Day Four, Sunday, 15 December 2013

Nothing much to report except for one thing.  When I opened the door of our meeting room to look for my shoes (prized at 3,000 baht or $ 100 but purchased at half the price during the New Year’s clearance soles), I found they had disappeared. And I wasn’t alone either. All participants with new footwears also found them missing.


After a few grumbles, I succeeded in calming myself down. Well, in a city where a worker’s salary is K 100,000 ($ 100) or less, that is bound to happen, I told myself.

Luckily, I received a pair of old shoes from the BNI secretary which fit me. And I returned to my room much chastened.

Interestingly, it coincided with reports of soaring rents in Rangoon. When I asked what the reason was, an informed source replied, “Some people are in a hurry to whitewash their black money.” And why isn’t the government doing something about it? “Because it’ll stir a nest of hornets that can spiral out of control. It already has more than enough problems to address.”