Messages From Myanmar #26
19 April 2017
Hello there, Rodger French here.
Photo Update Alert:
“Ngapali Beach”
Alrighty, then, it’s time to catch up. Rather than bore you with tales
of day-to-day life in the Foreign Service (much of which consists of
speculation as to (a) the ramifications of President* tRump’s Twitter-based
foreign policy and (b) the ramifications of Secretary tRex’s virtual
non-existence), I thought I’d bore you with a recap of some recent happenings
that arguably bear mentioning.
26 February: Another
Musical Triumph - One year after the very successful Album Release Party for “Che,
Acordeón,” Anne and I produced another “Small Concert” here at The Shang. I
presented a program of Tango, musette, and musical miscellany, and she
presented Prosecco. About 40 people, mostly from the Embassy, attended and a
splendid afternoon ensued.
02 April: Yet Another
Musical Triumph - I have been most fortunate to be asked to perform with The
Orchestra for Myanmar on two previous occasions. This was my third and
(regrettably) final opportunity and we made the most of it. The Orchestra was
joined by members of the BBC Orchestra (serious players), The New Children’s
Choir (cats, well herded), soloists from The National University for Arts and
Culture (local and very good), and The Strand Singers (expats and ditto).
I was soloist for two tangos by Astor Piazzolla: “Oblivion” and, following
a segue of my own devising, “Libertango.” The former is a wonderfully slow,
lyrical, and atmospheric piece. The latter, however, is terrifically rhythmic
and intense; and the Orchestra, led by our Spanish conductor and driven by the
accordionist as well as the Brits augmenting the string section, determined to
take no prisoners. The SRO audience in the Strand Hotel Ballroom cheered and we
were all covered in glory. I love being a musician.
07 April: Family Visit - My brother is a sincere
evangelical Christian. I am sincerely not. But he’s a good guy and we get along
just fine. Anyway, he was doing his thing in the ‘hood (Vietnam) and came to
Myanmar to meet with some like-minded folks. Naturally, he stayed with us and
we had a fine visit. He’s very personable and a good storyteller, and was quite
favourably impressed with Myanmar and its people. We avoided talking religion
and politics (mostly) and spent time doing normal things and catching up on
family stuff. It was nice.
12 April: A Week at
the Beach
- As previously noted, Thingyan is the celebration of the Burmese New Year
(Happy 1379!). It is also a good time to get out of town, since everything
(including the Embassy) closes for a week. This year, we headed for Ngapali
Beach, located in Rakhine State, a mere 45-minute flight from Yangon. Since
A.J. has points with the Hilton chain, we booked a nice place at their resort;
lagoon side, of course, because who can afford a beachfront villa?
Us, as it happens. For mysterious reasons, we got bumped up to a very
nice place on the beach, complete with its own “plunge pool.” Was not expecting
that… did not complain. The deluxe accommodations, along with the Asian
lunch/dinner buffets and infinity pool made for a very relaxing week, something
we (and by “we” I mean Anne) really deserved. In addition, the staff were all
very courteous, considerate, and good at their jobs. Good thing, too.
On our last night, we received word of a tropical depression
developing in the Bay of Bengal, making its way to the Myanmar coast. Over the course
of the evening, it developed into a deep depression, and finally a cyclonic
storm worthy of an actual name: Cyclone Maarutha. We’ve been through hurricanes
before, but it’s still a bit unnerving to be hunkered down near the beach,
waiting for a cyclone when you have a plane to catch the next morning. The
staff, however, was on the case and we made it through in fine form with a nice
vacation and a good story to tell.
Onward.
Rodger
Onward.
Rodger
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