Yangoon Trip 2010

Welcome back dear readers !
Attached are the trip narratives and pictures of my sojourn over to the land of smiles, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma at the invite of the Malacca Tourism Association.The trip itself was a rather short plan that was executed only within the last 3-4 week and our friends from Kenzar Travels and their counterpart in Asia Global,Myanmar took the pains to make sure this field trip/excursion was well planned & executed. (Praises to their respective agents are in order). Surprisingly the trip will be remembered for long time not just for the good times; superb service and food; but it also included many busy and well known individuals and their respective spouses from our local business and administrative community.

Myanmar is an exotic locale in Asia and  the city pleasantly was in mild cloudy weather when we landed in Myanmar Airlines International  airport.
With a population of 5.5 million, it is a powerful statement of a country

that  could have been.
Almost every thing that the expat sees upon landing is reminiscent of the splendor of it's past glory and yet the people are the most humble, surprisingly uplifting type of crowd you can meet any where in south asia. 

As a visitor,almost every thing you will be interested in is in US Dollar, but Yangoon is a good place to be in if

one was to compare it's standard of living against wages, and surprisingly has a large community of Chinese and Indian population which means that the food is almost local to us! 

 It also has a rather large offering of well known  4 star and 5 star hotels 

(Shangri-la, Park Royal, Strand, etc).

Life on the streets is as was expected with a large marginalization of Rich and Poor. Yet, the petty crime level is relatively unknown and the level of honesty and humbleness of it's people very high. These are proud yet hard working, good hearted people.

The country is known as the Land of Pagodas as these shrines are every where and these buildings have real gold leaf and diamonds, rubies and sapphires as ornaments !

Our guide made it a point to stress how life under the current administration is and he conveyed the frustrations of the man in the street well. The disparate life style amongst the different strata of society is evident in this beautiful,clean and yet charmingly old city. 

Religion is the prime revolvement of the myanmese people. Every facet of life is about observance & practice of their religion.

Smiling Innocence in golden splendor

The gathering of like minded individuals brought forth much improvements to the associated ideals we hold dear to our hearts and this amalgamation of individuals are holding the name and pride of Malacca State high in esteem as they introduce this beautiful state of Malacca to others in and around the asian community.

The Lord of his Domain, The Novice Monk & the Healer

Golden sanctity of faith in the dwindling light of the waning evening.

 Life in the streets of the local myanmese are no different than how malaysia or singapore may have been 50 years ago.

The  beauty and abundance of artistic talent  is over flowing here.

 Life for us while we were there was of the best the country may offer as everything from the morning wake up call to the evening after dinner conversation was top class and convivial.

 Many restaurant and dining areas were evidently full even though all of them charged in USD !

The transport available for our usage in the hotel.

The common man's transport

The delight of awakened promises of a new born day. Wonder if I have to come back here in 9 months or not ?

THE  BEAUTIFUL GEMS ARE NOT JUST THOSE IN THE SHOWCASES.

The buffet's spread was very good and exciting as even Thosai is available for us to partake. Lobsters and  Large prawns are staple offerings at these buffets and they often cost USD 20.00 per adult.

THE ETHNIC MINORITIES HAVE LEARNT TO ASSIMILATE AND WORK IN THE TOWNS AND THEIR TRADITIONAL COSTUMES ARE PROUDLY SHOWN OFF TO VISITORS. THE PEOPLE HERE PLAINLY FALL EITHER INTO INDIAN,CHINESE OR ETHNIC KAREN PHYSIOLOGY.

 Our meeting sessions were well represented by council members.

FOR THE INTREPID TRAVELER, THE LUXURY OF COMFORT AND PAMPERED  LIVING IS BUT A US  DOLLAR AWAY.

A PAGODA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAIN THOROUGHFARE IN THE CITY. MOST LOCALS WILL PAST THEIR TIME HERE AS THEIR FAVORITE PLACES TO CONGREGATE ARE THESE PLACES AS MOST OF THEIR HOMES AND LIVING QUARTERS ARE BARE AND WITHOUT BASIC FACILITIES.

And that, my dears, was how daddy spent last week end.

Makan, Mates & Money Matters

It is indeed gratifying that friends and supporters are still calling me out to  brunch,  lunch,  hi tea, dinner , supper and what not with them on occasions as it does help me to fill up the long and slow hours of the  normal day .
My supporter, Mr.Avatar, took time off today from his busy  legal practice to invite me out to lunch and to keep me informed on the current status of  SHMC's defamation suit against the perpetrators. ( of the Jan.15th incident against me).
It was nice of him to spend the afternoon with me as i do enjoy his company. We had a nice healthy Juice Drink in Jalan Bendahara  from a little vendor tucked away amongst the lanes leading between jalan Bendahara and Jalan Bunga Raya. Excellent drink. Mine was a compote of bitter gourd, celery and apples while my buddy had yellow watermelon and starfruit mix.After wards, we headed off to Kaveri's Restaurant in Cheety Thiru (Chitty Street) in the Old Town and proceeded to have ourselves a good old blast of the past with an array of vegetarian and mutton dishes the likes of which has not been seen since ! The owner of the restaurant ,Mr. Selvam is very well known as a cook of wonderful talent and is every year invited by the temples in  OxBridge,Brighton, & London Town to cook for the temple celebrations there! After a sumptuous meal in Kaveri's, off we went to Sykt. Abdul in Heeren Street to partake in another friends offer to buy us Teh Tarik over cheerful banter and mild ribbing.

Eventually, Avatar went on back to his office and Hj. Moidu and I were joined by the Director for Money Concepts Fund Management-Mr.Phillip Tay for some tea and cakes in Limbongan Street where we whiled a good part of the evening away. Moidu was reminiscing about his stay in Kerala and the different valuations people there and here put on life and business. It appears that now the difference between the Ringgit and the Rupee is 15 times and many indians were eager to come to Malaysia to start a business. He was surprised as many of those businesses were established and successful business over in India. Looks like very soon we'll see an influx of more Indian corporations and companies here in Malaysia as our FDI from the western world is dwindling according to recent parlimentary reports. This will be an excellent opportunity then to invite non western income generating economies to participate in our country's economic expansion. But surprisingly the same parlimentary report also reveals that we have as much as RM250 Billion of deposits in accounts within all the banks inside the country.This,to me is an indication of excess capacity over loans given out by these banks since the amount in loans given out as reported by the same parliment was way below the surplus.Either that,or the private and public sectors are agreeable in their lack of operating new business ventures that this country now lacks optimistic outlook for business opportunities. Mana satu ,yeh? 

My kedai kopi topics got to dumb down a little, do you think?

Gobin & I  sourcing the Hilir Kota Barrier Gate Supplier

Before I called it a day though, a client from one of the Pangsapuri's that i consult called and said he required my help in sourcing some quotations from reputable barrier gate vendor. Mr. Gobin called just as I was leaving the stall in Limbongan with Phillip and Moidu which made it convenient for me to meet up with him at Malim at a shop that i knew sold such products. It often surprises my client the amount of knowledge that is required to request, source and quote for seemingly ordinary equipment that they use and take for granted everyday. I often have a good snicker when they go about trying their best to impress others how easy such jobs are and are stumped when asked to do the job themselves.
In Gobin's case, him being a decent fellow and all, i told him to watch and copy the questions that I was asking this particular vendor and he can repeat the same questions later with the other vendors since he will need at least Three (3) quotes to submit to his council. Details from type of camera, focus length,resolution type, Infra Red Camera variances, to more subtle questions on the  elbow kits (arm & motor equipment);OEM warranties; Loop Detector wiring; variance in time between scanner reading the card and boom gate lowering; and whether the goose neck and Boom gate is oxidised  or plated for all weathers.
Learning fast, Gobin was able to also join in our little negotiation with the vendor to supply the activation cards(entry cards) at almost RM 3.50 per piece minus the printing . Gobin admitted that the cheapest he could source was RM 6.00 -RM 7.00 per piece and that they are currently buying the cards at RM 20.00 per piece  from a vendor in KL!
It took almost an hour before our simple requests were met by the vendor and a date was set to have their technicians over to the Pangsapuri to check and evaluate on their quote.

Pleasant Memories

                                              
An Email  sent to a former client turned good friend :
Hi John,

Thanks for the follow up. We've been busy since last sunday as my children made plans for us in celebration of michelle's and my almost coinciding birthdays. Terima kaseh ! Sorry for the late reply as have been busy arranging my trip to Yangoon on friday. Lovely to hear and meet you and Alice again,though ! 

The days & night seem to travel swiftly when we're having fun as it was only yesterday we were in the first part of this year and all it's troubles and threats but now all of a moment and a half later here we are in August in the autumn of the year, the chill winds of the rainy season almost trampling us as it blows it's self hard east ward though the warmth of your continued friendship and care delights and surprises us. 

It boggles the mind the amount of passage and time that transpires between one season and the next but as all the trees, branches & leaves dry so does the memories of yesterday.  Let us keep in touch more as your friendship John, Alice, is always valued in these part of the malaccan woods ! 

In the end, john, all we are is the memories.

Hello all,
Just a spot of good news. In a few days time, a retreat  for my association will be organised and in the prepared speech, i am proposin to my people in the Malacca T.A to include a new category in the bi -annual award ceremony Anugerah Pelancongan Melaka under Heritage Conservancy and one of the names I will proudly suggest is our class mate Dr. Dennis De Witt for his role in researching and uplifting the Dutch / Melaka historical lineage and it's conservancy through the Dutch Walk. Let us be proud of  this old boy's achievements and hard work, ya !

Cheers!

“Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holyshit…what a ride!"

 Gunabalan (012 6050446)

Balmic Management Services and Enterprise

Thiscommunication may be confidential and privileged and the views expressed hereinmay be personal and are not necessarily the views of Balmic Mgmt Svc & Ent.It is for the exclusive use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not theintended recipient(s), please note that any distribution, copying or use ofthis communication or the information in it is strictly prohibited. If you havereceived this communication in error, please notify us by email (gunabalan67@yahoo.com

August 1st 1969. My wife was born on that Day and that makes this her special day. Happy Birthday,dear !

The mother to my 3 kids; my companion in life and my constant guide, Michelle has been rather happy to just spend the day lazing around and taking time off to relax and rejuvenate. The year has not been very pleasant  on her side of the Family in terms of some personal family losses; what with her aunties passing on, an uncle fighting diabetes and amputation; and yet another close friend having the same worries, being in and out of hospitals due to diabetes and blood pressure. Yesterday, Vincent Low called and said he heard another of our friends was also admitted to the G.H. for gangrene and most probably might have his big toe amputated.Knowing all these and hearing from Kong Hoe(Pantai  Hosp.CEO) that Melaka is now in red alert  due to extremely high cases of Denggi and Malaria just makes the idea of celebrating anything rather depressing.Luckily the home and house provides her with the stability that is required  to face such depressing news. In light of that the kids and I celebrated her day with a rather subdued dinner celebration though for Lunch, mom did cook for her a rather nice meal of her favorite chili dish with prawns and a steamed siakap. The weather today was slightly hot and that became a good excuse to just peter potter around the house in air condition comfort rather that go traipsing around town in the heat and now almost constant traffic jams,especially during the week ends.The house pet, coffee is trailing blood droplets every where though,probably because it's time for her 3 months once period. Shoryn is in charge of cleaning up the mess and she tried fitting the dog with a towel as diapers but gave up after a few rounds of chasing after coffee and trying to get the dog to use the diapered towel !

Wifey selected to have Dinner at The WOK & PAN in Melaka Raya, a usual haunt of hers.

As a special meal for her, i selected Grilled Pork Ribs; minced meat and tauhu in vinigrated vegetables; Curried pork and Omelette's with cincaluk with Baby Kailan for her to enjoy. We had the dinner in the patio of the restaurant as the mild and still slightly warm breeze from the nearby sea blew ever so seemingly all around us.

After dinner, we decided to walk over to the Hash House Hotel for some drinks and friendly banter but found it closed as the staff notified us that the bar is closed for the day due to a water cut around the melaka raya area ! Too Bad . As we walked back to the car, we stopped by the Nadeje Cake House and Bar for the kids to see what was on offer there.

With nothing much happening, we called it a day,soon enough and returned home where every one immediately perked up and looked forward to doing their own stuff - mostly PS 3; computers and TV !

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Here's a message from a former client of mine:

Sent: Sun, 1 August, 2010 21:28:37
Subject: Trip to Krabi

Hi All,

I spoke to my friend Mark Loh about the trip to Krabi and given him the intended date 26^th to 28^thNovember.

He himself is going there this Friday with a group of 7, which he initially asked me to join, so he may not be going with us in November again, but he will inform his friend who also owe the hotel to give us discount. It seems that this place has beautiful sea front bungalow. According to him Nov is considered high peak as European are running away from their winter. He advise us to book early as quoted example of the Tiger Airlines budget fare which he paid in his previous trip costing him S$100+ return, this time because of the National Day holidays, he is paying S$400+. If we want to save cost on the air fare, it is better to confirm earlier. Also if we feel that the quoted price for the bungalow is too high, we could select other cheaper alternative.

I will be talking to him after his return to update you all. Hopefully by then we have a fixed number of people for me to work on.

Regards

John

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