Strand Yangon (Rangoon)

... 48 dollars...PER MONTH! James told me that since the arrival of their newest child, a two month old baby boy, they simply do not have enough to survive. The believers are so poor that when they tithe, they tithe from their poverty. Since they too have little money if any, they give what they can. At times the tithing will consist of bananas, papayas, rice, other vegetables, and if they are truly blessed they get curry beef. Brother Sein Thun is a brother after God's own ...

... people in shambles. Yangon is a city of rubble and rubbish everywhere. A city full of people with no phones, no TVs, no Internet, no banks or ATM's, no foreign literature, and basically no sense at all of the outside world, everything censored. <br> <br>I have ...

... our tour, we went out of the pagoda at a different entrance by "Happy World." There's a small cafe with some really nice waiters who tried to speak English, fans, and decent food. Not the cleanest, but it's Myanmar. I got tea and some chicken curry powder dish. I would suggest it, it was decent, and to be honest we had no idea where else to eat. We took a taxi back to the bus station (6,000 kyatt). And at 5 PM our overnight bus trip to Mandalay began.

... of the full moon. There were monks and families everywhere. Unfortunately, due to a recent cyclone, the Zedi was under construction and had bamboo scaffolding around it. Before we entered, we had to remove our shoes and socks and I had to put on my new sarong. We saw several Buddhas, including a small reclining Buddha when a young man and a monk approached us. The man had recently left the monkhood to teach English and was visiting his friend, the monk. He showed us ...

... promise that we will be back before we go home. These students talk about all sorts, their dreams, aspirations, girlfriends back home. Many want to travel to Singapore, Dubai and other places. They know they live in a poor country, yet their ambition is big and maybe, by chatting to these pupils, we can help them realise these ambitions. One student said I will never forget this day. Neither will I.

... in terms of current events (with her nose everywhere for anything that could possibly affect her business dealings). Back at Ocean Pearl the morning of our return, our concerns were confirmed, when we heard of the continued presence of protesters camped out at the airport. A group of tourists had left that very morning for the airport, and would be back at the guesthouse had their flights really been canceled. And sure enough, an hour later, they were back. We were and still ...

... but also as a face paint, a sort of home-made foundation that enhances the appearance of one's whiteness. We didn't ever (maybe couldn't ever) understand exactly why the Burmese perceived to be so beautiful about it, but we grew used to it so that even people wearing a splotchy yellow mask of make-up seemed normal to us. One more physical difference that is obvious upon arriving in Myanmar is the fact that many people--usually men--have reddish-colored teeth ...