Where Elves Live

I live on the ninth floor of a 'luxury serviced apartment' on the north edge of downtown, set well back from a major street. My apartment faces the north; I have a wonderful view of the main pagoda, which is a national symbol. You can see it here to the left. I see it from every room, at every time of day. It is really a major complex of pagodas--I am saving a visit for a day when I am really really rested, and have some native informants with me.

To the east is the train station. The trains pass just 50 meters north of my building, about every 15 minutes. They are slow--you could overtake them with a fast walk--and very rickety. They go in a large circle around the downtown area, and seem always very crowded. Train travel is not preferred in Fairyland--there are almost always faster and cheaper ways of getting somewhere, usually by bus or in the back of a pick-up and, for long-distance travel, a networkof airline routes with planes that are almost as rickety as the trains are. The planes, like the buses, depart when they are full.

To the west is the main covered market, a great place to buy art and handicrafts, upscale clothing, gems and jewelry, etc. There is also a nice food court in the middle, meaning a variety of stalls under one roof serving delicious local food. All local food is fast food. I get my breakfast each morning at a street stand across the street from my apartment: a bowl of 'mohenga', a fish soup that can come with noodles, parsley, various 'crunchies' that are crumbled or cut into the broth, eggs, onions, etc. A bowl and a top-off costs me 300 Kyat (pron. "chawt"), about a quarter.

My building is occupied mainly by ex-pats, business people from South and East Asia--only the very very elite. Not what I had in mind when I came here. But, straight down below my balcony, you can see one of the reasons why I am relatively happy to stay in this serviced apartment. It's not the service, or the air-conditioning. It's the pool. It's a great lap pool, well-maintained, and usually empty. 30 meters to the north of the pool, just the other side of the wall you can see at the top of the image, is where Fairyland really begins.