I am on a tropical island somewhere in paradise, which in and of itself is a good thing. The bad thing is that it is not Bangkok which has subways and cheap taxis and lots of places to exchange money and I discovered very quickly that getting around is a major hassle.
I rented an apartment right across the road from the school, which is a good thing, but getting supplies like food is quite another thing. After walking many kilometers by the side of the road and taking my life in my hands, I saw the big supermarket but could not walk to it because of a huge ditch in the middle of the road which was impossible to get over by foot. I quickly realized I needed to rent a car but getting a car through regular channels would be impossible on a teachers' or administrators salary. What to do?
I ended up renting a ten year old car for under $400 dollars a month and you can be sure it was not with Avis or Hertz. I simply walked down the street of the my small town asking people along the way if they knew where I could rent a car. There were lots of motorcycle places but few car places. Finally a lady at the barbershop told me to go next store to the jewelry store, an obvious place to rent a car....right? The door was locked in the middle of the day, everything was dark inside but when a guy answered the door of this dingy shop he said he would indeed rent me a car.
I rented an apartment right across the road from the school, which is a good thing, but getting supplies like food is quite another thing. After walking many kilometers by the side of the road and taking my life in my hands, I saw the big supermarket but could not walk to it because of a huge ditch in the middle of the road which was impossible to get over by foot. I quickly realized I needed to rent a car but getting a car through regular channels would be impossible on a teachers' or administrators salary. What to do?
I ended up renting a ten year old car for under $400 dollars a month and you can be sure it was not with Avis or Hertz. I simply walked down the street of the my small town asking people along the way if they knew where I could rent a car. There were lots of motorcycle places but few car places. Finally a lady at the barbershop told me to go next store to the jewelry store, an obvious place to rent a car....right? The door was locked in the middle of the day, everything was dark inside but when a guy answered the door of this dingy shop he said he would indeed rent me a car.
Now you have to find a place to stay...right? Don't be so quick to decide since there are so many factors to consider such as cost, distance to school, transportation and so on. Stay put in your guest house or hotel for as long as you can because the owners will want you to deposit a few months rent
( which you probably do not have) and if you decide later you want to move out you will never get your deposit back.
Take your time and stay put in the guest house or hotel for as long as possible, Ask your teacher colleagues where they live and how much they pay and get the place you want. Losing three months rent is not a pretty sight if you ultimately decide you want to live somewhere else.
( which you probably do not have) and if you decide later you want to move out you will never get your deposit back.
Take your time and stay put in the guest house or hotel for as long as possible, Ask your teacher colleagues where they live and how much they pay and get the place you want. Losing three months rent is not a pretty sight if you ultimately decide you want to live somewhere else.
...and the moral of the story is that you should ask EVERYONE about how to access local buses, where to rent your car or motorcycle, where to live and so on. Even the local jeweler!!!
The other moral of the story is to buy and read my book It All Started in Mandalay where you can find similar information but in the form if a novel.
The other moral of the story is to buy and read my book It All Started in Mandalay where you can find similar information but in the form if a novel.
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