Update on the visa issue

Well, things aren't progressing much. Kyaw Kyaw was told by the German embassy that he needs to go to the Dutch embassy in Bangkok. They already said so when he first came to the embassy just after Christmas but it took them until last week to officially say so (before it was the guy at the counter who said it). So 3 more weeks without any result.... And the dutch embassy keeps tellign Sandra (who emailed them ages ago and even called them last week) that the German embassy CAN give out the visa. But that it is a courtesey. The German embassy says that they used to do it but no longer... So Kyaw Kyaw will go to Bangkok as soon as he's finalised the business he's doing for his brother's boss.. He has at least a letter from the German consul in which the consul describes the situation and explains Kyaw Kyaw's work and everything else they need to check (so basically telling the Dutch that they've checked it). Sandra isn't very optimistic about KK getting the visa but one never knows.... We'll know more in a week or 2...

Leaving the hospital

A busy day the day we left the hospital
Xenne all wrapped up because it was really cold outside.
And Sandra was ready to go to...

Some more people to see Xenne.




And finally drifting of to sleep

The first visitors

Me, of course. But only after i'd been for a big wash. Sandra said i had gathered too much travel grime in the last year or so. Truth is, i couldn't remember when i last had had a decent bath...

Xenne's grandpa's youngest brother.
Sandra's godmother. Of course again with Xenne.
More aunts with Xenne
More brothers of grandpa

Thijs, Sandra's stepbrother with, no surprise, Xenne.....
Aranka, who compared Xenne immediately with Isa, her own daughter. She was surprised at how little he was. Isa was 7 weeks at this point and according to Aranka, there is a definite difference in weight in such a short time.
Sandra's godson, Rick, with Xenne.

Introducing: Xenne

The same day i wrote the last update here, Sandra ended up in hospital. Something about her blood wasn't right anymore all of a sudden. And they were a bit in a hurry. I just managed to hop in her pack and get myself a lift to hospital. She'd almot forgotten about me.
The next day she was allowed to try and get Xenne out herself but when that took way to long (she had no activity whatsoever yet), it was decided a casaerian was in order. So that's how Xenne came into this world. And what a beautiful present he is.
We all stayed in hopital till last sunday.

Isn'the cute?

Time of birth. Thanks to a girl who was allowed into the operation room as part of her practise and who was willing to make some pictures.... Skunks weren't allowed in at all. I even had to have a bath in the washing machine before i was allowed out of my bag.... But that humiliation was worth it.
Getting dressed
First clothes
And a nice little bed to recover from the journey.

More posts and definitely more pictures soon

The first week of 2008

Well, it's been a very quiet week. No traveling for me, travel-addict pure sang, and i see Sandra's eyes mist over everytime she sees a map... But she's now very very pregnant and even though she wants to do a lot, it just isn't possible anymore. Which she finds annoying sometimes... I think she just wants to much but what do i know about pregnancy. Luckily everything is alright again. Sandra was send to the gynaecologist for a check-up by the mid-wife. Logical since they don't really have any history of her here. Her blood pressure was a bit high but according to here she always has that when she sees a blood pressure-meter. Anyways, a scan was made too but the gyn. wanted to have the blood presure mesured again. So she had another appointment with the gyn. Then it turned out that dear baby had changed position. Head down, which is alright but unfortunately feet down too... So, Sandra was warned not to go anywhere far and if something would happen to lie down immediately and call an ambulance. Bummer, she thought. Me too since i still had some plans to go and explore some more of Brielle. Ok, a mid wife appointment was 2 days later and another 2 days after that a new scan to see if the baby had changed again. And luckily the position was ok this time. Pfieuw.... Sandra's blood pressure rose instantly when she thought of a possible caesarian. With so many meetings she felt she almost needed to buy a diary just to keep track of her medical appointments... She claims that she's been to more of those since she's been back in the Netherlands then in all the time before.

We did have some distraction. Ewold and Karin came on saturday and took us out for lunch. Really nice. And Katinka made the long long journey on sunday by public transport to come and see us. And to deliver some really yummy home-made appel sauce. I had to battle with Sandra for that one. She liked the appel sauce as much as i did.

Have a wonderful 2008!

Sandra, Kyaw Kyaw and I wish you all a wonderful, healthy and spectacular 2008 with a lot of fun, adventure and good friends. Enjoy new year's eve and keep in touch!

The last posts of 2007

Just a few pictures of the really really nice weather that Sandra & I got into when we came back to the Netherlands. Of course, now it is grey and rainy but that first week it started with a beautiful frosty day with sunshine and that exquisite crisp air that is so nice to breathe. Sandra was in paradise. She'd be dreaming of that kind of weather for months. And it even snowed for a day. Kids were ice skating on the small ponds and little water ways that are everywhere here in Brielle. A really really old dutch picture. And eventually, at the end of the week it even snowed. Not a lot but enough to give it that nice extra for a day or 2. Of course, Sandra immediately caught a cold. Not a too bad one, considering the difference in temperature was about 25 Celsius!
Brielle harbour

Me on a good hang-out

And looking up close at the frost that covers the twigs

shame on me...

for promising (again) to post more often and still not doing it.

But we've been busy, Sandra and I. After all, there's still a bit to be arranged. So, first, on saturday we met up with Katinka in Den Haag. Well, i didn't really leave the bag but i took a peek out so i know it was indeed Katinka we met. The 'girls' had a really nice lunch in a cafe and of course talked for hours...

After that, Sandra & I took the new Randstad Rail to Zoetermeer and walked to Ewold & Soerish's house where they celebrated their birthdays (It was Ewold's birthday but Soerish's birthday is only 3 days later). It was a lot of fun. Meeting up with so many old friends. Again, i didn't really came out of my bag. I realized it was more important for Sandra to catch up with here friends. After all, i did meet them just before leaving. They are more her friends then mine. And after a year there was a lot of catching up to do.

Of course everybody was angry with Sandra for taking public transport and then walking to the house (which was about 20 minutes) and everybody was slightly worried since of course she was rather late. She feels good and keeps telling everybody that she's 'only' pregnant and is perfectly capable of walking around a bit. But when she came back on sunday she realized that she'd done a bit much. So even though she's rather stubborn, she needs to slow down a bit and not try to do everything like she did before.

Talking about the pregnancy.. We've met up with the mid wife today. She seems really nice. And if everything goes on like it does now, Sandra can have the baby at home instead of in a hospital (something she prefers since hospitals aren't really her thing...). We got a stack of reading material and Sandra was amazed about how much info and stuff there is about pregnancy. After all, she hasn't been exposed to much of that while being in Burma.....

Greetings from cold and sunny the Netherlands

It is very nice and cold in The Netherlands. Just the type of weather that Sandra has been dreaming about during the rainy season. Though she's still a bit put off by the darkness. It is still dark at 8 am in the morning and it gets dark real soon too.... I find that strange too i have to admit. I 've gotten used to the sun rising at around 5.30-6-ish and a sunset at around 6 pm.

Sandra managed today to get her insurance arranged. She went back to the company she had before. And the woman she had on the phone was really nice. I don't know what Sandra said or did that made this woman so helpful but she went out of her way to get Sandra insured from the day we arrived here instead of on the first of January like it would normally be. So Sandra is really happy with that. She wasn't particularly looking forward to another 2 uninsured weeks. For pregnancy that is. After all, she does have an insurance for 'normal' things which she's had ever since she's start traveling.

Alright, tomorrow or so i'll write more

In the Netherlands

We've arrived. Safe and sound. And amazingly not even that tired. Well, Sandra kind of 'logged out' yesterday evening just before dinner for about 15 minutes and decided to go to bed at 21.00. She tells me she can't remember even a single thought after she'd put her head on the pillow. This morning she woke up at 3.00 to go to the toilet and since , like in Burma, she's always awake for quite a while at this time, she'd started to read her book. After all, we do have electricity here. But that kept me awake for a bit. And of course her aunt woke up about an hour later, saw the light and wanted to make sure Sandra was alright so they chatted the rest of the night away... Up till 6 when her aunt had to get ready to go to work. So we got up too. And at the moment the both of us feel quite ok. At 2 in the afternoon. But i'm sure we'll crash again early tonight.

The flight was ok. The seat was not extremely comfortable but not that bad either. Loads of leg space which was nice. And the stewardesses were very helpful. We even got our dinner and breakfast first (it being a veggie meal each time). We even slept a little too. At 1 point Sandra thought we were almost there but after asking about time, it turned out there were another 6 hours to go. And she was bored.... She's read 2,5 books between leaving Burma and landing in the Netherlands......

It is strange to be back here. Very nice but strange. Cold, sunny (at the moment) and electricity all the time. No potholes anywhere in the street, things like that. And when Sandra was thirsty last night, she could just drink water from the tap.

Now we'll have to see about all our plans. So many people to see, places to go to and things to arrange. Sandra keeps saying her brain is a bit too tired for that still but well, i think she's got to get going. At least planning a bit. But we've started on the essentials.

From BKK airport

Sandra and I have arrived at Bangkok airport. This morning we all shed bitter tears. Kyaw Kyaw was good enough to do that at home (this morning and yesterday evening). Sandra & I of course cried our hearts out at the airport. So we had a fair few people staring at us since it is a very unburmese thing to do.

For the rest we're a bit bored. We've done our boarding. Sort of. We have to 'reconfirm' later on. The China Airlines desk was closed so Sandra went over to the check-in desk. She wanted to make sure that she would have a good seat and that she'd have a vegetarian meal. They wanted to see her doctor's certificate. Well, that was a handwritten statement done by a doctor at the hospital she'd been to 2 weeks ago. They had made an appointment with the same doctor she had 2 weeks ago but that doctor couldn't make it. So she dictated what to write to the other doctor. No check-up or anything. But it was good enough to get her out of Burma. Though not good enough for here. So Sandra has another experience to add to her 'been there, done that' list.. Being prodded by an airport doctor. And luckily everything was alright. So she's done the check-in. Got a boarding pass that she has to exchange for another later tonight but at least she doesn't have to drag around a heavy suitcase or stand in line for hours. We've gone through customs again and apparently can do the final check-in here at the transit desk. Much less nuisance we hope. After all, we'll be tired enough as it is. We did arrive this morning at 11.45 and we'll fly out tonight at 02.30..... Of course the arranging of the doctor's certificate was a bit of excitement but now we're just sitting out the waiting time... So later on we'll be treating ourselves to a foot massage...

Ok, we're off. Internet is terribly expensive here. Much better to use that money for something else (like a huge bar of chocolate for example..).

Flight tickets

Sandra has our tickets so the 2 of us will be leaving this saturday. She tries not to think of leaving to much even though i can tell she's looking forward to seeing all her friends and family again. Apparently there are no more seats available on the evening flight so we're on standby for that one and are for the moment booked on the morning flight (at around 10) to Bangkok. There we'll have to wait till 02.30 sunday morning to catch the China Airlines non-stop, 12 hour flight to Amsterdam where we'll land on sunday morning 9.00. Aren't time-differences much fun.....

Today we were too late for the german embassy (they're only open from 9 to 11 and not 12 as most consular sections are). So we have to go back again tomorrow. The doctor wasn't in today either so we also have to go by the hospital so she can get her health certificate (Thai airways doesn't want to issue a ticket if she doesn't show the certificate even though the travel agency has already accepted the money ;-) ) . She's assuming it'll all be ok though. And we still haven't found a decent suitcase... Oh well....

After the weekend

KK and Sandra are feeling a bit better. Or maybe i should say that they've started to accept the situation. Sandra's flying back to the Netherlands this weekend or shortly after. I'll go with here. KK will move to the Teashop since the apaprtment has only been rented till the 20th of december and besides, he doesn't want to stay there alone.

We all went to the Thai embassy today and to our great surprise there was absolutely no problem with the visa application. At least, that was the impression we got. KK didn't need to show the flight tickets. And they sai dthat they didn't even need a copy of Sandra's passport and the bill of the hospital this time. All because Kyaw Kyaw didn't stay a long time in october. But if this time he will stay long (in case Sandra can have the baby there and so on and so forth) we'll need to have the documentation so we can explain why. Then there shouldn't be too much of a problem. Good news which was nice to have after the fiasco of last week.

Sandra thinks it is a very strange idea to be back in the Netherlands soon. Somehow she stil can't imagine it even though she's managed to find sweaters and a jacket that'll fit right on the corner near where they live. She found it a rather funny experience trying on the sweaters and jacket with an easy 28-30 degrees celcius and thinking about how cold it could get in Europe. After a year of no less than 30 C again it will be a bit different. Although i personally think that the temperature has dropped to about 26 or so at night. We sleep with the windows open and Kyaw Kyaw has 2 (thin) blanckets and even Sandra uses the one she got from Gulf Air last year since she thinks it is a bit cool... Me, i just curl up.

an update on the refusal

We've just been to the french embassy. And the consul just refuses to give us a reason. Kyaw Kyaw met several people yesterday though who had gotten their visas. Just to go for a 2-3 week holiday. True enough, they probably have loads more money than we have. For Sandra, the fact that the consul doesn't want to explain anything, means that he doesn't have a very good reason. Kyaw Kyaw's friend who asked around at the embassy yesterday (since he knows everybody who works there) said that it might have been because Sandra is dutch and not french. Well, Sandra wishes that if that really was the reason, that the consul would have told them so in october. It would have saved them much trouble and much expenses.... Anyways, we didn't get much further there. The woman from the consulate told Sandra & Kyaw Kyaw that as soon as the baby was born and they would have the birth certificate we could ask for another visa (though again, no guarantee that KK would get it though...).

We've also been to the Thai embassy. Apart from trying to get KK a visa for Thailand we also wanted to know what he needs from here to be able to marry in Thailand. And to our amazement he has most of the papers already. He needs 1 more and the official stamps from the Ministry of Foreign affairs and than the stamps from the Thai embassy. So maybe we can still arrange that before Sandra can fly no more. The only worry she has now is about insurance.

We've also found a silver lining to Thailand. Actually several. KK can finish his massage training, Sandra loves the facials and footmassages (all other kinds of massages are postponed till after the delivery) and me, i love the massages too. Skunks and facials don't do well together....

REFUSED!!!!!!

Kyaw Kyaw's visa got refused. And we have no idea why. So everybody is extremely depressed since we were really all counting on going to Europe to deliver the baby. Sandra is so down she doesn't even want to stay long in the internet cafe so probably tomorrow i will tell you more about it. Especially since KK will know more to. He's gone to the embassy to see what and why.

Wow, i'm an uncle!!

Wel, sort of. Actually Sandra is an aunt since yesterday morning. Her stepsister got a baby girl by the name of ISA LIANA JOY. So now we're awaiting the pictures ;-) I'm sure she'll be gorgeous though.

Still trying to upload pictures

And again no use. But i did find a way to chance my settings so finally i can read again what all the info says. Things like 'posting', 'create', 'settings' etc. So i've been able to even update my profile a bit (though as i said i still can't upload any pictures for some reason or another..).

We're in the internet cafe quite a lot. The power has been cut again this morning at around 5 am. And it'll probably be of till 4 or 5 this evening (like most days it seems). This promises much for the summer season when everybody who has one would like to use their aircon. Now it is winter season and temperatures are almost to an acceptable point (30 celsius the other day with a bit of a cool breeze). It is funny to see people here actually starting to dress warmer (long sleeves and sometimes even wearing a light jacket). Sandra still thinks that she could do with a drastic drop of another 5 degrees for sure.

For the rest, not much news. Kyaw Kyaw''s brother can leave the hospital soon it seems. He's been moved to another ward (downstairs) where there are at least 20 people. No privacy at all. Hopefully in a day or two he can go to the teashop and recover further there.

For the rest not much news. Maybe tomorrow since we all hope that we'll get a positive answer then on Kyaw Kyaw's visa application. Sandra can get busy after by confirming the tickets and starting to pack. And of course we'll have to look for winter clothes. Luckily they sell the jackets and sweaters on the corner for very decent prices (compared to European prices).

I forgot to mention that Sandra's been busy trying to find apropriate baby names. She thinks it is a lot of fun but not easy. Especially since they need 7 names (in burmese tradition the baby's name starts with the sound or one of the sounds that belong to the day the baby was born). Kyaw Kyaw will ask around for names too. First the plan was to go to a fortune-teller (the traditional way) but since they ask a lot of money, and we need the name beforehand (instead of the burmese way where a name can be given anywhere in the first year), this isn't really an option. So, the hunt is on. Sandra's surprised at the number of almost ridiculus names that you can find on the internet. Sometimes we really wonder how people could give kids some of the names we've seen..... Hopefully we'll do better..

Right, much to tell

Finally i can access my blog again. And this time i do have much to tell. First of all, all Kyaw Kyaw's stuff has been submitted at the embassy. Hopefully this week we'll get a 'yes'. Since we have handed in every possible paper i assume that it'll be ok. Kyaw Kyaw is quite positive since apparently 2 seperate fortune-tellers have told his sister that he is going to make a trip to a country very very far away (and without his sister telling them that KK's girlfriend was western). Sandra thinks it should be ok. For one, since they have handed in everything possible (including the much awaited licence which finally came through last week!). Secondly, because she thinks that since the apartment is kind of falling apart, it is high time to move. The washing machine works, sort of. It refuses to budge on normal washing-cycles so she has to do everything step-by-step. Which drives her nuts. The aircon in the bedroom isn't working the way it should either and the lock of the door is behaving strange of late. Not to mention that th elights in both bathrooms have stopped working. The power keeps being cut as well. Often at around 5 in the morning and then lasting most of the day. And this after a heavy rainy season so the reservoirs should still be full enough for a more normal electricity supply. The fact that it already starts now doesn't bode well for the summer (march-may). They had also just bought some really yummy icecream (Sandra got a tip from a fellow teacher a while ago). But now, with the freezer being cut of daily, she has to eat a lot of icecream. Of course i sacrifice myself and help as much as i can but my skunk stomach isn't that big. Sandra likes the strawberry flavour most. KK and i do the chocolate one. Though KK isn't much help. When he comes back in the evenings he doesn't want to eat icecream anymore. But we can't leave it for too long since it is being refrozen every day...

What else, KK's younger brother is already in hospital for about 2 weeks. He's got malaria. The kind that is life-threatening. He worked as a manager on a rubber-plantation in the jungle. And he was visiting Yangon when he started to feel bad. He's got his kidneys flushed (or something like that) now since this kind of malaria can affect the kidneys. And now they're going to test his liver. But he seems much better Kyaw Kyaw tells us. Sandra and I are not allowed into this hospital. Not even as visitors. That is at least what we've been told. And Sandra, being 7 months pregnant, doesn't really feel the need to put it to the test. Besides, the conditions in the hospital aren't that good either we figure from the info we get. Kyaw Kyaw's family basically takes care of his brother. A friend's mother has been supplying soup for the first week and a half (now the brother can eat more normal food). There are no chairs or stools anywhere in the wards so that visitors and care-takers sit and sleep on the floor but they aren't even allowed to roll out a mat there. Finally, after about 2 weeks, his boss has shown up (he was away or so) and he's now taking care of a bit of the expenses of the hospital. Everybody's pitching in since insurance doesn't really exist around here. And Kyaw Kyaw's parents can't afford the bills. His brother doesn't have much money either even though he got paid fairly well for Burmese standards (up to $100 a month which is way above average) but he sent most of that money home to provide for his mother and older sister. So half the family divide their time between the theashop and the hospital. Kyaw Kyaw's older (not oldest) sister has come over from Mandalay to help with the care-taking but i think everybody is hoping that he can leave the hospital soon and recover in the teashop. He wants to leave as well but he can't until he's been thoroughly checked of course.

For the rest, Sandra's still fairly bored. It is still quite hot but it seems a little bit cooler of late. She's still doing a bit of studying though with burmese she's as far as she was 3 weeks ago. Somehow that doesn't seem to go anywhere. She went to the school last week just to have a nice chat. It took her most of the day since people kept detaining her when she wanted to go home. She also got an invitation for the picknick that was held the day after with the 3rd graders. She went of course, and it was loads of fun. I 'll look if i can upload some of the pictures of that later. Let's see if i can get this online first.

Update on the licence......

As Sandra already suspected... the licence isn't ready today. Kya'w Kyaw hadn't expected it either i think. And I, well from experience i thought it most unlikely. The story this time: that there is only 1 computer in the 3rd (and last hopefully) administrative office and that it therefore takes a while before all licences are entered into the computer.... Yeah, well......

For the rest it is still bloody hot here in Yangon. Sandra keeps sweating left, right and centre and is dreaming of cool weather. She just plundered the bookstore in downtown Yangon. Not that there was an incredible choice but they have a few decent academic books and she got her hands on a few of those. So at least she's got something to do for the next week or so. And she's gotten herself a new book (with cd) to learn burmese. She's been trying to get the hang of that language for about a year now with very little success (but i must secretly confess that she hasn't been trying to improve very hard either). The book and cd's she has are not very good she keeps saying. And i think i agree. Sentences like 'the eyeglasses are on the bed' and words like 'pencil' are not really the kind of thing she needs most at the moment. So this book has more practical words and sentences. So hopefully this time she'll do better. She has the time now but I agree with her that it would be easier to concentrate when it is less hot (and sweaty).

Talking about hot and sweaty... we're of to the next door cafe for 'liters' of yummy fruit juices. Sandra is thirsty and i have to admit i could do with a nice, cold drink myself.....

3 months on and stil no licence!

Kyaw Kyaw needs a licence for his teashop and when he bought the teashop he bought it with a licence included. It was said that he only needed to chance the name to his name (normal, standard procedure here in Burma). So it seemed all very easy and straightforward. Until he actually wanted to chance it. Suddenly it wasn't possible and he could only get a new licence. The strange part is that the office that refused to chance the name because the licence wasn't correctly made up, was the office that made the licence in the first place! Anyways, so Kyaw Kyaw and Sandra decided that it was better to go for a new licence then to try and have the old one changed (which would probably be a loosing battle). It would take 2 weeks and did costs 20.000 ks (about $15). 2 weeks later, no licence. All kinds of reasons why not and suddenly the cost was 30.000. So Kyaw Kyaw paid up. The week after, again no licence. By now it was easily a month since he had started to have his licence-stuff arranged. The price went up to 45.000 ks. Sandra got a bit fustrated especially since they kept saying that the week after it would be arranged. But Kyaw Kyaw went again the week after and the week after that (several times) but still no licence. Then of course the trouble started here in Yangon and that delayed everything. We were of for a little while to Thailand (Kyaw Kyaw 2 weeks,Sandra in total about 4 thanks to visa-related issues) and during this time Kyaw Kyaw's dad kept visiting the administrative office. Then the new 'excuse' was that they needed photo's of the teashop. So Kyaw Kyaw made pictures of the teashop. Then they said these pictures wouldn't do they needed other ones. So Kyaw Kyaw made new ones. We're talking late october/early november by now. Sandra has on occasion climbed the roof out of fustration. They've even tried to offer 'tea money' to speed up the process but that wasn't accepted (strangely enough because bribes is what this administration runs on). Anyway, Kyaw Kyaw want to Bagan last week to sort out some papers he needs for the visa application and his dad took over the hunt for the licence again. It was promised that it would be arranged last week. Yeah right... He has an appointment this wednesday for the licence. Sandra is hoping that this time for real that licence will come through but she's very sceptical. After all, it is now 3 months instead of the 2 weeks they promised. It is even worse then when they were trying to get Kyaw Kyaw's passport. That took Kyaw Kyaw a full week of waiting in line and collecting signatures at probably every single administrative office in downtown Yangon. Then it would take a month to have his passport ready. After a month they said 'next week'. And again 'next week'. But when Kyaw Kyaw passed some 'tea money' the 3rd 'next week' turned out to be true....

What a country! I can imagine why Sandra is sometimes so fustrated.