In 2017, I was listed in the “Hall of Fame” of Toastmasters International District 101 for (a) Distinguished Toastmaster (b) Triple Crown (c) Leadership Excellence (d) Advanced Leader Silver
Hall of Fame 1
Joined District 4 (an early District) of Toastmasters International. It grew too big and was reorganized as District 4 and District 101 (for clubs that are mostly located near Highway 101).
Hall of Fame
Received the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award.
DTM 1DTM 2
Won the “Triple Crown” for completing three awards between May and November of 2017.
Halin
Halin
Visited Halin (inhabited by the Pyu) near Shwe Bo.
Halin was declared as UN Heritage Site.
Not easy to go to Halin by the supposedly “short cut route” especially with ongoing repairs to the narrow road.
The Museum provided pamphlets with Pyu alphabet & Halin Pyu Stone Inscription
Hell-Hound At Large
Hell Hound At Large
Ko Aung San (Editor of Oway Magazine) was expelled for not disclosing the author of the satirical article “The Hell-Hound At Large”.
Ko Aung San
The authorities knew that Oway U Mya was the author, but they wanted to take action against Ko Aung San.
HMEE
HMEE Book
The History of Myanmar Engineering Education book was published in 2012.
Saya U Aung Hla Tun (National Literary Award Winner) was the Lead Author of the Project.
HMEE Team
The early supporters of the Project include U Ba Than (Retired Professor of Mechanical Engineering), U Soe Paing (My mentor at RIT and UCC) and U Thaw Kaung (Retired Chief Librarian of Universities’ Central Library).
U Ba ThanU Soe PaingU Thaw Kaung
U Ohn Khine (M70) and I compiled the CD Supplement for the Book.
U Ohn KhineU Hla MinCD Supplement
U Soe Paing & U Ohn Khine translated Section One and summarized Section Two of the Book.
Htee Yein
Htee 1Htee 2Htee 3
In 1970, RIT took part in the “Entertainment Program” for the Rangoon University Shwe YaDu (ရွှေရတု Golden Jubilee).
Htee Yein ထီးယိမ်း was a hit at the Shwe YaDu Celebrations.
Swel Daw Yeik Ah Nyeint စွယ်တော်ရိပ်အငြိမ့် was also a feature.
The terms “Swel Daw” and “Swel Daw Yeik” became known as synonyms for RIT in general and the Engineering Institutions in Burma in particular.
Won most of Free Style events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m) and Cross Lake at RIT and All Institute Competitions
Was Secretary of the RIT Swimming Association
Represented Burma in Water Polo at the Fifth SEAP Games in 1969
Spouse : Than Than (Burma, SEAP & Asian Games Champion Sprinter)
Regular attendee at RIT 69er Monthly Breakfast Gatherings at Taw Win Hnin Si (Royal Rose) Restaurant.
Aging (notably hard of hearing) has caught up with the former Swimming Champ.
Htin Aung, Dr. (C69)
Htin Aung 1Htin Aung 2
Retired as Professor of Civil Engineering from YIT / YTU.
Represented RIT in Chinlon.
Badminton & Soccer player.
Several Dr. Htin Aung including the first native Rector of Rangoon University, and a Physics Professor (Sacred Heart 1957).
Htin Lin
Htin Lin
Pen name of U Thein Maung.
National Literary Award Winner
Gave English Tuition with U Khin Maung Latt
Eldest son : Soe Myint (GBNF) graduated with Triple Maths, but chose journalism. He was Chief Editor of the Guardian. He published my poems and Computer articles.
Younger sons : Soe Win (EC70, UCC, PTC), Kyaw Zaw (EC72, High School Luyechun, DCA, GBNF) and Khin Zaw (UCC).
His great grand son (son of U Khin Maung Zaw & Dr. Daw Khin Khin Latt) is named Htin Lin.
Saya U Hla Myint (Charlie, M65) and Saya U Myo Win (M/Ag65) co-chaired the RIT Alumni Gathering.
Organizers include U Thet Tun (Henry, M75), U Wint Khin Zaw (A79), and U Sein Win (C80).
Attendees include Saya Dr. Freddie Ba Hli, RIT Alumni & family members, U Aung Zaw (UCC) and some Doctors
Ko Htay Aung (EC80) provided tickets to attend the Gathering.
UCC Gathering
UCC Gathering
Saya U Aung Zaw (UCC) hosted the UCC Alumni Gathering at his house.
Ma Kyawt cooked Mohinga.
We paid respect to Sayagyi Dr. Freddie Ba Hli and Sayagyi Dr. Chit Swe
BOB Gathering
Dr. Than Naing (Bonnie Kywe, SPHS66, Geology Professor) hosted the BOB Gathering at the Olympic Park built for 2000 Summer Olympics.
Attendees include Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint (from Canberra), U Win Boh (Robert from Queensland), U Htay Aung (Victor), Stanley Saw (from New Zealand) and Philip Smythe (Burma Selected in Swimming & Diving).
Ko Bonnie invited U Pantra.
Updates
Several are now GBNF. They include Dr. Freddie Ba Hli & Daw Myint Thwe, Dr. Chit Swe, U Aung Zaw and U Myo Win.
Most RIT alumni were from Sydney. A few from Perth & Auckland (New Zealand) attended the Alumni Gathering.
Father’s Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday in June.
Three Generation of Fathers
My beloved fatherMy beloved parents
First Generation
My beloved father
He had NDE (Near Death Experience) in his teens. The doctors said that he had three months to live, but thanks to Kadok Sayagyi (ကတုတ်ဆရာကြီး၊ Indigenous Medicine Expert) he lived to be a father of seven and grandfather of eleven.
He was a Jack of all Trades and Master of Some. He was not an Architect, but he built pagodas and houses (for him and his younger brothers).
He passed away in his 80s.
He would be 109 in July 2025.
Three Generations
Second Generation
Yours truly
I am a Lifelong Learner.
I am a former academic and Software Engineer.
I have two sons and two grandchildren.
My family 1
Third Generation
My elder son
He is an Industrial Engineer.
He has a daughter & a son. Both are excellent in studies and extra-curricular activities.
My family 2
Old Poem
Be kind to your father For when you were young Who loved you as fondly as he He caught the first accent that fell from your tongue And joined in the heavenly glee
Be kind to your father For now he is old His hair intermingled with grey His footsteps are feeble — Once fearless and bold Your father is passing away
Morals & Manners
We had to study “Morals & Manners” at St. Paul’s High School. Brother Austin rewarded those who could recite poems in the book.
Children : Saya Dr. Tin Maung and Sayama Daw Thein.
U Aung Hla
(18/Apr/1896 to 13/Dec/1983)
Passed away at the age of 88.
Professor of Maths, RU
Dean of Arts, RU
Accomplished musician
Annotated 25 Burmese songs.
Spouse : Daw May Than was a nationally known singer.
Son : U Mya Than played the lead guitar & piano.
U Po Thon
(27/Jul/1899 to 23/Nov/1982)
Passed away at the age of 84.
Pyinnya Mingyi ပညာမင်းကြီး
Supervised & published Maths texts for use in schools.
U Net
(15/Jan/1918 to 26/Feb/2003)
Passed away at the age of 86.
Professor of Maths, MASU
Feather of Daw Khin Mar Mar (Physics & UCC) & grandfather of Wunna Ko Ko, webmaster of second RIT web site.
U Ba Toke
(26/Dec/1920 to 2/Dec/2020)
Book
Phwa Bet Taw ဖွားဘက်တော် of “Rangoon University” and “First RU Student Boycott” (which is celebrated as “Ah Myo Tha Aung Pwe Nay” အမျိုးသားအောင်ပွဲနေ့ )
Professor of Maths, RASU
Rector, MASU
Professor of Maths, RIT
Vice Chair of Maths, Assumption University
Mandalay University Soccer Selected
Chinlon expert
Vice chair, RU Sports Council
Led the Burmese Olympic team to Tokyo in 1964.
Gave interviews (three C-90 tapes) and documents (4 files) to Saya Dr. Khin Maung Swe (Tekkatho Maung Thin Char). The book was published in April 2010 & was distributed on Sayagyi’s 90th birthday.
Updates
Many sayas — including those mentioned in the post are GBNF.
Other GBNF sayas include Dr. Chit Swe, Dr. Tin Maung, Dr. Saw Tin, Dr. Khin Maung Win, U Tin Hlaing, U Sein Min, U Ko Lay & U Aung Sein
We had frequent flyer miles with United Air Lines.
Booked round trip flight from SJC (San Jose, California) to DFW (Dallas / Fort Worth in Texas) via DEN (Denver, Colorado) after consulting with Dr. Ba Han (SPHS66, IM1 73, who lives in Fort Worth) and U San Lin (Robert, MEHS67, EC73, UCC, who lives in Dallas).
There are several twin cities in the USA. They include
Dallas & Fort Worth (in Texas)
Minneapolis & St. Paul (in Minnesota)
Seattle & Tacoma (in Washington)
DFW is an International air port near Dallas and Fort Worth.
Dallas also has a local airport named “Love Field” (which is used mainly by Southwest Airlines).
Robert agreed to pick us up at the DFW air port and host for two nights.
Dr. Ba Han agreed to host the remainder of the trip, and also show us around selected cities in Texas.
Break from FB
I did not take my lap top.
I did not log in to FB for the duration of the trip.
May 8, 2019
We flew from SJC to DEN on the morning of May 8, 2019.
At the DEN airport, we learned that “due to thunderstorms, only a limited number of inbound flights to DFW were allowed.” The estimated time of departure from DEN was adjusted twice. After more than two hours delay, the plane took off and landed in DFW about two hours later.
Robert and his spouse Daw Hla Myint (Marina, EC73) picked us up at DFW. They treated us to a Texas BBQ (Barbecue). We learned that Robert had become a vegetarian, but would occasionally order BBQ for his grandson.
They hosted us for two nights.
May 9, 2019
They showed us around Dallas (including the infamous depository used by Oswald, the ranch used in the TV series “Dallas”, and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
Robert
Robert studied at RIT & UCC. He worked for TI (Texas Instruments) in Singapore. He was relocated to TI in Houston. He retired in 2018 and moved to Dallas to be near his son Dr. Vincent & two grandsons.
Vincent and his wife are medical doctors. They hosted a dinner near the swimming club of their elder son.
U Boon PinU Boon Pin and wife
Robert’s father U Boon Pin is a 1948 – 49 classmate of U Soe Aung (PWD) and U Gyn Kho (PWD, Dr. Ba Han’s uncle). He retired as Deputy Chief Engineer of Railways.
Robert’s mom passed away in Taiwan in 2020. She has two sisters. One married Albert Teoh (the eldest of 15 Teoh siblings). Another is the mother of Johnson Lim (C7x).
May 10, 2019
Dr. Ba Han joined us for lunch at the Dallas Chinese temple that offers excellent vegetarian dishes for a suggested donation of $7.
He then drove us to Temple to meet our common niece — daughter of his elder brother U Myo Myint (EC67, RUBC Gold) and my elder sister Sayama Daw Tin Tin Win (RIT Chemistry).
My niece Dr. Khine Zin Oo & her spouse U Myo Tin treated us a dinner at a restaurant which offered dishes from Texas and Louisiana.
The weather reports indicated heavy rains and floods in parts of Texas (e.g. Houston) on May 11, 2019.
So we decided to visit Austin that day. My niece Dr. Khine Zin Oo and her husband U Myo Tin took us to Austin Sitagu and the Austin Capitol.
Austin Sitagu
Austin 1
We offered soon to the resident monks (including an American monk). Several meals were prepared by a former Sushi shop owner from California.
The visitors included
Dr. Doris Maung Oo : spouse of Thura Tin Maung Aye (BAF, GBNF)
her daughter (classmate of my elder son at TTC)
her son-in-law
niece (daughter of Dr. Alice Maung Oo).
State Capitol
Austin Capitol 1Austin Capitol 2
We joined the tour at the Austin Capitol (which at one time claimed to the tallest among the Capitols in the USA).
The tour guide explained the six flags of Texas and showed us the two chambers and the Dome.
May 12, 2019
Dr. Ba Han took us to Houston to see NASA and to visit our cousin U Oo Thwin (Michael, alumnus of Rutger’s University).
NASA
There were two tram rides at NASA.
One tram took us to the Mission Control room.
We were not aware that the Mission Control room had been emptied (as part of the renovation for the Golden Jubilee of the Apollo 11 flight in July, 1969). The docent highlighted the importance of Mission Control for the NASA missions in general and the Apollo missions in particular.
Another tram took us to the Training Facility of the astronauts. There were several interesting items on display.
Both tram rides stopped at the “Rockets site” with three vintage rockets.
U Oo Thwin (Michael)
We paid respect to our cousin Ko Michael (son of my maternal uncle) at his house. He has five children and some grand children. His eldest daughter Capy (who had moved back from Seattle after her mother passed away) and his younger son Nyi Nyi were there that day.
His friends include Sao Aung Myint (John Khun Kyi).
May 13, 2019
Dr. Ba Han took us to San Antonio and Fredericksburg.
The tourist attractions at San Antonio are the Alamo (which gained fame in the Davy Crockett movie) and the River Walk beside a man-made canal (with a depth of 3 to 5 feet). We took a book ride.
We visited National Museum of the Pacific War at Fredericksburg, Texas. One exhibit was dedicated to Admiral Nimitz. He and Dwight D. Eisenhower were the two five star generals during Second World War. One exhibit was funded by the George H W Bush foundation. A two-day pass for seniors cost $12.
We returned to Fort Worth.
Fort Worth
Daw Tin Tin Aye (Lillian, T72) is known as a “Ah Phwa” to several Myanmar (Mon, Chin, …) families in Fort Worth. She is happy providing social services especially to the new comers. Due to her busy schedule, she could not join Dr. Ba Han for the trip to Temple, Austin, Houston, …
During her visit to Yangon, “Good Morning” Kyaw Myint took her to the M72 Reunion.
Lillian keeps in touch with her close friends from T72, but she cannot recall the names of several sayas and others from the Class of 72.
Dr. Ba Han’s family
Dr. Ba Han (SPHS66, IM1 73) is the younger brother of U Win Htein (SPHS56, Purdue, PWD), U Myo Myint (EC67, RUBC Gold) and U Myint Thein (B.Com, cox of our Novice crew) & the elder brother of Daw Myint Myint Thein (Susan, DAC).
He has a daughter Hester (who is a teacher) and two grand children. His younger son Harry is doing internship at a hospital in San Francisco.
He retired twice (once in New York and once in Texas).
He has come out of retirement and is now working (some weeks from home and some weeks on-site).
During our trip, he delegated most tasks to his assistant, but he still had to take phone calls and/or “Telepresence”.
He belongs to a big extended family. He is a cousin-uncle of U Aung Win (Owen, M71).
After taking long trips, it was time to slow down and take a rest.
Dr. Ba Han enjoys driving. He has driven from Texas to other states including California and New York.
Due to the possibility of bad weather (thunderstorms, heavy rains, floods), we decided to play safe.
Short trips
Good weather permitting, Dr. Ba Han took us to tourist attractions in his neighborhood.
May 14, 2019
Fort Worth Stock Yard
FW 1FW 2FW 3
On May 14, 2019, we visited the “Fort Worth Stock Yard”. In the early days, Texas Long Horns were traded at the Exchange. For tourists, two “cow herding” shows were performed daily. There are a few guys who make money by charging $5 to mount a “Long Horn” and take pictures.
May 15, 2019
Fort Worth Water Garden
FW WG
On May 15, 2019, we visited the “Fort Worth Water Garden”. It ha four sections. People would come to enjoy the cool environment especially on hot days. The architect incorporated soothing sound effects.
May 16, 2019
Oklahoma Border
OKB
Texas does not permit gambling. Some travel to the “Winstar Casino” located in Oklahoma just a few miles from the border of Texas. It has sections named London, Paris, Madrid, Beijing, …
In several states, Native Americans are allowed to operate casinos. Oklahoma is one of them.
Spare time
The trips were short. They allowed Dr. Ba Han to do some urgent work from his home.
He loves history. He gave me three books to read in my spare time.
His sisters in Yangon were interviewed for the book “Yangon Echoes”. They received an autographed copy from Virginia (co-author). Except for some inadvertent errors (possibly introduced in the translation of the interviews), the book covers good material.
“George Washington’s Secret Six” describes how the Culper Ring saved the American Revolution.
Another book was by a Taiwanese-American researcher who spent two years (2007 and 2008) in Myanmar to study Sino-Burmese culture and practice. The book was bought in Yangon for K5000.
Side bar : Book presents
Over the years, I received book presents.
Some were from authors (e.g. Tekkatho Moe War, Ashin Kesala, Saya Des Rodgers, Junior Win, Htain Lin, Maung Swan Yi, U Ye Sint, Saya U Aung Zaw (UCC), Sayadaw U Jotalankara, U Hla Myint).
Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint (SPHS60) air mailed me the book (written and published by his former students and colleagues for his 70th birthday present) from Australia. The postage was comparable to the price of the book.
U Wint Khin Zaw (A79) air mailed me the book (autobiography of his father “K” @ BBS U Khin Zaw) from Australia.
Some were from “Sar Pay Chit Thu Myar”.
U Khin Maung Zaw (KMZ, EC76) posted me two books that he brought from Yangon. One covers “U Thant Ah Yay Ah Khin”. The other is a trans-composition of Zawgyi’s poems.
For some time, I have read and/or listened to book summaries provided by blinkist.com
The trip was planned for May 8, 2019 to May 18, 2019
There were twists and turns
Ad hoc mini-gathering
Bo Nyo
During a conversation, Lillian mentioned that Khin Mya Nyo (Bo Nyo) & Ronald (classmates of my spouse at IM1) came to her house to see San San Nwe (another IM1 classmate visiting from East Coast). My spouse was surprised and delighted to learn that her friends were living about 45 minutes drive.
My spouse had met Bo Nyo a couple of times in the SF Bay Area : one for welcoming ASSK and the other at the wedding of the daughter of their classmates. At that time, Bo Nyo was living in New Mexico.
Bo Nyo invited us (including Dr. Ba Han & Lillian) to enjoy hot pot at “Little Sheep” on the evening of May 17, 2019.
May 17, 2019
Bo Nyo
Bo Nyo brought her aunt Daw Khin Nwe Aye (spouse of Sao Aung Myint @ John Khun Kyi). The small talk which reinforced the concept of “It’s a small world” took place from 6 PM to 9 PM. I learned that Saya Tony (Sao Kan Gyi, RIT English, GBNF) was Ma Nwe’s tutor when she was doing English Honors, and that he was a Best Man at her wedding.
Sao Aung Myint & U Oo Thwin (Michael) were together in the USA when they came as State Scholars.
Tet Toe (U Ohn Pe, Chief Editor of News Agency Burma) was Ma Nwe’s mentor at NAB. Min Kyaw Min was Ma Nwe’s colleague and later her boss. Ma Nwe and five others at NAB were forced to retire for their involvement in 8-8-88.
We had to call it a day, since it was a 45-minute drive back to Dr. Ba Han’s house and we need to pack our belongings for the trip back home on May 18, 2019 (Full Moon day of Kason).
May 18, 2019
Despite the warnings of bad weather, we were lucky. Some heavy rains stopped before we visited a place. Others occurred after we left a place.
To avoid bad weather, Dr. Ba Han decided to drop us early at the airport. But, we were not home free. Alerts sounded on our way to the air port. There was lightning, thunder and heavy rain on the way. It worsened after Dr. Ba Han dropped us at the terminal. He had to take shelter at a friend’s house for half an hour on the way back.
Some time later, we boarded the plane bound for Denver. We were caught by surprise when the pilot announced that the test for the auto-pilot did not pass. Many passengers (including us) were worried that we might miss the connecting flight at Denver.
Kan Soe Kan Kaung
Kan Soe : the plane finally left DFW (Dallas – Fort Worth). The “Fasten seat belt” was on for the most part flying through turbulent weather. The plane arrived at Denver. We had missed the connecting flight. Worse still, there were no more flights that evening/night to SJC (San Jose). We had to stand in a long queue at the Customer Service.
Kan Kaung : Since we missed our flight due to “mechanical failure”, the airline would provide a coupon for a hotel for the night. It would book us on the next available flight.
Kan Soe : There were three flights to SJC on May 19, 2019, but they are all sold out. We would be put on a waiting list. In the worst case, we would fly out on May 20.
Kan Kaung : We suggested flying to SFO instead of SJC (which is nearer to our home). The agent tried several times before she came up with a 6 AM flight to SFO for us.
Kan Soe : The hotel coupon listed the address but not the name. Fortunately, one driver looked up the name (called “Mainstay Suites”) and told us to catch the appropriate shuttle. We took the shuttle to the hotel which is 9+ miles from the airport. Rain greeted us when we arrived at the compound of several hotels (including “Comfort Inn”, which is a sister hotel of “Mainstay Suites”. We had to walk in the rain to our hotel. Since it was late, the hotel would not accept the food coupon provided by the airline. We asked for a shuttle ride early next morning. To our surprise, most slots for the half-hourly shuttles were full. We booked the 3 AM shuttle.
May 19, 2019
Kan Soe : We had a short sleep.
Kan Kaung : There were only three passengers in the 3 AM shuttle. One was a flight attendant for the Frontier airlines. He showed us the way at the terminal of the Denver airport. We had to wait before the shops opened, but they accepted the food coupons. We also received seats for “Premium Economy” (which required less time to board and unboard the plane).
We arrived in California safe and sound.
Miss an Event
We had to forgo attending an event on May 19, 2019. Tathagata Meditation Center (San Jose) had celebrations for the Buddha’s Day (aka Thrice Blessed Day).
HlaMin 