Oot and Aboot in Yangon

The pool at the Strand Hotel

It's been a while since I wrote anything, so I thought my handful of loyal followers (aka the best aunts in the world) were deserving of an update.

Brice and I had the loveliest adventure while he was here in December/January and there are so many pictures I can't even begin to think about what to put here, so you will just have to wait until I am home.  Since he left I have not been doing a whole lot but with Steph's prompting, I've been trying to remember to take a few more photos.

Lanterns up in Chinatown for Chinese New Year

I'm still boxing on Mondays and I started French lessons on Thursday and Friday evenings, so my weeks have been flying by. Usually on the weekends I find time for a drink or two with friends, go to pilates and just chill. I have been on a bit of a murder mystery tear since the new Louise Penny came out at Christmas, also reading the new Inspector Rebus and one of the Vera Stanhope books.  I thought I would try out a non-murder mystery and selected Where the Crawdads Sing, but even that ended up being a murder mystery! (I've also read The Gown (cute!) and Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which are both very much NOT murder mysteries)

A couple of weekends ago my friend Emily organized for her, another girlfriend and I to go on a bike ride across the river from Yangon in an area known as Dala. It's a much smaller town and with tree-lined less crowded streets, it felt refreshing to escape Yangon for a morning.

Bike ride in Dala

Earlier this month I traveled with my supervisor to Myitkyina. We worked with the staff to brainstorm new activities the ROLCs could do to raise legal awareness which was a pretty fun activity. While in Myitkyina we witnessed a rather large protest against a dam project that the Chinese and local governments are trying to push through. We visited a Kachin fabric shop (twice..) and I spent more money on fabric (yikes!). We also enjoyed the local food, and not so local food - yay for chicken wings and chili fries!

Arriving in Myitkyina with donuts in hand (bribery is always a good brainstorming method)

The Myitkyina ROLC team was invited to the wedding of one of their graduates for lunch, so much to the surprise of the bride and groom, my supervisor and I tagged along!

March against the dam

This past weekend, Evelyn and I treated ourselves to a spa day at the rather faaancy Strand Hotel. They have a couple's package where you get high tea, a massage, and the ability to use the pool for the day. The bad news is that I unfortunately bit into rocks in my scone during high tea, but the good news is that we now have a free visit at a later date!

Our indulgent Valentine's Day treat to ourselves