Author: Hla Min (Lifelong Learner)

  • U Thein Han & Daw Khin Khin Htwe

    by Hla Min

    Update : May 2026

    Highlights

    Uncle U Thein Han

    Uncle

    • My lone surviving uncle
    • Turned 95 in April, 2025
    • Matriculated from St. John’s Dio
    • Entered Rangoon University in 1948
    • After graduation, he worked as Systems Engineer for IBM (International Business Machines) Burma, which rented / leased Unit Record Machines to selected Government Departments.
    • Later moved to USA
    • Retired from Montgomery County in Maryland

    Posts

    • Demonetization of K100 Note
    • Do you believe in luck?
    • My Barber
    • My Life Journey
    • My Stories

    Aunt

    Uncle & Aunt
    • Taught at Psychology Department at Rangoon University
    • Later moved to USA
    • Studied Library Science
    • Retired Librarian, Library of Congress
    • Was in charge of Burmese Collection
  • Visits

    by Hla Min

    Update : May 2026

    Ngapali

    Poem

    Ngapali
    • My poem “The Ngapali Beach” was published in Forward Magazine
    • Received 15 Kyats for the poem
    • Illustrator received 50 Kyats
    • Bohmu Ba Thaw was Chief Editor of the Forward Magazine. He jokingly asked me if I would be interested to join his staff.
    • U Sein Hla was Assistant Editor

    Three Visits

    • My first visit was during my student days with my cousin Ko Thaung Lwin & friends. We stayed at U Tha Gyaw Wai’s Bungalow (managed by my uncle U Thet Toe).
    • At a nearby bungalow was the Amyotha Yoke Shin movie crew with U San Maung (Gerald, RUBC Gold & Coach). They were shooting a film starring Wah Wah Win Shwe and directed by U Min Naing. Ko Gerald asked me if I would be interested to join them on the way back to Rangoon via Taung Goke.
    • The ride on the truck over the Taung Goke Pass was rough and tough. At Taung Goke, we were hosted by a cinema owner. He offered the movie audience a free show if they could translate the Burmese titles into English. One submission was “Fly away bitter bird” (Pyan Lay dei Nget Khar ပျံလေတဲ့ဌက်ခါး).
    • The rest of the trip involved a boat ride after a long delay and a train ride.
    • My second visit was with my beloved spouse & two young sons. We stayed at Amyotha Yoke Shin Bungalow managed by U Mya Maung, elder brother of Saya U Tin Htut (M).
    • My third visit was as Guest Lecturer for Ngapali Luyechun Camp in 1988. I spent some time chatting with other Guest Lecturers including Saya U Kyaw Myint (DG of Higher Education, former Physics Professor at Mandalay).
    • I know a few people who have taken annual trips to Ngapali.

    Inlay

    Poem

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    Poem 2
    • My poem “Phaung daw-u Festival” was published in the Thadinkyut Supplement of the Working People’s Daily (WPD).
    • Received 15 Kyats for the poem

    Four Visits

    Inlay Luyechun
    • My first visit was as Luyechun to Inlay Khaung Daing Camp in the summer of 1965.
    • My second visit was as a guest of Peter Pe (SPHS) in October, 1965. Maung Maung Aye decided to join us. We were greeted at Nyaung Shwe by Thar Oo (Shan Pyay).
    • We stayed for a week in Inn Paw Khone in Inlay Lake. Peter’s cousins (including a medical doctor) hosted us. We attended the Phaung Daw-u Festival.
    • We then visited Taunggyi to see Peter’s uncle U Maung Maung Latt (Ah Matt Choke အမတ်ချုပ်of Nyaung Shwe Sawbwa ညောင်ရွှေစော်ဘွား). We attended the Mee Bone Byan Pwe မီးပုံးပျံပွဲ
    • My third visit was in the mid 2010’s via a Tour Company which arranged a Tour Guide, and car, a private boat and a night stay at a hotel in the Lake.
    • The photo shows a rainbow in the background.
    Rainbow over Inlay
    • Sad to see the declining state of Inlay (e.g. low water level). We also spent some time in Taunggyi and the nearby cave in Ho Pone.
    • My fourth visit was in January 2020 as the last leg of PSA 2020 Tour. We stayed at a hotel near Inlay Lake. Two PSA members gave a short course to the hotel employees. Some went for the Hot Air Balloon ride. Some opted for a boat ride in the Inlay Lake.

    Sydney

    In June 2006, I visited Sydney, Australia to attend three mini-gatherings.

    • Annual Dinner of Engineers
      mostly RIT Alumni
    Engg Dinner in Sydney
    • Gathering hosted by Saya U Aung Zaw (UCC) to pay respect to Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe (Founder of UCC) and Sayagyi Dr. Freddie Ba Hli (National Advisor, Board Member of UCC)
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    UCC Alumni in Sydney
    • Lunch for Old Paulians in Olympic Park by Dr. Thann Naing (Bonnie Kywe, Geology)
    • Ko Tha Hlaing (EC83) is the son of Dr. Freddie Ba Hli and my cousin Daw Myint Thwe. He gave me the book “This is Sydney” as a present.
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    Book Present

    Niagara Falls

    • Visited Nigara Falls twice.
    • My first visit to Niagara Falls two decades ago from the US side.
    • Ko Mya Aung, Ko Tin Ohn, Ko Mg Mg Myint and I rented a car and made a quick trip.
    • My second visit to Niagara Falls was made in July 2015.
    • Ivan Lee (M69) provided his Mercedes for a trip to Canada and the East Coast of USA.
    • Fred Thetgyi (M69) drove most of the journey so that Ivan could rest. On the way to Windsor, Canada, we visited Niagara Falls from the Canadian side.
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    Niagara 1

    
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    Niagara 2
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    Niagara 3
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    Niagara 4

    UK

    England

    Peter
    • Hosts : Dr. Khin Tun (Peter) & Daw Win Mar (Reading, England)

    Wales

    Mg Mg Kyi
    • Hosts : U Maung Maung Kyi & Daw Khin May Than (Ogmore-by-the-sea, Wales)
    • See posts

    Texas

    Hosts

    Dr. Ba Han
    • Dr. Ba Han & Daw Lillian (Fort Worth)
    San Lin
    • U San Lin & Daw Hla Hla Myint (Dallas)
    Myo Tin & KZO
    • U Myo Tin & Dr. Khine Zin Oo (Temple)

    Seattle

    KMZ
    • U Khin Maung Zaw (Side trips to Oregon & Vancouver)

    East Coast

    Maryland

    East Coast Reunion
    • Dr. L Sein Myint
    U Thein Han
    • U Thein Han & family
    • U Wynn Myint Aung & family

    Washington, D.C.

    • U Htin Lin & family

    Tri-State

    • U Aung Thu (New York)
    Fred, Ivan, Tom
    • Ivan Lee (New Jersey) : Side trip to Canada & East Coast
    • Tom Liu & family (Connecticut)

    Pennsylvania

    • Fred Thetgyi & family

    Massachusetts

    TAG, Maw
    • Dr. Tun Aung Gyaw & Daw Khin Maw Maw (also Cape Cod for their son’s wedding)

    SoCal

    U Tin Htut
    • Saya U Tin Htut & Daw Irene
    Steeve
    • Steeve Kay (QTCM & KFF)
    U Aung Khin
    • U Aung Khin & Daw The The
    • Daw Phyu Phyu Kyaw
    U Tin Htoon, KMZ
    • U Tin Htoon & Daw Helen
    • Ed Saw

    Canada

    U Aung Khin
    • Sayagyi U Aung Khin (Windsor)
    Dr. Aung Gyi
    • Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi & Daw Emma (Napean)
    • U Zaw Oo (Vancouver)

    Singapore

    Win Latt
    • U Win Latt
    TAW
    • U Tin Aung Win & Daw Wah
    Ngwe Soe
    • U Ngwe Soe & Daw Nu Nu Yee (Side trip to Jahore & Malecca)
    Kyu, Pale
    • U Zaw Tun & Daw Kyu Kyu
    • Pale Shein & Ko Ye
    KMM
    • U Khin Maung Myint

    Myanmar

    5th Irrawaddy Literary Festival

    ILF
    • Host : ILF Board

    2020 Myanmar PSA Tour

    • Host : U Kyaw Kyaw Hlaing & family

    Visit to Burma by Foreign Leaders

    • During our younger days, three N’s : Nu (Burma), Nehru (India) and Nasser (Egypt) celebrated the Burmese New Year (Thingyan Festival). They helped found the Non-Aligned Movement.
    • Other leaders such as David Ben Gurion (Israel), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) and Daj Hammarskjold (UNSG) also visited Burma.

    Nehru (India)

    Photos : Compiled by Win Aung Gyi (Maung Aung Mon)

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    Nehru and Indira Gandhi (India)

    Chou En Lai (China)

    Chou En Lai
    Ben Gurion
    Daj Hammarskjold

  • 2018 NJ Gathering & Canada Trip

    by Hla Min & Ivan

    Update : May 2026

    NJ Gathering

    • For many years, Ivan Lee (M69) hosted Annual RIT-UCC gathering at his New Jersey home.
    • The Guests usually included Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi, Saya U Soe Paing, RIT alumni (e.g Fred Thetgyi) and UCC alumni (e.g Soe Myint) mostly from the East Coast). Some — Tun Aung Gyaw, Sein Myint — are alumni of RIT and UCC
    • In June 2018, the special guests included Saya Dr. Tin Win & Daw Lily from Southern California, Saya U Aung Myint from New Zealand and Daniel Tint Lwin from Singapore.
    • Ivan suggested repeating the Whirlwind Road Trip taken in July 2015 to visit Sayagyi U Aung Khin in Windsor and Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi in Napean, Ottawa.

    Visit Sayagyi U Aung Khin

    On 23rd June, 2018, the following visited Sayagyi U Aung Khin in Windsor, Canada.

    • Saya U Tin Win (M62)
    • Daw Lily Win (Khin Hta Yee, T72)
    • Saya U Htun Aung Kyaw (ChE67)
    • Saya U Aung Myint (M69)
    • Ivan Lee (M69)
    • Fred Thet Gyi (M69)
    • U Tint Lwin (Daniel, M69)

    Paying respect to Sayagyi U Aung Khin

    UAK 1
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    UAK 2
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    UAK 3

    Updates

    • At a later meeting, the attendees proposed to form MASTAA

    Initial MASTAA Team

    • Ivan — CEO and Chair
    • Sein Myint (EC76, UCC) — Vice Chair
    • Soe Myint (UCC) — President

    MASTAA Interviews

    • Saya Dr. Aung Gyi
    • Saya Dr. San Hla Aung
    • Saya U Soe Paing



  • Myint Thein

    by Hla Min

    Update : May 2026

    Myint Thein (David, M69)

    David 2
    David 3
    David 4
    • Matriculated from St. Columban’s High School, Bhamo
    • His crew at RUBC comprised of Win Naing (Dicky, Cox, GBNF), Sein Tun, Fred Thetgyi and Mehm Aye Chan (Ohn Maung)
    • Celebrated 40+ Wedding Anniversaries

    David Myint Thein wrote : Great memories. Thank you so much for posting. Actually, crews have to follow the instructions of their cox, but, as we were same batch and close friends, we ignored Dicky’s voice and shouted back at him, especially Sein Tun. Ha, ha, but we were so happy to go to the Rangoon University Boat Club and rowing with our great cox, Dicky.

    Myint Thein (Maung Kabar, M69)

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    Kabar (Front : Second from Left)
    Kabar in Singapore
    Kabar’s Last Journey
    • Organizer for 69er activities
    • Had medical exam in Singapore and India. To decide on treatment plans
    • Passed away in Yangon

    Myint Thein (CJ)

    • Chief Justice, Union of Burma
    • Ambassador to China
    • Author / Translator; Pen name: MMT
    • Spouse: Daw Phwa Hmee (first Burmese Female Barrister at Law)
    • Siblings : U Tin Tut, U Kyaw Myint, Dr. Htin Aung, Daw Khin Mya Mu, Daw Khin Saw Mu, Daw Tin Saw Mu
    • GBNF

    Myint Thein (Dio)

    • Classmate of Dr. Thein Hlyne
    • Forestry
    • Siblings : Dr. Tin Win (M62), Rosie (Chem); Pansy
    • GBNF

    Myint Thein (SPHS62)

    • B.Com
    • RUBC — Cox of our Novice crew
    • MOC
    • Brothers: Win Htein (GBNF), Myo Myint, Ba Han
    • GBNF

    Myint Thein, Dr. (M73)

    • Doctorate from Georgia Tech
    • Pen name: Ba Thein Atlanta; Wrote articles for RIT Alumni International Newsletter and SPZP

    Myint Thein (M74)

    • Aka Michael
    • SPHS68
    • Singapore
    • Wrote an article for RIT Alumni International Newsletter
    • Provided GBNF list for the Class of 74

    Myint Thein (C74)

    • Aka Soon Hoe
    • Recording Studio in Burma
    • Moved to USA
    • Donated equipment & services to selected monasteries and associations
    • Spouse : Cynthia Hoe

    Myint Thein, Dr. (Chem)

    • First Burmese Scholar to study Nuclear Chemistry in the USA
    • Spouse : Sayama Daw Khin Khin Aye

    Myint Thein, Dr.

    • High School Luyechun
    • B.Ed
    • Secretary, Maths Curriculum
    • Graduate studies in Australia and USA

    Myint Thein, Dr. (Phy)

    • Doctorate from UK

    Myint Thein (Geology 74)

    • Author
    • Pen name: Maung Kyay Yay

    Myint Thein (M86)

    • Dauk Char

    Myint Thein (Chem)

    • Boxing
    • Rowing

    Myint Thein (Phy)

    • Bando

    Myint Thein (Trade)

    • UCC User

    Myint Thein (EPC)

    • UCC User

    Myint Thein (Cartoon)

    • San Shwe Myint Cartoon

    Posts

    • M (Names)
    • Myint (Names)
    • T (Names)
    • Thein (Names)
  • 69ers — Sept 2018

    by Hla Min

    Update : May 2026

    Status (2018)

    • Junior 69ers are 71 years old.
    • Senior 69ers are 75+ years old.
    • Many 69ers have children, grand children and even great grandchildren.
    • Myint Maung (EP69) and Nyi Hla Nge (retired Dy. Minister, C69) are eligible bachelors.
    • GBNF (Gone But Not Forgotten) list stands at 85.
    • Aging and sickness have hit several 69ers.

    Myint Soe (M69)

    • Fell down about 10 days ago at his flat
    • Admitted to Hospital for 4 days to undergo 7 stitches, head scanning etc.
    • Back at home & taking rest.

    Harry Tin Htut (M69)

    • Pen name : Mon Yu”
    • Young at heart. Stays fit by doing exercises (e.g. Tai Chi) & singing songs.
    • Many were awed to know that he recently turned 77.

    Ivan Lee (M69)

    Ivan
    Ivy
    • Aka Khin Maung Oo
    • Golden Sponsor of SPZP-2000 and SPZP-2007
    • Major Donor to 69er Health Care Fund
    • Hosted Annual RIT-UCC Gathering at his house in NJ
    • Life time Platinum at Bridge (card game).
    • PEs from NY (New York State) and NJ (New Jersey).
    • Had a private company
    • Recently celebrated his 76th birthday with 11 family members (two daughters, two son-in-laws, six grand children) and invited guests
    • Has donated in memory of his spouse Ivy Lee.
    • Organized two trips — in July 2015 and June 2018 — to Canada to visit Saya U Aung Khin in Windsor and Saya Dr. Aung Gyi in Napean
    Saya U Aung Khin
    Saya Dr. Aung Gyi

    Updates (2025)

    • Several 69ers are now Octogenarians.
    • The GBNF list has 137 members.
    GBNF
    • Ivan co-founded MASTAA and served as CEO
    • 69ers celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Graduation in 2019
    • About twenty 69ers succumbed to Covid

    Posts

    • 69ers
    • Anniversaries & Celebrations
    • GBNF
    • Health Care Funds
    • Memories of a 69er
  • Trips in 2019

    by Hla Min

    Update : May 2026

    • Singapore, Malaysia & Myanmar before the Pandemic
    • Thanks to hosts, sponsors and organizers
    5th Irrawaddy Literary Festival

    Late October to Early November

    • In late October 2019, I visited former classmates, colleagues & students in Singapore.
    • Ko Zaw Tun (UCC) & Ma Kyu were our main hosts.
    • Ko Ngwe Soe (Silver, UCC) & Ma Nu hosted us at their second home in Jahore. Silver took us to Melecca. Earlier he took us to Sentosa which was about to bring down the Lion Statue. He also wanted to jolt my memory of the “Myo Putt Ya Htar”.
    • There were mini gatherings :
      69ers, M73 group with their Saya U Tu Myint, ex-UCC and ex-ICST.
    • There were micro gatherings : Boe & Ma Phyu, Ma Pale & Ko Ye.
    • Ko Zaw Tun & Ma Kyu offered Soon at their house in addition to regular ones at Singapore Chan Myay Monastery.

    Early November

    • In early November, we continued our trip. KK picked me up at Mingalardon airport and placed me at a hotel. He hosted two gatherings : speakers & coaches.
    • We flew to Mandalay to attend the 5th Irrawaddy Literary Festival. I was a panelist at two sessions : one on Education and another on Poetry.
    • During a break, Ko Thein Htut (UCC) took me on a quick trip around Sagaing & Mandalay
    • Received autographed copy from Htein Win (Dat Pon). He had to wait a long time before he could publish his photos and articles about two Dark Moments in Burma : U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin & 8-8-88.

    Mid November to End of December

    • There were several gatherings back in Yangon in November and December, 2019.

    RIT Gatherings

    • RIT 69er Monthly Breakfast Gathering
    • Golden Jubilee of 69ers (Main event at Gyogone Campus, Reunion Dinner organized by Ko Aung Min at his old office compound)
    • Lunch hosted by Ko Tin Win (Min69)
    • Guest of Class of 72 (M72 Annual Gathering & PZP, additional : Indian Lunch, Chinese Dinner)
    • Guest at All Mechanical Gathering
    • Dinner by Ko Nyunt Htay (Met73)
    • Birthday Lunch by Ko Myint Toe (M71) & Ma Nwe (Met74)

    UCC / ICST Gatherings

    • Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe of UCSY/ICST
    • Several ex-UCC gatherings
      (MICT, Sweetie, Soon Kyway by Ko Soe Win & KZ, …)

    SPHS Gatherings

    • Wedding of Eddie Shein’s daughter
    • Soon for Uzin Saya Beatson

    RUBC

    • RUBC Annual Regatta
    • Attendees include :
      U Tin U (Most Senior Past Captain), U Maung Maung Than Tun (Oldest Past Captain, GBNF), Dr. Myo Tint (Past Captain, GBNF), U Sein Htoon (Past Captain), U Myo Myint (Gold), U Tun Mra, U Tin Myint (GBNF), Dr. Thein Hlyne …

    MARB

    • Visited new Building
    • Thai Tarot Master donated Air Conditioners

    Sun Lun

    • Meditation sessions
    • Received two books from Junior Win about her grand parents U Khin Maung Latt and Daw Khin Myo Chit

    Miscellaneous

    • 49th Anniversary of Saya Dr. Soe Win & Sayama Daw May Saw Lwin
    • Thar Yay (သာရေး) Zeyar
    • Nar Yay (နာရေး) Ma Cherry
    • Other gatherings :
      Ma Hazel,
      my friends,
      my spouse’s friends…
    • Thanks for the rides :
      Ko Ohn Khine,
      Ko Win Maung (Lake),
      Ko Tin Aung Win (Oscar),
      Ko Tin Win,
      Ko Ye Myint,
      Ko Aung Myin Bo,
      younger son of Y Patail
      …

    Posts

    • 5th ILF
    • 69ers
    • Anniversaries & Celebrations
    • Gatherings
    • UCC, DCS & ICST
    • Visits
  • SPZP-2007

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    SPZP-2007

    April 5, 2007

    Arrival and Accommodation

    Arrived in Singapore 15 minutes later than the ETA.

    Ko Nyan Win Shwe, Saya U Aung, Ko San Win, Ko Khin Latt, Ko Zaw Win Htut and Ko Tin Aung Win (TAW) were waiting for the “Three Musketeers” — Saya Allen Htay, Ko Benny Tan, and me.

    Saya and Ko Benny were taken to the Bay View Hotel, which is close to the three hotels where the sayas and sayamas from Myanmar who had arrived earlier on April 4, 2007.

    Thanks to Ko TAW (C81, UCC) for giving me his younger son’s room and his laptop, for proving me home-cooked food, and for driving me to the various gatherings and the main events.

    Electrical Engg Gathering

    Attended EE gathering. Organizers include Ma San San Mya (’72), Ko Kyaw Swa (’96, emcee), Ko Aung Mon (’96), …

    Sayas led by U Myo Kyi, Dr. Christopher Lee (L. Tin Tun), U Soe Paing, U Moe Aung, Dr. Win Tin, U Ba Myint, U Khine Oo, U Tin Maung Thein, U Tin Shwe, U Kyaw Lwin, Daw Mya Mya Than, U Than Lwin … attended the gathering.

    Many sayas gave speeches: brief self-intro, walks down memory lane, and thanks to the organizers.

    April 6, 2007

    Civil Engg Gathering

    Attended as “Ah htoo ei the daw” [အထူးဧည့်သည်တော် guest] the Civil Engg gathering organized by Saya U Aung, Saya Dr.Soe Thein, …, Ko Aung Kyaw Myint (’96, “Ko Ba Kyaw” of Swe Daw Yeik fame, emcee), …

    Sayas led by Dr. Aung Gyi, U Min Wun, Dr. Win Thein, Dr. Aung Soe, U Allen Htay, U Thein Tan, U Khin Maung Phone Ko, Saw Christopher Maung, U Tin Maung, U Nyi Hla Nge, Dr. Htin Aung, Dr, Khin Maung Win, U Hla Myint Thein, U Khin Maung Tint, Dr. Myo Khin, U Khin Maung Maung, Dr. Soe Thein, Daw Swan Tee, ….

    Welcome Dinner

    Attended the “welcome dinner” at Yunan corner. Food was provided by a local Myanmar restaurant and some imported specialties: Kauk hnyin kyi tauk.

    Almost all the visiting sayas, sayamas and their families attended. Saya U Ba Toke, 87 years young led the sayas.

    Met the core organizers of SPZP 2007. Had a meeting with the sayas and the representatives from the alumni groups to decide on the time and venue for the next SPZP.

    April 7, 2007

    The two main events of the Fourth RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP took place.

    Morning event at BBT

    Three rounds of Saya Ga Daw Pwe at the Burmese Buddhist Temple (BBT) :

    • senior sayas who graduated before ’65
    • sayas who graduated before ’75
    • sayas who graduated after ’75

    Saya U Ba Toke, Saya U Min Wun, and Saya U Thar Hlaing gave “ovadha ဩဝါဒ and blessings for the attendees.

    Ko Tin Maung Win (EP71) posted Part 1 of the event on “YouTube” and requested us (me and the various webmasters and/or moderators of the RIT-related web sites) to announce the link so that the sayas, sayamas, alums and well-wishers who could not attend SPZP 2007 can share the experiences.

    Three Tin Maung Wins worked for the same company in Singapore. They are formally differentiated by using their major/discipline and/or year of graduation. Two of them are known as “Ah Phyu အဖြူ TMW” and “Ah Me အမဲ TMW” (who prefers to be called instead “Ah Nyo အညို TMW” or as the hubby of “Model” (Mai Daw မယ်တော် singer and dancer Moe Moe Yi.

    Evening event at OCC

    Orchid Country Club (OCC) is one of the few places in Singapore that can host events with 800+ attendees. According to Ko Nyan Win Shwe, 840 attended the Reunion dinner.

    There were long queues at the registration table. Young volunteers gave out badges, “Swe Daw Yeik Sar Saung စွယ်တော်ရိပ်စာစောင်” and a door gift to every attendee. The invited sayas and sayamas were given additional gifts.

    Some scheduled speeches were canceled or shortened (from 5 to 3 minutes). There was ample entertainment from the Singapore and Myanmar groups while the 10-course dinner was being served.

    There were two rounds of “appreciation to the Golden Sponsors” (for a complete list see the SPZP 2007 web site). Ko Benny and I were requested to accept the “appreciation awards” on behalf of the sponsors who could not attend SPZP 2007.

    Ko Myint San (“Tet Lu တက်လူ”) showed his expertise with the dobat, pattala, and “Chit Dukkha” song, Ko Yu Swan entertained with “Don min” and Shwe Zin Ma played the saung and also played in the pyazat directed by Ko Aung Kyaw Myint (“Ba Kyaw ဘကျော်”).

    Yu Swan & Emma

    Ko Tet Lu and Ko Ba Kyaw had complete confidence in the next generation of “Lu shwin daws လူရွှင်တော်များ led by Ko Awba ဩဘာ

    The Swel Daw Yeik Ah Nyeint စွယ်တော်ရိပ်အငြိမ့် also featured Khine Nay Nwe Lwin, Aye Thaw Kyawt, Awba, Pulley, Chainthee, and Diode.

    The program, originally scheduled to end at 11:45 p.m., ended almost an hour later. This was due in part to pay back to the people who had shown appreciation by “rewarding” them.

    The program ended with a special song written by Ko Ba Kyaw and with a big crowd on the podium.

  • Peter — May 11, 2020

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    Dr. Khin Kyi Nyunt & U Tin U

    During our visit to UK, Peter gave me a memory stick containing the interviews made by Min Ko.

    I learnt that U Sett Khaing and Daw Sarah Tin Gyi took Tin Tin Aye (Olga, Ma Tin) and Khin Kyi Nyunt (Cherry, Ma Tu) to India during the Second World War. When U Tin Gyi passed away unexpected in the UK, the two young sisters were not informed immediately to spare shock grief.

    The two sisters were very close since they attended classes together. After their return to Burma, they attended a Convent High School. They matriculated in 1949 and attended Rangoon University. They received their MBBS. Ma Cherry joined the Faculty of Medicine as Demonstrator. She transferred to BMRI (Burma Medical Research Institute) to work on Nutrition projects. She received a post graduate diploma from UK.

    She married U Tin U on May 5, 1957. They had large extended families since Ma Cherry is the youngest of nine siblings, and U Tin U is the eldest of nine siblings.

    At the wedding reception, her nieces joined Ma Cho (U Tin U’s youngest sister) as Flower Girls.

    They had three children : Peter, Aye Aye Khin and Ye Myint.

    U Tin U & Family

    They have five grand children : Min Ko, Ye Lay, Aye Sandar, Thin Thiri Tun and Khin Sandy Tun.

    Peter moved to Mezaligone after his marriage to Win Mar and opened a clinic.

    Per Win Mar, they were delighted to have Ma Cherry join them in Mezaligone for about a year and look after Min Ko.

    After Peter went to UK, Win Mar and her two sons stayed in the Windermere Compound. They later moved to join Peter in UK.

    Ma Cherry visited UK for the second time to see her sons and their families.

    Ma Cherry and Peter in UK

    Peter visited Burma mostly in January to celebrate Ma Cherry’s birthday in January 12 and also his birthday late in the month. Peter posted photos of the 80th and 85th Birthdays with Ma Cherry.

    Peter also posted photos of his father’s 90th birthday on August 3, 2019.

    U Tin U’s mother in 2003
    Ma Cherry’s 80th Birthday
    Ma Cherry’s 85th Birthday
    U Tin U’s 90th Birthday
    U Tin U’s 90th Birthday
    At Windermere Road

    Min Ko and Pru hosted their engagement party in Yangon.

    Ye Lay was invited to a talk in Yangon. He gave additional lectures at the Physics Department at Yangon University, and the Electrical Engineering Department at Yangon Technological University.

    One Month Memorial

    Photo Card

    U Tin Htoon prepared a special Photo Card for Peter’s one month memorial.

    Win Mar & family will have a special dhamma talk by Birmingham Sayadaw. Min Ko will arrange a Zoom meeting for relatives overseas.

  • April 13, 2020

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    Thingyan

    • The Burmese celebrate Thingyan (Water) Festival in mid-April for three or four days before ushering in the Burmese New Year.
    • In our younger days, we had to stop enjoying Thingyan twice due to the loss of our loved ones :
      Uncle Eric Lwin (U Than Lwin)
      and
      Daw Mya Mya

    Final Day

    • Despite prayers by relatives, friends and colleagues all over the world, Dr. Kihin Tun (Peter) succumbed to COVID-19.
    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ye-lay-1.jpg
    Peter Tun
  • BOC College Graduate

    By Mr. Aw Taik Moh (C54)

    I graduated from the University of Rangoon with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in March 1954. The few years I spent at the University of Rangoon, particularly at Engineering, were one of the happiest and most rewarding times of my life.

    The BOC College of Engineering was actually the School of Engineering in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. It was funded by BOC (British Oil Company). It was then understandably heavily mechanically and electrically oriented. In my first two years, about half of the faculty members were Britons and the Dean of the Engineering Faculty was Professor Davies. We had very excellent lecturers who were of diverse ethnic background – Indians, Chinese and Burmese – but they and us the students were all Burmese citizens. I spent four years at Civil Engineering (CE). We the civil engineering students were required to take some basic mechanical and electrical courses and workshops also, while the mechanical and electrical students were not required to take any civil engineering courses. Since these courses were mandated or compulsory for civil engineering students, I could not avoid them. I did pass those subjects but not very proud of it because they were not my major interests.

    Professor Davies and all the Britons left Rangoon around 1950. U Ba Hli took over the engineering faculty as Dean. To his credit, U Ba Hli ran the school very professionally. He recommended and managed to get many of his students and graduates to go abroad for graduate studies. These student-graduates of his came back to Myanmar with master’s degrees and doctorates from England and USA to teach under his deanship. U Ba Hli also initiated an education exchange program with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) during the period beginning, I think, in 1951 and ending in 1954. The program brought 3 to 4 civil, mechanical and electrical professors from MIT to Rangoon University. The R.U. Engineering Faculty made a very impressive and quick progress in its worldwide reputation and was duly recognized and accredited internationally. I am proud to say that we Burmese students, including myself, did exceedingly well at the foreign universities in England and the U.S. This shows that, given the opportunity and the tools, we the Burmese students were as good, if not better than, as any other in the world. I went to MIT for graduate studies, came back to Myanmar with a Master’s degree in 1957 and served the Myanmar government in the National Housing and Town and Country Development Board for a number of years. Many of my fellow students from R.U. Engineering went to and graduated from MIT, Harvard, Cornell, Michigan, UCLA, Columbia and other big-name American universities.

    In my first year at RU Engineering I stayed at Prome Hall for a semester. The Prome Hall Football (soccer) Team was the best, the champion team of all the university teams all the time, winning the university championship trophy for years in a row. You know, we the engineering students were very close; we were like a family. We never thought of ourselves as Burmese, Indians or Chinese. We loved each other, helped each other, and took care of each other like brothers (there were no female students in engineering during my time). In fact, all engineering students were very united as one family. Our classes at that time had only 12 to 14 students each. Even the professors treated us like they were our older brothers, but of course we addressed them as Sayas with deep respect. As far as I can recall, no one from my class or any other class failed in any subjects or to graduate from RU. I learned a lot from RU Engineering and enjoyed every courses, including the Surveying Class in a summer. I must confess that although we appreciated the Geology course at the Geology Department, which was located like miles away from the Engineering school, this was the least liked by my entire class of students and we all scored a “C” or “C-” at best. The geology professor didn’t like us either because we were usually late arriving for his class lectures. But we couldn’t help being late, considering the distance we had to walk or bike from Engineering to the Geology Department. I hope for the present engineering students, some arrangement could be made for a geology professor to walk or bike from his department to Engineering, instead of having so many students getting late to his class. Although I wouldn’t consider myself as a top-notch or extremely bright student, somehow even with a “C” for geology, to my and my fellow students’ great astonishment I was placed second in my final year exams.

    I fondly remember the little Indian restaurant by Prome Hall where I and my many friends used to have lunch, paratas and keema paratas. I also enjoyed boating at the Inya Lake when we occasionally skipped classes.