Update from my 500 mile cycle ride around Myanmar, undertaking building research and raising money for Article25!
I arrived at 9pm on Saturday 4th November at Yangon, with jet lag, to find out we had to be up and ready by 9am the next day! It turned out to be completely worth it! In the morning we did a walking tour of downtown Yangon learning about the local architecture. After a break in the afternoon, we attended the official launch party of our cycle ride which was in the old tourist centre building in Yangon, which is under going refurbishment. Here we were treated to great talks from our riders on their interests in healthcare architecture, the Yangon general hospital refurbishment and how energy can be derived from the anaerobic digestion of cow and pig manure.
The highlight of the week so far for me has to be delivering a talk on BREEAM and QSAND at the association of Myanmar architects, the Burmese equivalent of RIBA. 25 architects and architecture students attended and were very engaging and asked me many questions about sustainable buildings and construction. I believe the whole workshop was a big success!
We now have one day left tomorrow to visit the Yangon General Hospital and explore more of the city of Yangon before we leave on an overnight sleeper train to Mandalay, the start of our cycling adventure.
Please keep an eye out for more updates throughout the ride.
