.I.C.
Finally, the serious business of equipping each child with stationery and items for the forthcoming year. I was presented with a lovely decorated cotton blanket. Everybody then trooped out into the sun for photographs.
Distribution at Mu Don D.I.C. - The Group Photograph
I watched with interest as a group of children from one particular area departed in a covered pick-up with seats. With about eight children in the luggage rack on the roof, there must have been about 30 passengers!
Happy students leaving the distribution at Mu Don D.I.C.
Once again, our guide conducted us to our final Drop In Centre of the day at Kot Kha Pon. By this time, the combination of the heat and an infection which the Doctor was treating had exhausted me, but I did the best I could. Instead of repeating the address to the children I'd been using on this trip (a rather Victorian-sounding tale extolling the virtues of education, hard work and being good to one another), the Doctor paraphrased its content for me.
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Dr. Hla Tun addresses the students at Kot Kha Pon D.I.C.
Three Outstanding Students received a special presentation of stationery, then we had the fun of the lottery for the presentation of towels and finally the distribution to all the children. With a smaller number of children at this location, we were able to take the group pictures inside the building. The staff kindly gave me a blanket in appreciation of the support for their work.
Distribution at Kot Kha Pon D.I.C.
The taxi then headed north on Route 8 for a little under 30 km to Mawlamyine, where the Doctor had booked rooms in the Kaung Myat Hotel.
Kaung Myat Hotel, Mawlamyine
On arrival, I was happy to 'hole-up' in my room after a fairly strenuous day, with food and drink provided by the Doctor to keep me going. I backed up my pictures to the computer and found the hotel's Wi-Fi was working so I was able to receive a few e-mails and deal with them and convert a Word document I'd been working on into a blog post. The following day, we would be making distributions at two Drop In Centres in Mawlamyine.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar. The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link will show the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports.
My pictures
Khaikhami Yele Paya Pagoda and Ka Mar Wet D.I.C.
Distribution at Mu Don D.I.C.
Distribution at Kot Kha Pon D.I.C.
All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.
[Pictures linked 10-May-2018, Pictures inserted 27-May-2018]
Events of Sunday, 22nd April 2018
When I got up, there were already cattle quietly foraging for breakfast in the rubbish near the Drop In Centre.
Ko Dut D.I.C.: Cattle foraging for breakfast.
We first went to the house and shop of one of the D.I.C. teachers, Shu Lwum, for breakfast.
Ko Dut D.I.C.: Breakfast at Shophouse of Shu Lwum
The meal was accompanied by loud music from a couple of streets away which, when we left, I tracked down to a 'Wall of Sound' outside a private house (I talked about the 'Wall of Sound' in the earlier post here). The Doctor explained that the 'Wall of Sound' was part of the celebrations for a wedding and that the music helped guests unfamiliar with the area to locate the correct address. This installation comprised 10 base speakers, two exponential horns and a group of 'tweeters', all held together by a ratchet strap.
Ko Dut 2018: 'Wall of Sound' to celebrate wedding.
Back at the D.I.C., I was presented by the staff with a beautiful red and black longyi in a traditional Mon pattern which they insisted I put on straight away.
Ko Dut D.I.C.: Jan with new Longyi and the seamstress.
After the inevitable 'group shot' outside the D.I.C. there was a traditional, formal thanksgiving by the staff for the donations they had received.
Ko Dut D.I.C. Volunteers and teachers.
Doctor Hla Tun has established a tradition of taking the staff and volunteers at Ko Dut Drop In Centre for a meal during his annual visit, as a way of saying 'Thank You' for their work throughout the year. This year, it was extended into a full day out. The Doctor, his wife, two staff from the Drop In Centre (the manager Yu Mon and teacher Shu Lwum) and the writer took a taxi, the others followed in a covered pick-up with seats. We headed south towards Ye Township (sometimed spelled as Yaye) to visit the extensive Ko Yin Lay ('Young Monk') pagoda.
Ko Yin Lay Pagoda near Ye, Mon State, 2018
Here I was delighted to meet again the nun who had accompanied us on a visit the previous year. What I now discovered was that she is the sister of teacher Shu Lwum.
Ko Yin Lay Pagoda: Jan, the Nun and her sister Shu Lwum.
The latest project is a pagoda surrounded by hundreds of miniature pagodas, apparently in tribute to the Kuthodaw Paya in Mandalay (I described a visit to the Kuthodaw here).
Near Ye, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. Whilst we were there, a car apparently struck a motor cycle right outside the restaurant and a girl from the motor cycle, clearly shocked, sustained a cut ankle. Staff from the restaurant immediately seated her inside and bathed the ankle with water. Doctor Hla Tun provided adhesive plasters and antiseptic cream but otherwise was not required. Myanmar people accept this type of minor mishap with equanimity.
After an enjoyable meal, we continued to the beach at Ka Byar Wa. It was a very pretty bay with a safe, sandy beach popular with local people. Food was available, there was a row of steamer chairs shaded by large umbrellas for hire and inflated lorry inner tubes could be hired as flotation devices in the sea. There were a couple of inflatable boats on the beach fitted with outboard engines, but neither was in use.
The beach at Ka Byar Wa
I watched with interest as two boys in a 2-man kayak attempted to 'surf' their boat on the incoming tide. The first time they did remarkably well but a number of subsequent attempts all ended in a capsize. After a pleasant interlude in the sun at the beach, we boarded the taxi and the pick-up truck.
I assumed we were returning to Ko Dut but, after heading north we turned off into the hills, travelling for some distance on very narrow roads carrying unexpectedly heavy traffic. We ended up in a car park in a field accessed by a very steep slope. It was all very puzzling for me until we left the taxi and walked to the improbable destination: a shallow river with lots of people, adults and children, bathing and swimming. The Doctor explained that the location, Chaung Gwa, had become a popular destination, particularly for parents with young children, because of the crystal-clear fresh water and safe bathing. The one river bank was very low and I assumed it would be subject to flooding at times. This bank, formed from flat, rounded stones formed the unlikely location for a extensive market.
Chaung Gwa river bathing and market
Up river from the market, a number of long-tail boats were coming and going, man-hauled near the boarding place but starting their engines once clear. The Doctor explained that the boats provided a shuttle service to and from the nearby Chaung Gwa Pagoda and offered a visit, which I readily accepted, although I'd already seen boat passengers having to wade through the water across the stones to enter and leave the boats.
Well, with my European soft-soled feet and general tendency to wobble, I needed plenty of help from my friends to safely board the boat but the boat trip through the twisting river valley was wonderful.
By long-tail boat up river to Chaung Gwa Pagoda
A final twist in the river revealed a surprisingly small pagoda perched on the hillside, with modern statues on an adjacent tall, square, painted concrete pillar set in the river.
Chaung Gwa Pagoda, viewed from the river
On our arrival, leaving the boat proved a little easier than boarding, although it still involved wading through water over stones in bare feet. An uneven earth footpath then led to the base of a long, straight concrete staircase which led to the pagoda platform. At a slightly lower level, a horizontal walkway led across to the pillar with the statues, giving visitors commanding views downstream.
Chaung Gwa Pagoda: View looking downstream from the pagoda platform
The return boat trip was equally enjoyable but, by this time, I was starting to fade and the walk back through the market (across the stones) to our taxi was tiring. This time, our destination really was Ko Dut. It was dark when we arrived but they started the petrol generator so we had light and I was able to charge my computer and camera before retiring for the night after a splendid day with my friends.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar. The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link will show the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports.
My pictures
La Mine and Ko Dut D.I.C.
Ko Yin Lay Pagoda and the beach at Ka Byar Wa.
Chaung Gwa, Chaung Gwa Pagoda and back to Ko Dut.
All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.
[Pictures linked 10-May-2018, Pictures inserted 26-May-2018]
Events of 20th October/Saturday 21st October
We left the doctor’s house by taxi about 7.15 pm with the Doctor, his wife and the writer as passengers, together with our luggage and two large bundles of small, white towels given by a donor. The towels were packed in tens in polythene bags which had been bundled in sacking, then stitched to make secure parcels. In common with most Yangon taxis, the luggage space was reduced by a large propane gas tank in the boot. It took about an hour to reach the Eastern Long Distance Bus Terminal, which was as chaotic as ever.
Eastern Long Distance Bus Terminal, Yangon: 21st April 2018.
Somehow, we got our own luggage into the commodious luggage hold but only after 7 men (5 runners, one unloader and one loader) had transferred the contents of a packed covered pick-up to the coach in an attempt to show the limits of the luggage space. The coach was a modern Chinese offering with left hand drive. The left hand drive was quite a relief in a country which now drives on the right (following a pronouncement by the notorious General Ne Win in 1970). Even when the legacy of right-hand drive vehicles for driving on the left had been replaced, the replacements were often from left-driving nations (most notably Japan), to the discomfort of nervous front seat passengers. Each side window of the coach was provided with heavily-swagged curtains giving, I thought, a curious 'Gipsy’ feel.
Our coach from Yangon: 21st April 2018.
We started our journey, around 9.15 p.m., travelling backwards. In common with many Myanmar bus stations, arriving buses head towards a long building divided into offices, waiting areas and maintenance bays for the various companies, meaning that departure involves reversing into a continuous flow of buses, taxis, pick-ups, motor cycles, push bikes and the variety of modified light carriers which inhabit these areas. After a series of starts, shouted warnings, urgent horns and fierce stops, the coach inserted itself into the melee and, now travelling forwards, after a few minutes we found ourselves on the main road where speed picked up giving a demonstration of just how hard the suspension was.
By midnight, we’d pulled up at one of the roadside cafes that service the long distance coaches. By western standards, most of the toilets at these places are rather primitive but, at the café areas, the staff perform prodigious tasks of providing fresh-cooked Myanmar food to a rapidly-changing clientele. Fast it may be but it does seem to involve an awful lot of shouting between staff. After a couple more hours on the road we made another refreshment stop where the toilet facilities were quite restricted. I’d assumed we’d leave the coach at Mawlamyine around one hour later, as we had previously, but I discovered we were travelling further on the coach. We didn’t stop long at Mawlamyine Bus Station but we stopped again on the outskirts of town whilst parcels were extracted from our luggage compartments and stuffed into a pickup truck which had appeared. Around 6.30 Saturday morning, the coach stopped again near a road junction in Mawkan, which I recognised as our drop off point the previous year when we headed north from Dawei in a minibus. The manager from Ko-Dut Drop In Centre was again waiting for us with a taxi. There was a slight delay because the parcels unloading on the outskirts of Mawlamyine had managed to thoroughly mix-up the remaining parcels and luggage but, after a frantic few minutes, we’d retrieved everything we’d started out with and were able to board the taxi and drive the last few miles to Ko Dut. When we arrived, there were plenty of staff but the building wasn’t besieged by children so I wasn’t surprised when the Doctor told me the distributions would be held in Ko Dut Monastery, as the previous year.
Although I’d managed some sleep on the journey, tiredness was starting to overtake me but a shower (Burmese style) revived me a little and the Doctor, his wife and I took breakfast together (oatmeal, fried egg, white bread and margarine and English Breakfast tea for me). All the young volunteers then had a ‘second sitting’ of breakfast, by which time the taxi had returned and it was time to load the sacks full of uniforms, towels and snacks for transfer to the monastery. The attractive red and blue traditional Burmese shoulder bags had previously been packed with the stationery being given to each child and the volunteers ferried these to the monastery using their own motor bicycles, the driver and one or two passengers each festooned with as many bags as they could manage.
Distribution at Ko Dut Monastery, 2018: Volunteers ferrying school bags by motor cycle from the Drop In Centre to the Monastery.
Finally, the taxi returned to take the Doctor, his wife and the writer to the monastery. In the large assembly hall, there were separate groups of, mainly young, children from both Government schools and Mon Ethnic Schools who were to receive the distribution of stationery and a new school uniform.
As more children arrived, the individual groups were combined into two phalanxes, theatre-style but without the cbairs. Eventually, a senior monk from the monastery arrived accompanied by a young monk who, I was to discover, was an excellent English speaker. The monk encouraged the children to recite a clearly well-known prayer and afterwards he addressed them for a few minutes. Afterwards, the young monk translated the gist of the speech: the importance of education, remembering that it makes you clever, not necessarily good and the evils of drugs. Whilst not a Buddhist, I agreed with these sentiments. The monk also made gracious comments about foreign donors who make this type of distribution possible.
Distribution at Ko Dut Monastery, 2018.
The senior monk asked me to address the children and my brief English homily was translated into the Mon dialect by one of the teachers. The shoulder bags packed with stationery were then presented to each child.
There were insufficient white towels to allow each child to have one, so the Doctor instituted a lottery which added to the fun. Square lottery tickets had been cut from white paper and winning tickets were marked with a symbol. Each ticket was then tightly rolled. Another little ceremony presented the winners with their prize.
Distribution at Ko Dut Monastery, 2018: Jan helping to distribute lottery tickets for the limited number of white towels.
All the children then formed up on a large, concrete staircase for the traditional group photograph.
Distribution ar Ko Dut Monastery, 2018: the Group Photograph.
This format was repeated at our second visit of the day to the Drop In Centre at La Mine which is quite small but provides vital support to the youngsters. Most of the children remembered previous visits which I’d made and the teachers and volunteers were unchanged. The element of dependability can be so important in the lives of children lacking traditional family support.
Distribution at La Mine Drop In Centre
The lottery for white towels followed: an Imaginative volunteer had decorated winning tickets with a 'smiley face'.
A winning ticket!
Distribution at La Mine Drop In Centre: the group photograph.
After the group photograph at La Mine, we drove to our final visit of the day, to another small Drop In Centre at Mot Ka Nin. Once again, staff and students were largely unchanged since my last visit about one year ago.
Distribution at Mot Ka Nin
Distribution at Mot Ka Nin, 2018: Smiles all round!
We then retraced our route to La Mine where we took ‘sweet tea’ and dinner in one of the many tea shops near the large monastery.
‘Sweet tea’ and dinner in one of the many tea shops near La Mine Monastery.
After our meal, my friends paid their respects to the Buddha Image in the temple. The simple piety of the Myanmar people I find very moving.
In the town, we stopped to purchase fresh Durian fruit. This is never a simple task in Myanmar and invariably there is good-natured haggling before the deal is struck.
Purchasing Durian Fruit in La Mine
Then, it was back to Ko Dut Drop In Centre for the night. At present, electric power at the Drop In Centre is supplied by one of two elderly portable electric generators. The heat had tired me out and I was asleep before our generator was turned off.
Related posts on this website
This is one of a series of posts describing my 13th visit to Myanmar. The post Travelling again is the first post in the series.
Clicking on the 'Next report' link displays the post describing the next events. In this way, you may read about the trip in sequence.
Next report.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Burma-2018 reports' link displays all the posts on this trip in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Burma-2018 reports.
My pictures
Distribution at Ko Dut Monastery, 2018
Distribution at La Mine Drop In Centre
Distribution at Mot Ka Nin
La Mine and Ko Dut D.I.C.
All my pictures on this trip to Myanmar can be found at Burma 2018.
[Pictures linked 10-May-2018, Pictures inserted 26-May-2018]
