29/8/2003
I don't know exactly when this photo was taken. It is the photo of a 25-year-old worker at my restaurant. He was very delighted after I printed the photo out for him after making some changes to it on my computer. I felt a bit upset when other Myanmar came to me and asked me to mend the photos of their grand parents and parents. The photo was said to be taken in Pakokku, a town in up country. It is the maternal grand mother of a young man. The background was of a scene of the sea. But, the woman in the photo had never seen the sea. The owner of this photo has seven sisters and bothers. His father died with a snake bite when he was six. On hearing the news, his mother who had just given birth to the youngest child shocked and passed away. The paternal grand mother (not the woman in the photo) raised all the children. She passed away last year at the age of 74. (K.K)

27/8/2003
This photo features butterflies which come with rain and needle flower. Where do the butterflies take shelter in this a rainy season? Butterflies seem to fly to the needle flowers. Butterfly is called "Leikpya"in Myanmar language. Another meaning of the word is "soul". I remember that a teacher from the University of Foreign Languages was very much afraid of butterflies. (K.K)

25/8/2003
I watched the news of electricity blackout in New York on NHK TV. There was also the black out in NY 30 years ago. The event was filmed under the name of "the great black out in NY" There was hardly any activity in some part of America and Canada even in the 21st century. After watching that panic events, I come to think of that there in no perfect city in the world. An e-mail friend of mine in NY said that he had to sleep in the lobby because the lift at the 37th storey building was not working. I came across the strike in Paris during my visit there last June. Buses, underground train and museum are closed. The incident last year was said to last foe about one and half month. No matter things are bad or good, there is no strike at all in Yangon. Blackout here in Yangon is common and daily occurrence. They never protest this. Various backup system are used to power hotels, companies, factories, residents and shops. The things in this photo are used at my house when the light goes out. They are candles, candle post, lighter and a broken emergency lamp. I have a set of a battery and an inverter for emergency use. If necessary measures are taken, things can be convenient. You can get used to it. (K.K)

22/8/2003
I once saw a French movie which is about a murderer trapped in an elevator after committing murder. It was very frightening to be trapped in it. The other day, I went down from my 9th floor apartment by the elevator to take a walk in the morning. Just after the elevator started to go down, the light went out and I was stranded in it. Black out is common occurrence in Myanmar. The back-up generator is usually stared just after the black out. But, for about five or ten minutes, there was no sign of anyone starting the generator on that day. Although I hit the door and shouted at the top of my voice, there was no sign of help. Out of two elevators, only one is usually powered when there is blackout. I thought that the other was powered and I had to stay in it till electricity came again. But, the blackout sometimes takes for about eight hours. I continued to hit the door and shouted. But, there was still no help. At last, I could manage to get out of the elevator opening it by force. I could not control my anger although I escaped from it. I came across a guard at the car park on the ground floor. I told him that I was stranded in the elevator. But, he only said a few word giving reason that the generator was out of order. I did not want to argue with the man and I went out to take a walk. After a stroll around the pleasant Kandaw Gyi Lake I could control myself again. I would like to repeat" the guard make no apology to me." (K.K)

20/8/2003
We can see people selling flowers in the market or at the traffic lights. They are not Ikebana like flowers. They are offered to the Buddha Images. The flowers on the left are Ngwe Pan (silver flower), the ones in middle are Shwe Pan (golden flowers) and the ones on the right are Sabe Pan (Jasmines). The flowers are being sold on the road to hang in the cars and say prayers to avert from danger. The believers buy the flowers every morning and hang at the back looking mirror in the car. This is usual practice for the driver from my house. He says prayers before he starts to drive. He said this habit was handed down by his grand father.(K.K)

18/8/2003
How much do Myanmar people study English words till they pass matriculation. They seem to have two times of vocabulary than Japanese students. For example, the biology text for high school is written in English. Students can say the words like "stamen, pistil and pigment" in English. Trishaw in Yangon is called side-car which will probably be pronounced "sai do car" in Japanese. My Myanmar name "Myint Aung" might be pronounced as "Myinto Aungu". When I enquire about Japanese people's comment that Myanmar people's English is bad at the native speakers, they say Myanmar people have better command of English compared to Japanese people. It is needless to say that there are clever people in any county. We should not forget that there a number of people who went to England fro further study. A difficult thing for me is when such people want to speak both Myanmar language and English.(K.K)

15/8/2003
There are a lot of saying in Myanmar language. A saying is printed on this T shirt, which I designed before I graduated from the University of Foreign Languages. The suitable saying for universities in Myanmar is "Ta pi ma kaung saya gaung". It means teachers are responsible for foolishness of their pupils. It also means teachers are the most responsible persons for students' foolishness and lack of ability. This is about a young male model who is fond of changing his hairdo. His hair is often dyed brown. It is sometimes like a mushroom. Sometimes he keeps hair at the back long. This time it is done like Beck Ham's.(K.K)

13/8/2003
Natural scenery is making a park with mountains and trees in the background. To the south of the apartment building in Tamwe where I live, the Kandawgyi Park and the Shwedagon pagoda, land mark of Yangon are located. Therefore, the flats in southern part of the building with that view are expensive. I had chance to look at the scenery when was invited to the flat on the 13th floor. The view of pagoda and the lake is unique. But this might not change for 100 years. But we can the changing area of Tamwe from my flat in the other part. The photo is of a building under construction under the clear sky after the rain has stopped. Construction is continued in the rain. Although businesses are said to be sluggish, there are a lot of building under construction. There also are a lot of unfinished buildings. Some buildings cannot be finished during the five years of time. (K.K)

11/8/2003
Do the Philippinos speak English best in Asia? From TV commercials to subjects at schools are reinforced with English words. People in India, Hong Kong and Singapore speak quite good English in Asia. Although I once heard Japanese people working in Myanmar say that Myanmar people are weak in English, the Japanese are weaker compared to Myanmar people regardless of points of view. Japanese people stand second last. They, for example, pronounce "hotel" as "ho tel ru" putting the last sound "ru" when a word ends with the letter" r" or "l". But Myanmar people pronounce it "hotel". World famous football player Beckham is pronounce by Japanese "Beck Hamu". But here in Myanmar it is pronounced Beckham. Volks Wagon is called "Volksgon" by some Myanmar people.(K.K)

6/8/2003
A friend of mine from Japan visited me the other day. It has been about two months he made a trip here. The purpose of his visit this time was to buy some cloth. We went around the fabric shops. Batik cloth he bought the last time did not seem to be very convenient for him. Although he wanted to buy the cloth of Myanmar traditional longgyi, there was not much of it. The ends of the cloth are stitched together and they are put on wrapping around the waist. It costs from K50 to K100 to stitch it. Readily made longgyis have been on sale for about three years. Such clothes penetrated the market through TV commercials. Therefore the cloth available in the market has decreased. One of my acquaintances said such cloth is available at any shops. I also visited the row of shops at Water Festival market fair. The row was full of shops that numbered 500.(K.K)

4/8/2003
This is the park where I take photograph very often. It turns to a pond after downpour. But, the playful children did not mind the water. I think I once wrote about this. There are a lot of industrious children who are usually occupied with going to schools and classes. But this park is always overwhelmed with the laughter of the children. Do the children from Japan play leisurely like this? Compared to the parks from Japan it has a fountain for drinking water, a public toilet, seesaws, jungle gymnasium and--. The only difference is that there is no rubbish bin here. That is the reason why there is water due to blocked rubbish.(K.K)