They hosted Mekong Indochina Hash VI in October 2003 and successfully surmounted the raft of seemingly insurmountable problems that perhaps only people who live in the region can begin to understand. Whereas Chiang Mai had the largest number of attendees, Yangon had the least; 175 brave souls managed to overcome the logistical hurdles of getting there but, for the people that made the attempt, the Hashing and facilities provided were memorable. (For all of you who were at InterHash in Chiang Mai and wondered about how they got the idea for their spectacular launching of 1,000 fire balloons into the night sky at the closing ceremony, you only needed to have been there on the last night of the Mekong Indochina Hash VI when the local Tazaungdaing (Lighting) festival was celebrated with gusto.
The Hashing followed the usual format with TDH3 kicking things off on Friday 7th November with an in-town run while the main Saturday event took place to the north of the city. The temperatures were unusually hot for the time of year and the ice in the Circle was a welcome addition to the Down Downs. The Circle site was situated in the shadow of a pagoda nestled on the banks of Hlawga Lake and the assembled Hashers were treated to the sights and sounds of a local temple festival as night fell and the full moon rose majestically over the pagoda. The Sunday run was held to the south of the city, near the famous “Pagoda in the River” and, learning from the previous day’s experiences, multiple beer stops were provided – much to the relief of the Hashers as they traversed bamboo forest, monasteries, rice paddies, pagodas – not to mention Hindu temples, and Christian cemeteries!