Sense

I had stopped taking bath in the morning since the end of November because it didn't sweat on my return from walk. And I took a bath once a day between four and five o'clock. When I poured the stored water in the bathroom, I began to shiver first but later I didn't feel any coldness. There is a Japanese saying that the old try their utmost to do things that can be done only by the young. Now, I was behaving like that.

When I first noticed that it had been for one and half years when I had been taking bath like that. At times I went back to Japan and stayed at a hotel. When I entered the bath-tub, I almost jump out of it although the water in it was not very warm. Especially the back felt worse. I felt very uneasy for a moment when I dipped my body up to the shoulder. I really felt afraid to realize the change of my feeling that I had never thought to happen.

It was time for me to go for a walk at a bout 5:30 to 6:30 in the morning when it was still dark. The temperature was about 20 Celsius. People were moving on the roads but they were usually on bikes. There were men who put on so many layers of warm clothes, covering their head to shoulders with towel like things. They made believe that they felt really cold. To compare, very few people put on casually. Most put on thick warm clothes and covered their head and ears with headdress made of short and thick cloth. They didn't wear any sock but slippers (like Japanese foot wear). Therefore upper part of the body and lower part were totally opposite. As for me, I put on summer sweater over long sleeved sport shirt and cotton trousers. It was like cloak style. I thought I wanted a pair of gloves but I didn't feel any special coldness. When I lived in Yangon, I used to put on only a running shirt and a short pant at this time of cool season. To compare, Mandalay is colder than Yangon.

I left for the university at about 9 am. A Y woolen shirt was the best and not wearing a tie was my style. Students put on sports shirt like anorak on their thick sweater. When they rode bicycles they put on fur coats and jeans. Young female teachers had carefully made themselves good looking. Their dresses ranged from simple colours to multi -colour. They seemed to be competing each other for they changed their dresses every day. Generally, light and simple dresses can be seen in summer. But it has changed in cold season. I think that may be an attraction regardless of sex in this region.

After lunch, the coldness of the morning had disappeared and the weather had become hot. I took off the vest. But Myanmar people were still in the dresses put in the morning. I opened the window behind me so that the air outside could enter. But Myanmar people seemed not to stand even the breeze entered from it. There were young female teachers still in fur coats even in evening sitting in front of the computers.

There were also people who put on hats as if they felt really cold. Especially young girls put on fur hats that covered their ears, middle age people went out wrapping their head with thick cloth. I also noticed night watchers of the hostels were sleeping in their hats that covered their ears. There was no naked place on hands and slept in the mosquito nets. The most interesting things for this week were protection from coldness which was for a snow country and mosquitoes nets.