Hi Phyoe,

Happy New Year! We've been meaning to write since our return but found ourselves in the full swing of catching up with work, family and preparing for Christmas.

We returned to a great deal of snow and temperatures of -2. What a shock to our system, after the delightful hot weather we had in both Myanmar and Thailand. We have had quite a bit of snow this winter, which is unusual for the Vancouver area and we miss sunny Ngapali beach.

We are still on a high from our exciting vacation and thank you sincerely for the wonderful way you organized our stay in making us feel so special. For me it was a real coming home. I love the country. It is everything I remember it to be in terms of the generosity and friendliness of the people. Sadly, Thingangyon had changed and our house and land were gone. Please also pass on our thanks to dear Si for sharing his family with us and taking care of us so well. Our most memorable time with him was during our trek to Kyaikhtiyo and spending time at the tea shop and his kindness in taking us out to supper on our last night in Yangon and for the gifts we will always treasure.

Tin was also a special person and we learnt an enormous amount about the Buddhist faith from him. He is a man who clearly lives his faith every day and it shows in the little things he did for us. Our entire time with him was extremely special, visiting the numerous temples in Bagan, and when he arranged a special table for us at lunch with an unobstructed view of Mount Popa, the markets where he helped me find treats for my mother and many other times where he took care of our needs. And of course to Moe, who is such a professional and a joy to be around. Our stay on Inle Lake was just beautiful and the resort like fantasy Island. Our visit to the convents was one of the highlights of our visit. What a treat to meet our adopted children. Unfortunately, we didn't quite connect with Jeff. He was different in that it seemed to us he was just doing his job and didn't really give us any special attention or went out of his way to make us feel special as all the other guides had done.

I sent a copy of our photo's on CD to my family in the UK and sister in the states. They had a wonderful time seeing their birth country through our eyes and have expressed a desire to visit for themselves. So needless to say, Ken and I are planning a return visit in 2010 and I'm sure we'll be accompanied by some of my family members. Our son Kristian will have graduated university by then and wants to come with us also. We're not sure about our other two sons Ryan and Sheldon who will still be attending university. There is no doubt that they will eventually visit their ancestral country also.

Ken showed the CD to his work colleges and one of them asked for your information with the intention to visit in the future. I am doing a presentation for my sorority sisters in February too. I'm calling it a Myanmar cultural night. I will wear my longi and I wil cook Ono Khauk Swe for the ladies and of course show off Myanmar.

Our exciting adventure will remain with us for many more months to come and we sincerely want to thank you Phyoe for the not only providing us with a wonderful time but taking us to your home and sharing your family with us, which was very special and meant a great deal to us. Thank you also for the logo gift and Ken really enjoyed the golf game with you and your brother.

I have taken the step to write to the Burmese Embassy to see if I can obtain residency status in Myanmar, in case we need it at some point in the future. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

Please keep in touch and best wishes to you and your family for a healthy and prosperous New Year!

God Bless, we remain your friends,
Elaine and Ken