I just posted a new reflection, which you can feel free to check out: https://lifeinmyanmar.org/monthly-reflections/month-14-living-today/
I will be departing Myanmar on Dec. 4th and arriving back in the U.S. on Dec. 8th after spending a few days in Seoul. To that end, Month 14 Reflection will likely be my last one for this stint in Myanmar.
Looking forward to seeing family and friends in person back in the U.S.
By now most of you have probably heard about the results of the 2015 elections here in Myanmar. In short, the opposition party (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi won a sweeping victory.
People have been asking me what it’s been like here. It’s actually been pretty quiet overall. I’m sure if I ventured out to the rallies, polling stations, or the party headquarters I’d see much more activity, but there wasn’t widespread celebrations and parades in the streets across the city. Election day itself was actually the quietest day I have ever experienced in Yangon — it was like a ghost town.
This is just the first step in the path toward change. Yes the NLD has won, dethroning the military-backed incumbent, but the military is in fact still in the background. How much are they still holding the strings? Well, we’ll find out over the next 5 years that the NLD has in the coming term.
Here’s an article from the New York Times that sums up the challenges:
Myanmar Military Still Big Power Despite Opposition Victory
I found this map on Facebook, which is kind of janky, but it gives you a broad sense of the results across the country. Red = NLD. Pyithu Hluttaw = House of Representatives.
The below image (I believe from Myanmar Times) is what the House of Representatives (Pyithu Hluttaw) is going to look like. That big block of green on the left is the automatic military presence. Red=NLD.
The below image (from Wikipedia) is what the current setup looks like. The colors are a little misleading.
Hope that provides a bit more color, and a summary, to what you may be hearing in the news. There is a ton of additional commentary on the NLD, elections, incumbents, ethnic groups, etc. but I’ll let you all dig into that based on your interest levels.
Note: I pulled these charts at different points in time post elections (from different sources), so the numbers/representations may have changed or may not be totally accurate.
I had tracked my expenses for about 3.5 months, which I compiled for a new post (Cost of Living) that I added to the Info for Visitors section. Feel free to check it out if you’re curious about living expenses in Yangon.
So there’s a peculiar thing if you live in a place like Myanmar. Every once in a while you are supposed to fly out of the country, and then re-enter, in order to renew your visa. I haven’t had to do this before because I’ve either left the country anyway, or had been issued cushy visas through Proximity that bypassed that hassle. This disappointingly short Quora response makes some sense, I guess: “The main reason for this is likely to ensure that, should your visa be denied, you will not have the option of entering/remaining in the country.” However, with Myanmar’s eVisa system, one is able to secure the visa while still being in the country. What gives?
At first I was going to simply overstay my prior-issued work visa ($3/day fee and a light scolding at the airport is the extent of the damage, from what I’ve heard). Turns out that the sponsoring company who issued me the visa wasn’t too excited about that, so I had to make a last-minute pivot, apply for a tourist visa yesterday (buys me another 28 days), book my flights for a same-day trip to Thailand, and here I am, sitting in Don Mueng airport in Bangkok.
So now I have some more time to think about the absurdity of this. I received a visa, but instead of being able to go to some central location like the Immigration Office, and be like, “Hey guys, here’s my visa approval letter, can you stamp my passport and then we can call it day?” Or maybe just go through the departures immigration stands at the airport and walk back through arrivals immigration stand. Nope, $186.50 later, I get to spend the afternoon at Don Mueng airport. [note: there’s a chance there is an easier way, in which case this paragraph will make me sound stupid, but that’s ok]
Glass half full, I got to see a mind-bending display of airport mega-commerce (I think it was 10+ check-out stations for luxury duty-free wares) at the airport:
AND, I got to eat a Subway sandwich (the honey mustard tastes like honey mustard):
If this were to become a more regular ordeal, I’d probably try to see if there is an easier way, despite the daunting complexities and language barriers that seem, at least on the surface, to exist.
It’s also probably good I’m not testing the boundaries on the overstay given that elections (first truly “democratic” ones in ~50 years) happen on Sunday (the day before my visa expired).
Anyway, in other news, I had a chance to go bowling last night with some friends from Proximity. Talk about a throw-back bowling alley:
The grandfather clock is an interesting addition.
Keeping half the lanes off seems to be a power conservation thing.
I actually had the best game that I can remember. All those elementary school bowling classes at Bradley Bowl coming back to me!
Hoping for an uneventful trip back to Yangon this evening. Will plan to post again with more transparency around next steps. This tourist visa has lit a bit of a fire under me now to try and hammer out those plans.
Today is a Buddhist full moon festival in Myanmar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thadingyut_Festival), complete with fireworks, a carnival, and even snakes on the street!
(fireworks/candle pics from tonight and the others from last night)
I wanted to provide a quick update, although there isn’t a whole lot to update on. I continue to work on exploring different paths for next steps while keeping my antennas up for potential short-term consulting work.
Last week I completed my first paid consulting contract (a couple days work), which was with the Chin Human Rights Organization (http://chro.ca). I helped them take a pile of raw data on flood/landslide damages from Chin State and structure/analyze/present it to both aid organizations and local community-based organizations with the goal of helping to efficiently channeling resources to the people in need.
Aside from that, I have been trying to structure my days to give myself a goal and keep myself feeling as if I am building toward something. I was inspired by a hilarious blog post about procrastination (“How to Beat Procrastination“) on a blog called “Wait but Why” which talked about placing one brick each day in order to build a house – that is, to accomplish larger goals (by the way, here is the original post in the series on Procrastination that hooked me: Procrastination Matrix – warning: it’s a bit brash). To that end, I have been trying to devote about 1 hour per day to each of the following areas, which in the short term don’t seem that exciting, but hopefully in the long term will bear fruit:
That fills up about 5 hours per day, with some flex time for meals, breaks, other things that come up, chores, or some items that take more than one hour. For today, I’ll provide an update on two of those.
1. Local start-up opportunities: I continue to meet with my friend about potential paths to start a business here in Myanmar. For a while we were thinking of a model that would serve ex-pats but hire locals. I was able to triangulate in on an estimate for total ex-pats living in Myanmar (from developed nations), which comes to about 10,000 people. Assuming multiple people per family, this number is maybe more like 5,000 family units. Even if each family spent $100/year with the company, the total market size would be $500,000. Assuming we could capture 50% of the market (which is aggressive), that means at scale the business would generate $250,000 in revenue (needed to cover all costs). Quite a small market. So because of that we are now pivoting to consider other potential paths, but a lot is still up in the air.
2. Creative time: This is a more recent addition, which sort of spawned out of the vacuum of time I have here when I would be doing something like watching TV (although we don’t have cable), watching a movie (although legally buying/renting movies here is challenging/expensive), or reading a book (sometimes I’m just too tired or unmotivated). I have recently really gotten into an animation studio called Studio Ghibli (now defunct). Perhaps the preeminent Japanese animation studio, which was led by Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest animators (arguably up there with Walt Disney), it has been known for its production of classic animated movies such as My Neighbor Totoro. Throughout my life I’ve loved to sketch, and I’ve faded in and out of it at different points in time. However, watching some of these hand-drawn movies has been inspiring, so I’ve taken up sketch again (at least for now). In a previous sketching kick back in Boston last year, I had bought a set of sketch pencils and eraser, which I had brought with me here. I started out with a simple line drawing, but I’ve never really learned how to shade, so that’s something I’ve just started to try as well.
Line drawing inspired by My Neighbor Totoro (which I replicated from looking at a picture):
A sketch based off of the shading tutorial by Will Kemp Art School (after realizing that I really need to start adding shading to my line drawings without fearing that I’m going to ruin them):
I started to get frustrated the other day when I was pondering why I stopped taking art classes (the last time I can remember taking one is my freshman year of high school), as it is something I enjoyed and still enjoy. I guess poetry sort of took its place (and then some acting) in high school, and then more creative writing in college, but this seemed to fall by the wayside as “adult life” overtook things, popping back up over the years now and again. Feels like there could have been a healthier way to balance art (or artistic creativity more generally) and business/work, but who knows.
Another quick update is that my roommate (co-lead of Proximty’s design team), has officially launched the new product he’s been working on for the last couple years. It is a solar pump for rural farmers here in Myanmar. Here’s a picture I took from the product launch:
Here’s a really cool view of Shwedagon Pagoda that I had while eating at a pizza restaurant one night:
Here’s a great restaurant that I went to that featured Shan style food:
You’ve probably just seen the transportation post I wrote, but I wanted to provide a more general update on things going on.
Work
This is probably the most pressing item and something that is on your minds as well.
Here’s a quick rundown:
For #4, a potential concept is a way to standardize low-skill processes that could be taught to the marginalized here in Yangon and provided as a service to ex-pats (e.g. this is a company in India with a similar concept: Zimmber). Not immediately drawn to the other options as of now (#5 could be cool but would be a drastic and high-risk shift). My visa expires Nov. 9th, so I need to figure out a way to get a visa renewal until Dec. 21st, which is the general deadline I’m giving myself to figure out next steps (its when I fly back to the U.S. for the Christmas/New Year holidays).
Food
Quick update that I’m still eating well, and have not been getting sick. I’ve done some Korean cooking, with the help of a Korean-American friend who lives here in Yangon, which has been great.
The first two pictures are of Korean tofu stew (sundubu) and the second two of are Korean-style pancakes.
Here’s is part of a menu from a restaurant I went to the other day with a few friends (two of them had birthday). Kachin is a ethnic minority in northeastern Myanmar. Here’s more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachin_State.
Activities
Today, with a friend, I visited the Logos Hope, which claims to be the largest floating book store in the world. It has been docked at a harbor in Yangon. It is operated by a German Christian charitable organization and has a clear Christian influence. The boat was quite large, but I was underwhelmed by the bookstore, which was comparatively small. It was so impressive though to see the sheer number of people there.
Elections
Just a quick note on elections to finish up this post. Elections are approaching (about a month away), and there is more of a campaigning presence these days. Most notably, I’ve been seeing many flags in Yangon supporting the NLD (National League for Democracy), represented by Aung San Suu Kyi.
I just took the below picture today which shows a poster of Bogyoke (General) Aung San, who is Aung San Suu Kyi’s father and who was assassinated in 1947 by political rivals (prior to the 1962 coup that led to the subsequent military rule for the next 50 years — and the more recent reform processes that have been taking place). (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar)
Note: You can also see an advertisement for Ooredoo in the foreground, which is one of the two private mobile operations (the other being Telenor) in addition to the government operator (MPT). I believe that green wall is actually part of a huge advertisement on the side of a building for Sunkist.
I plan to provide a general update, but first I thought it would be interesting to take a look at transportation in Yangon, as this has been on my mind.
First, traffic in the city has become horrendous. It is far worse than one year ago when I arrived, and it’s at the point where trying to get anywhere from the hours of 8am-8pm (particularly on week days) has become quite a process. Commute times vary wildly, with the same route one day taking 20 minutes and the next day taking 90. A friend took a taxi to the airport which was 3 hours one day (he missed his flight) and 1 hour the following day (same time but Friday the first day and Saturday the second day).
Second, I’m spending more money than I’d like on taxis (on a daily basis), and it’s starting to add up. My daily expenditures (everything except rent), comes to about $20, and on a given day taxi expenditures could be anywhere from $5.00-$10.00. For instance, yesterday I had a lunch meeting downtown ($3.00-$3.50 each way) and then went to a restaurant with friends (another $3.00 — I only paid one way).
Third, negotiating taxis on a daily basis for the last year has started to wear on me. It’s not a matter of just hailing a taxi and jumping in. Each time requires the song and dance of throwing a number or countering the driver’s offer, then having to try and convince why that number makes sense, and argue over whether or not there will be traffic, and then dealing with the emotional reaction of regularly getting offered inflated numbers (and thinking back on the deal after it has been agreed upon).
So how does one get around? Here are the options:
I had been using a bike for shorter commutes (I tried longer ones but it was too dicey), but the bike is out of commission now, so I may need to get a new one. In lieu of that, I’ve been walking more, but that is very slow. Today, I made an attempt at the buses, which is something I’m debating if I should do more of. It’s super cheap (between 10-30 cents for any distance — based on bus quality), but it slows the commute down, and you have deal with the crowds of people and the uncertainty of which bus goes where and at what time (and where the bus stops are, which appear only to be demarcated based on a loosely formed group of people standing at the side of the road). To get from downtown to my apartment, it cost me about $0.20 and took about 1.5 hours (a taxi would have cost $3.00-$3.50 and probably have taken between 45 minutes and 1 hour).
Here is a map of most of the lower half of Yangon with pricing (the downtown spots have gone up by about $0.50 given traffic).
Here’s a chart to show that prices (based on my negotiations) seems non-linear. That is, it’s more expensive to go shorter distances than longer ones (on a per-mile basis), which is also frustrating in the negotiation process.
Here’s the value proposition of taking buses:
This is a cooler-looking bus (I heard it’s one of the handed-down buses from Japan — model circa 1970s):
Just wanted to send out an update that I have posted a Month 12 reflection.
Here’s the link:
https://lifeinmyanmar.org/monthly-reflections/month-12-purpose-novelty-nuisance/
Here’s a taste of what’s inside:
As I am no longer a company employee, I had to figure out independent health insurance. Fortunately I have a couple friends who also live here in Myanmar who were able to tell me about a company that provides coverage both in the U.S. and abroad. I have been told that it would probably be cheaper in the long-run to just self-insure (e.g. Thailand apparently has world-class healthcare and a week-long stay in a hospital, on drip, may be ~$1,000 from what I hear) or receive abroad-only insurance. With that said, in the event that serious illness occurs, it would be nice to be able to head back to the U.S. for treatment (in addition to being covered during trips to the U.S.)
To that end, I have decided to use GeoBlue (https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com). The benefit is that GeoBlue offers access to the Blue Cross Blue Shield network in the U.S., in addition to offering coverage abroad. Unfortunately, gathering all the documents together for the past two year’s of medical coverage was a bit of a hassle (delayed my enrollment process by about 7 weeks) , but with that done things should be good to go.
For $331 per month, I get coverage in the U.S. and abroad:
Here are some more details:
Here is the full policy info: https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/pdf_docs/certs/samples/SAMPLE_XplorerPremier_0008.pdf
Xplorer Premium actually had four plan options. If you’re interested in my thought-process, I’ve included some of my analysis below. It was interesting thinking through the value one should put on the concept of “feeling secure” (despite the probabilities of occurrence). Fo reference, I went with Plan 3.
Cost of four plan options based on being very sick (burning through entire co-pays) or not being sick at all:
Three-year scenarios based on number of years being very sick (N = not sick / S = very sick):
Plan comparison factoring in different region co-pays and coinsurance:
For a point of comparison, I did look into Aetna International, which is what I was covered with under Proximity. Unfortunately, it turns out that despite this coverage, they actually don’t offer individual plans for people living in Myanmar.
Life in Myanmar 