During my holidays, i spent most of my time earning money. I had tried different
types of jobs. I had done surveys, but realized its a waste of time
because you have to do at least 1000 survey to get just some ntuc voucher. I had done flyer distribution,but then again, it took long and you have
to stand for quite long for the whole stack to finish. Sick and tired of
working outside or looking for outdoor jobs, i tried to look for jobs that had
to be done at home, such as filling in forms, filling in spreadsheets but those requires you age to be 16. Thus, i went back to handling a blogshop where i sell albums
and merchandises and tried to earn myself some extra pocket money, Sometimes spending
the money when i am going out with friends, sometimes when buying some things that i
like.
All of my days are the same routine, finding jobs, doing jobs, trying
to get as much money as possible, and if i am really bored, i would do some homework
or look through Maths textbook and read up on the topics they will teach this
year.
That was until i heard that i am going back to Myanmar for the last
two weeks of holiday. In around 1 month and 2 weeks, i didn't really learn
anything new and life was boring but during my trip back to Myanmar, i learnt a
lot of things, mainly problems like what developing countries are going through.
My first reaction was crying or getting all sad cause there is no
wifi. (TT_TT) "nowadays, we are not slaves of laziness but rather slaves of
wifi.--Zelo,B.A.P" If there was no wifi for me, there won't be anything to
watch, anyone to chat with, as the last time i went back to Myanmar was
around 5-6 years ago, thus being awkward with my cousins, etc. I was really sad
during that time as i imagined the possibilities that could happen without
wifi...that most probably i would rot and die.
I slept throughout the whole flight with my Exo Kris mask. It was
a budget airplane. It was super cold and they did not even give you a blanket,
and the seats were so squeezed.
Mainly, there were two places i went. We went to other states of
Myanmar and to some villages but most of the time, we stayed in the "near
city area".
First, we went to my grandparents' house. They have a kindergarden
set up. My mum usually sends back my younger sister's and my simple
story books and primary one worksheets and taught the kids with the resources.
I used to live there when i was young until seven years old. I still had some
childhood friends back there and we practically grew up together since babies.
When i saw them, i gave them some souvenirs that i wrecked my
brain to think of and though we had a lot to talk about, it was just...awkward.
We had not talk for 5 years plus and I really wanted to talk to them badly but
don't know what to start from. I only stayed there for 2-3 days, and i know
that fact that time was running out to reunite with my friends, but...i just
can't...
That night, after i met them, i realized that their lives and my
life were already having quite a big gap. They were in grade 9? Though they are
the same age as me, after grade 10, they can go college? I think its college...
In grade 10, they have a major exam like the A-levels. Even in the holidays, they were revising hard on it all day long, and they had around 10-13 subjects? And all
are needed to be memorized. If it is not the same format or the exact same word as the teacher had taught them, even if it is just one word, they won't get a good mark. And here
i am, complaining about the number of phrases i had to memorise for Chinese spelling.
Furthermore, their clothes were not as good as my clothes. I really
pitied them. I wouldn't exactly say pity but rather feel helpless. I might have
not met them for quite long but to me, they are the one of the closest friends
i had. I wanted to do something to help them out, but it sucks when i can't. :(
When you ride taxi, and there is a traffic jam, teenagers my age
or younger, would be walking on the dangerous streets, selling newspapers,
flowers, and even cigarettes. It is understandable to me that they are selling
those things to earn a living and at least have a meal per day to eat, but you
would have no idea how dangerous the streets are. The drivers don't really care
about traffic rules, driving even when it's a red light, speeding non stop,
etc. Just on a particular street, there is at least an estimated number of 10 accidents
every fortnight. There are even some cases when the cars crashed into each
other continuously, 4-5 cars in a chain.
However, if you are those type of rich people living in Myanmar,
you would love it. There are restaurants all over and the food were super
delicious. Though to normal people it seemed expensive, but SGD1 is a lot in the Myanmar currency. There was even once where i ate too much and some food when
eaten, it don't really match, so the next day, i had to rush to a hospital. The
next 2 days, i ended up eating instant porridge that have no taste at all. In contrast to the day i survived this day in which i ate one bowl of something that is similar to
fishball mee, one bowl of another type of mee, one bowl a type of mee with
soup, and then after that a buffet and managed to eat ard 20+ grilled prawn...
(Prawns there are huge. :3)
Then,
after the days, when I just healed from my stomach ache,we went off to the visit
my grandparents from my mother’s side. We stayed there for 5 days. The first
day we just stayed at the house and played around. Don’t under estimate the
house because it is just super awesome. Just in the backyard of the house,
there are 3 rabbits, 6 birds, lots of fish, 2 squirrels, and 2 dogs and a swing
and many pretty flowers as well. The dogs are called David and Rosy. They are
bloodhound dogs but none of them really bite. Though they are quite
huge, they are still so cute.
The
next day, should be one of the most fun day. LIKE EVER. We went to lots of
pagoda and some are just so cool. We went to lots of other states of Myanmar
that I have never been to, such as the Mon state, the Kayin state, and the
Kachin state.We went out pretty early like around 5am.
There
were lots of places we went to but mainly, there are 3 places that I like the
most.
This
pagoda-Kyauk ka lat paya, is very interesting. First, you have to pass this
bridge then you can reach it. While you are passing the bridge, you can feed
the fishes as well. After that, there are steps for you to climb up to the top.
However, I had to be careful when I climb because there wasn't really any
barrier or safety nets to hold you, so there is a risk of falling down. Like
they say “Going up a mountain is easy, coming down is hard.” Going up was easy,
when I was at the top, I managed to take some pictures of the sceneries as
well.
Second
place:
This
place is super cool. *^* First, when you want to go to the cave, you have to
first walk through this.
After
you walked through, there are 2 lakes, which are super cool. One lake has hot
water while one side have cold water. It is not manmade, purely natural. After
you go into the cave, if you look carefully, there is this small hole for you
to “explore” more into the cave.
This
cave, had a path. After walking through it, you will reach another small pagoda
inside, which is known to be powerful and that your wishes made there would
come true. Through the path, in the cave, there are natural jade and stuff, and
there was this small mountain. It was glittery gold and it’s not man-made. You
were allowed to touch it. I touched it and I thought it is those type where the
glitter stick onto your hand, but it doesn’t.
3rd
place:
Apparently,
I have no idea what the name of the cave is. ._.
When
I first arrived there, there were monkeys all around. My dad was carrying a
pack of peanuts. My dad took out one and gave it to one of the monkey. The
monkey took it, smelled it, then he bit open the shell and eat the peanuts
inside. We started feeding those and I was holding one out for a monkey and
that monkey practically took it from my hand. I thought the monkey’s hand would have like..have nails or something. O.O Its hands are just like human’s hands,
just that it is a bit more hairy. Right after I feed the monkey,my dad
was like “Don’t let the monkey touch you.” Oops.
Like
the second cave, there is an entrance as well. However, you can’t go in with
your shoe and the surface on the ground is damp, uneven and sometimes spiky.
There is a path but it’s not safe at all. There wasn't any barrier or such again to hold you or something if you fall. The stairs is
uneven, and some too steep to climb.
Somehow
managed to climb through these…
However,
we managed to climb to the other side of the mountain. And once again, going up
is easy, going down is hard. ._.
The
other side of the cave. J The sunset is beautiful.
Htet Engine Thant Iris (6)
