Today in Myanmar » Myanmar Life

Drought causes water shortage in Myanmar

Bamarlay — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:12:52 +0000

Myanmar (Burma) is hit by a drought this year, which is the most severe in several decades. Temperature has been higher this year than previous years in Myanmar (Burma) and rain fall is late, causing severe shortage of water in many parts of Myanmar. In April, temperature has risen as high as 40 degree Celsius, according to government meteorological department. In some parts of Myanmar, temperature is as high as 43 degree Celsius. As a result, many streams and water reservoirs were dried up all over Myanmar. Photo: Eleven News Local news journals reported that Inle Lake, which is the major tourist destination in Shan State, has been dried up in many parts. Water shortage is most severe in Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy), Sagaing, Yangon (Rangoon), Mandalay and Bago (Pegu) Divisions and Mon, Rakhine and Shan States. “All the wells are now dried up. We have to buy drinking water at a high price. 500 kyats (US$ 0.50) per barrel at the private tube well, but 1500 kyats (US$ 1.5) delivered at home”, said one resident from Mandalay. According to U Tun Lwin, a retired Director General from Government Meteorological Department, the cause of drying up of wells is due to the [...]

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Arsenic contamination in drinking water found in Myanmar

News: Start of Taung Pyone spirit festival

Bamarlay — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:21:49 +0000

Tens of thousands are gathering in Taung Pyone (Taung Byone) near Mandalay to celebrate the annual nat pwe (festival for spirits). The week-long festival starts this week with as many as 100,000 believers gathering to celebrate in the grand festival for the nats (spirits). There are a number of nat pwes (spirit festivals) in Myanmar. Of these, Taung Pyone is the largest and the most important festival of all. This festival is to commemorate the fable of the two nat brothers Min Gyi and Min Lay, also known as Shwe Byin Nyi Naung (Shwe Phyin Nyi Naung or Shwe Byin Brothers). These two brothers were the heroes/worriors during the time of Bagan King Anawrahta. According to the legend, these two were drunk on their night of their duty to build a pagoda. This was found out by the king and were ordered to be executed. However, they were later proclaimed as nats by King Anawrahta, possibly due to their popularity among the ordinary citizens. Since that time, these two brothers had been worshipped by millions of believers all over Burma. Ironically, the two brothers were not Buddhists. They were Muslim brothers. These were the only two nats in Burma who [...]

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News from local media about Yangon Bomb Blast

Mandalay – Myitkyina Train Trip – 4

Thet Naing — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:04:32 +0000

On the way at one station near Shwebo, one man climbed up through the window beside my friend. My friend pushed him back, telling not to climb. He kept on climbing, pushing my friend back. Once he was inside the carriage, he scolded at my friend yelling he could be arrested for breaking the law. I looked at him and found he was wearing the uniform of the State Railway Department. I was very angry by then. I yelled him back, telling how he could talk about laws and rules when he himself broke the rules by climbing through the window. He was very angry but climbed out of the same window through which he climbed in a few minute ago. Other passengers just stared at us in amazement. When we reached Khin-oo, other passengers nearby told us to close the windows. Otherwise, they said, the farm girls will come and sit on our lap. We didn’t believe what they said. However, once we arrived at the station, we saw hundreds of people running after the train. We had to close the windows frantically before these people reached the train. From below, they yelled at us to open the windows, [...]

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Mandalay – Myitkyina Train Trip – 3

Thet Naing — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:38:25 +0000

For you Grandpa, you always traveled by plane, or by luxury cars, so you would not know about these. That is why I was thinking of you all the time. You have never experienced such kind of things, so you would not know what we, your grandchildren, had to experience. You have a very fortunate life. Grandpa is so rich that you don’t need to experience these things. Even if you ever had to encounter such a condition, other people would make sure you never see these things. I think, if you were me in this place, you would be swearing at these bugs. If other people came and sit in your seat, you would push them out yelling “this is my seat”. Well, if you don’t know any of these and always thinking all the people are as problem-free as you, I have nothing more to say. If you ask me if these were all my problems, I would have to shake my head again and again. Do you believe Grandpa that the train from Mandalay to Myitkyina took 30 hours? Yes, it took more than a day. The train left Mandalay at 5 PM and arrived to Myitkyina [...]

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Mandalay – Myitkyina Train Trip – 2

Thet Naing — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:30:59 +0000

The ticket that the station manager said “Gone” is still available from the black market! Isn’t it surprising? However, you had to pay two times the actual price. I was really angry. Well, what could I do? Too bad for us, as we, grandchildren of Grandpa, got only ordinary class tickets. I used to travel this train trip in the past, and I knew how bad the ordinary class was. However, what could we do? If there were any cancellation of ticket from one of the VIPs, we might be able to get one or two tickets. I don’t understand what VIP really means. (Translator’s note: here the author was sarcastic about the term VIP or Very Important Person). In the countries where I had been, there was no such thing like this. Other members from my group offered to buy an upper class ticket for me, but I declined. We were traveling in the same group and I didn’t want to be the only one who was traveling in style. If we had to suffer, we suffer together. That is my motto. So finally, we left Mandalay on a second expressed train bound for Myitkyina, at 5 PM in [...]

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Mandalay – Myitkyina Train Trip

Thet Naing — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:17:07 +0000

Translated from Burmese. Original article posted on Nyi Lynn Seck’s Blog. Wish Grandpa to take a train trip Grandpa, This month, I traveled for more than 5,000 miles total. When I was young, I used to be very happy whenever I traveled long trips like this. However, more recently, whenever I traveled, it makes me very tired. The last trip was from Myitkyina. (Translator’s note: Myitkyina is the capital of Kachin State, which is situated in the north of Myanmar). From Yangon to Mandalay, and from Mandalay to Myitkyina. What a long trip. What a long time it took. Would you believe that I was thinking about you, Grandpa, all the time while I was in the extremely dirty train, full of passengers and full of bugs? Let me tell you from the very beginning. We started our trip at Mandalay Railway Station. Our group was altogether eleven. We tried to buy train tickets to Myitkyina, but all we got was the same usual answer – “No ticket”. Our group is actually survey group for a UNDP project in Kachin State. We have all the necessary documents and permits. We have been trying to get the train tickets since we [...]

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Miss Rosy Myanmar dance – 500 kyat per song

Thet Naing — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:27:57 +0000

This is not Bollywood studio. This is not live show of Madonna. This is the downtown Yangon, in the street of Pansoedan. One lady was dancing with a lively tune. Around her were a number of onlookers, some smiling, some laughing, a few gazing at her with curiosity. However, she seemed to ignore all of them and keep on dancing with her tune. Sweats were flowing down like rain water on her face, over a thick layer of make up. However, she her hands and feet were moving non-stop. She was wearing old, worn out, white T shirt and pant, and put a pair of sun glasses over her head. Beside her was a black cassette player and a white plastic sign board with “May Rosy Myanmar dance – 500 kyat per song” written on it. Song coming out from the cassette player was a popular Bollywood Indian song. In fact, she was a dancer who entertained the customers at 500 kyat a song. In a society like Myanmar where people are reluctant to do anything in public, even men are afraid to do such kind of thing in Myanmar. However, for her, she seemed no to show any reluctance [...]

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A sad tale from Chin Hills

Bamarlay — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:54:28 +0000

Chin Hills State is probably the poorest region in Myanmar. It is also the most difficult region to live and survive. Almost all places in Chin State are mountains and hills, with no flat land; all the towns and villages are built on the mountains where it is very cold or in valleys where malaria is a serious problem. Land for cultivation is so few that the state cannot produce enough rice or food for its entire population. There is not enough jobs for the people, and thousands of Chin youths from towns like Hakha, Falam, Mindat and Kanpetlet go out of Myanmar to work as laborers in nearby countries, especially in Malaysia. With such poor conditions, sad tales of human tragedy are not unheard of. Two years ago, I met a family of four in Chin Hills. I was working there when one day somebody told me of a child admitted to the local township hospital. He was admitted with severe pneumonia and severe malnutrition. The family cannot afford to pay for the medicine and food. They don’t have warm clothes and blankets. The father was attacked by a bear a few years ago while hunting, and become debilitated [...]

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Internet Cafe in Myanmar

Thet Naing — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:47:41 +0000

Like all other nations in South East Asia, people in Myanmar are also enjoying the internet access to the world. Internet has become part of the daily life of some of the Burmese living in the large cities. However, the speed of the internet in Myanmar is usually quite slow, individual access is also quite expensive and mostly available to major cities. Apart from Yangon and Mandalay, most other cities in Myanmar have to rely on ipStar satellite link for internet access. Broadband is only available to Yangon and Mandalay, and dial up, although available in other cities and towns using the telephone line, is painfully slow and disconnection is too frequent. For individual users, monthly payment plans are quite expensive. Broadband access is granted only to companies and businesses and the installation fee (about US$ 2,000) is very expensive. For most Myanmar people, this is beyond their means. To fill this gap, internet cafes sprung up all over Myanmar. Majority of internet cafes are in Yangon and Mandalay where ADSL broadband service is readily available. In Yangon alone, there are more than 100 internet cafes with new ones opening every week. In Mandalay, although the number of internet cafes [...]

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Myanmar Tuk Tuk

Bamarlay — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:22:58 +0000

Everybody knows the famous tuk-tuk from Thailand. You must have seen that TV ads from VISA with James Bond riding a tuk-tuk in the streets of Bangkok. Tuk-tuk is synonymous with Thailand. However, does anybody know that Myanmar also has tuk-tuk running the streets of towns and cities in Myanmar? Just introduced a few years ago, it has become a popular and cheap form of public transport in Myanmar. Myanmar tuk-tuk is different from Thai tuk-tuk. In Thai tuk-tuk, the passengers sit facing the front of the vehicle. It is a factory designed and produced vehicle. Myanmar tuk-tuk is essentially a converted Chinese motorcycle. The back wheel of the motorcycle is removed and a passenger compartment attached to the back end of the motorcycle, with some changes in the structure of the motorcycle. There are usually two rows of passenger seats in the back compartment, facing face to face with each other. It can usually accommodate around 8 passengers, with some more hanging at the back of the vehicle. More often than not, it is also used as a cargo truck, carrying quite a large load of goods. Myanmar tuk-tuk is a very convenient way of transport in small towns [...]

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Today in Myanmar » Myanmar Life

Drought causes water shortage in Myanmar

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