Prices on rice and water are slowly returning to more normal. And the news on the international websites is good. Sandra doesn't trust the local news very much since it still shows the VIPS handing out food (a small pack each time) and still shows the new tents with a family in front of it.. Yeah, right...
We were very close to the meeting that the international community had this sunday. But Sandra didn't want to spend $4 for a cup of coffee at the Sedona so i never got a chance to see Ban Kee-Moon. I thought that would be so cool to mention in a casual conversation in the future. But she really couldn't be talked into having that coffee...
For the rest.. Well, i'm writing this, hoping it'll come over well since 3/4-ths of the page is missing and i can't actually open my own blog... So if you see something strange, too bad.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
In Yangon
Actually, i must admit that on the surface things don't look too bad in Yangon. KK's family is fine, most of them went back to Bagan since things here were way too expensive. Our apartment is ok too. Although KK's brother who was house-sitting, told us that they (a cousin decided to keep him company) had to clean a lot since the bedroom floor got flooded somehow. The next building got most of its roof blown of. And we suddenly have an amazing view of the lake. We can even see the restaurant really well of which we saw only the lights before. We have electricity most of the time (if a 2 day-stay can be regarded as a decent time period for reviewing) and water. In the Yankin Shopping center it was crowded as usual. But then it is obvious that the people who suffer the after effects of the cyclone aren't the people who shop there. Those people have plenty of money to keep them going. And the shelves are stocked normally.
But then you look closer. Water is at least twice as expensive as it was before. And rice is much more pricey as well. Both essentials for people here. And everywhere people are cleaning up. But i've only seen the military sitting on the ground, waiting for something or someone. When we arrived, Sandra & KK saw 3 cargo planes on the tarmac. Behind one of those planes there were a lot of m-men sitting. On the other side there were empty trucks with their doors open. And a fair few people waiting around. That was all that was going on. Of course our plane was not even half full. But there were even a few westerners,other than Sandra & Xenne, on it. The taxi driver told us that on the markets one can buy goods that have been donated by the international community. I am not sure whether he has seen it for himself or whether he heard about it. But it says enough....
Ok, time to send this on. The lines are incredibly slow...
But then you look closer. Water is at least twice as expensive as it was before. And rice is much more pricey as well. Both essentials for people here. And everywhere people are cleaning up. But i've only seen the military sitting on the ground, waiting for something or someone. When we arrived, Sandra & KK saw 3 cargo planes on the tarmac. Behind one of those planes there were a lot of m-men sitting. On the other side there were empty trucks with their doors open. And a fair few people waiting around. That was all that was going on. Of course our plane was not even half full. But there were even a few westerners,other than Sandra & Xenne, on it. The taxi driver told us that on the markets one can buy goods that have been donated by the international community. I am not sure whether he has seen it for himself or whether he heard about it. But it says enough....
Ok, time to send this on. The lines are incredibly slow...
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Off to Yangon
Tomorrow we'll all be heading to Yangon. See if KK's family is ok. see about his business and if our apartment survived unscathed or whether there is major cleaning to be done... That is, if we can locate KK's brother since he has Sandra's keys to the apartment. KK lost his the day before we left for Thailand. so it could also be that the whole apartement is empty....... Oh well, we'll see.
Sandra isn't too thrilled to go. But she keeps in mind that there is always the possibility of a (hasty?) retreat back to Thailand. Provided that Kyaw Kyaw gets a visa (read: if the consulair section of the Thai embassy is open or not). Sandra went shopping today and bought a lot of baby food and candles. Hopefully it'll be enough.....
Sandra's parents just left. We' all said goodbye. Well, they kind of forgot about me really. I was in Sandra's bag as usual but no one paid much attention to me.
If i have a change i'll try to put up some pictures later. But now Sandra tells me we need to pack.
Sandra isn't too thrilled to go. But she keeps in mind that there is always the possibility of a (hasty?) retreat back to Thailand. Provided that Kyaw Kyaw gets a visa (read: if the consulair section of the Thai embassy is open or not). Sandra went shopping today and bought a lot of baby food and candles. Hopefully it'll be enough.....
Sandra's parents just left. We' all said goodbye. Well, they kind of forgot about me really. I was in Sandra's bag as usual but no one paid much attention to me.
If i have a change i'll try to put up some pictures later. But now Sandra tells me we need to pack.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Update on the cyclone
The news is getting worse and worse each day. We all follow the big news channels (CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera) and we all get extremely fustrated about the lack of cooperation of the military government.
We have no news yet of KK's family but we remain very hopeful and statisticaly speaking they should be fine. Besides, that area is not too near the river.
Sandra just chatted to a former collegue and she said that there is still no water and electricity in Yangon. A week after the cyclone hit. The internet obviously works but only because most internet cafes have generators. She also said that many foreigners (the teachers at Sandra's forer school for example) are all leaving because they can't deal with the situation.
Sandra isn't sure wether she shoudl hope that the government won't give her a vias any time soon (so we have a good reason to remain in Thailand for a while) or that they wil give her the visa so we can see how KK's family is and our freinds and what (if any) is the damage in and around our apartment.
For the rest, we're all doing fine. Chiang Mai is hot and humid. We don't do much except play with Xenne, have a massage, see old friends and things like that...
We have no news yet of KK's family but we remain very hopeful and statisticaly speaking they should be fine. Besides, that area is not too near the river.
Sandra just chatted to a former collegue and she said that there is still no water and electricity in Yangon. A week after the cyclone hit. The internet obviously works but only because most internet cafes have generators. She also said that many foreigners (the teachers at Sandra's forer school for example) are all leaving because they can't deal with the situation.
Sandra isn't sure wether she shoudl hope that the government won't give her a vias any time soon (so we have a good reason to remain in Thailand for a while) or that they wil give her the visa so we can see how KK's family is and our freinds and what (if any) is the damage in and around our apartment.
For the rest, we're all doing fine. Chiang Mai is hot and humid. We don't do much except play with Xenne, have a massage, see old friends and things like that...
Monday, May 05, 2008
Cyclone
We're safe and sound in Thailand. It seems that this holiday couldn't have been planned better. According to the news, the cyclone will arrive here too but is apparently diminished in strength so it'll more be like a normal storm.
Yangon looks a mess when we see the pictures on the news and we hope our home is ok. But there is no way to establish contact at the moment. Sandra sent a message the other day (about something completely unrelated) and she got a message back telling her that the delivery has been delayed.... Which is not so strange as Yangon has no power (and no water either if we understood everything correctly). And KK got the news from the Burmese in Khao San Rd already yesterday that the whoel of Burma was closed already for 3-4 days. No flights in and out of either Yangon or Mandalay. Sandra had booked a little early because she had planned to go to the Burmese embassy before her parents would arrive (a plan which failed since it was extremely busy at the embassy when they arrived there so we didn't wait. The visa is now being arranged via a travel agency). But in teh end it was a good thing we got here this early or we might not have gotten here at all.....
Yangon looks a mess when we see the pictures on the news and we hope our home is ok. But there is no way to establish contact at the moment. Sandra sent a message the other day (about something completely unrelated) and she got a message back telling her that the delivery has been delayed.... Which is not so strange as Yangon has no power (and no water either if we understood everything correctly). And KK got the news from the Burmese in Khao San Rd already yesterday that the whoel of Burma was closed already for 3-4 days. No flights in and out of either Yangon or Mandalay. Sandra had booked a little early because she had planned to go to the Burmese embassy before her parents would arrive (a plan which failed since it was extremely busy at the embassy when they arrived there so we didn't wait. The visa is now being arranged via a travel agency). But in teh end it was a good thing we got here this early or we might not have gotten here at all.....
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