All too often people ask me, “What
does your life look like in Yangon?” What do you do, besides working and sleeping? Is Yangon any fun? To answer that
question, and to make sure I will still be able to recall these blissful
memories when I am 80 years old and reminiscing my younger years spent abroad,
I briefly capture the past week below. It’s extremely random, but no less fun.
Saturday
As I hadn’t quite recovered from
the intercontinental flight (and ensuing sleep deprivation) the weekend before,
I slept in till most of the morning had passed by on the other side of my
bedroom curtains. To make up for this extremely lazy start of my weekend, I
decided to put my newest gadget (a go pro) to use, and spent the afternoon
cycling through Yangon’s back alleys, capturing moving images of everyday life.
In the evening I joined Marleen, Bart, Bente, Henno and a bunch of other
friends to a LGBT party, but not before we tried some impressive-looking but
odd-tasting cocktails at the Alchemist Rooftop bar next door. The hours spent
in bed when the sun was up were well recovered at night, and it was after
3am when my head finally hit the pillow.
Sunday
Any alarm, even when it’s Caribbean
Blue from Enya, is unwelcome after a night’s drinking. Nonetheless I forced
myself to get up at 10am in order not to be late for Yoga at Bente’s. Joining
semi-pros Bente and Christien wasn’t easy without a teacher to correct my every
move, yet it nonetheless felt great stretching and bending the hangover out of
my body. After yoga Henno joined us for a gorgeous lunch at the Rough Cut,
which starts to resemble the Central Perk coffee bar from friends going by how
much we are hanging out there. I spent the rest of the afternoon taking a well
needed nap, whereas at night we listening to an album of Nina Simone at the
Rough Cut– entirely in the dark. A cool experience and a good way to conclude a
lovely weekend.
Monday
I don’t mind Mondays, but I must
admit they’re not my favourite either. The routine is similar every day;
cereals with an overly sweet liquid substance that is locally sold as “yoghurt”,
shower, getting dressed and taking a cab to the office. The challenge is not so
much agreeing on a price (taxi drivers are honest here and often the first
offer is the appropriate MMK 3,000) but rather securing a vehicle with a backseat that
doesn’t leave my white shirt full of stains or smears. Taking the taxi to work
every day really sounds more glorious than it is. After work I walked to the
boxing school; an enjoyable 45min stroll through Yankin’s vibrant markets,
colourful neighbourhoods and quiet back alleys. Bart and Robbert, whom I both introduced
to Leithwei boxing that day, withstood their first training very well and we
rewarded ourselves afterwards with some great BBQ food and a cold beer at
WinStar – my ‘local’ in SanChaung.
Tuesday
Those who think that my mind can
be put to rest after a demanding day in the office are sorely mistaken, at
least some days, as last Tuesday featured my regular Burmese class with Bente,
Rayke and Marlin Le. We rotate houses between the three of us, and ‘dinner shifts’
between the four of us, with Rayke having the honour this time to put something
tasty on the menu. She was helped out by her friend Marleen visiting, who made
us some gorgeous (but very filling!) roti. Dinner was barely over when the
always energetic Htoo Htoo burst into the room, and the next two hours I
struggled trying to keep up with my way more talented friends. Despite the
occasional puzzled look on my face class is always fun and rewarding, and I
look forward picking it up again after the coming two month break. We concluded
the evening with a small glass of Zambuka, and I must say there are worse ways
to wrap up a Tuesday.
Wednesday
For lunch I caught up with Ludo
and Madison at the food court in Myanmar Plaza, whereas the evening featured a
Dublin-era reunion of former housemates. Paula and her friend happened to be in
Yangon for the night so I took them out to my favourite restaurant (Gecko- no
coincidence given that it was Whiskey Wednesday) and a few drinks at the lovely
balcony of the Envoy after that. The week was halfway over and time is going
way too fast, which is an undesirable side-effect of taking such delight in day-to-day
life. That might well have been my last thought before falling to sleep that
night, as talking to Paula about my life in Yangon made me even more conscious
of how much I am enjoying my time here.
Thursday
Class was cancelled last minute
Thursday night, so Marleen, Bente and I decided to have dinner together and go
to the Rough Cut (where else) to check out the live music that had been
announced to take place that night. There was a decent crowd, among which the
familiar faces of Bart, Christien, Eline and April, which made for a somewhat
sweaty but nonetheless very enjoyable atmosphere in the tiny space that is
becoming an increasingly popular bar. Not for the first time this year, this
time after talking to Bart about his latest novel, I told myself that I should
be writing more, and with that renewed resolution I cycled home to a great
night’s sleep.
Friday
That is today. It’s been a busy
week at the office, with plenty of exciting and also frustrating things going
on, yet I am not dissatisfied with the progress made since coming back from the
Netherlands. In some ways this Friday isn’t exactly the standard Friday. Rather
than the more casual end-of-the-week garb I’ve been walking around in a suit
and tie, due to the various meetings scheduled, and at night I’m alone at home
putting my freshest resolutions to practice. Then again, I’ll need an early
night’s sleep, as tomorrow I’ll be getting up at seven for a 70km bike ride to
Bago. The rest of the weekend will be very chilled out though, as I’ll be spending
the remaining time cuddled up on a soft sofa at Hanthar Gardens, the latest
Economist on my lap and a cup of tea within reach. Christien and Eline were
kind enough to invite me for this weekend of chilling out at one of my favourite
getaways from Yangon, and I look forward to some decent quality time out of the
city.
