Her name was Tha Toe, a friend I met in Burma in 1992. She was obsessed by my friendship. We met near my hotel after I had said "Hello Ninja". At that time she was wearing a shirt with Ninja characters on it. She introduced herself to me and asked me to go to the market with her. I returned a year later to travel to recently opened parts of Burma. During that time I had received many letters from her. I traveled a bit more and then met her and her family. They were very educated and so interested in me. They showed me incredible hospitality and I accepted it with open arms.
Another year went by and I returned to Burma. I traveled with her and her sister to the north for 7 days. The whole time she was plotting her entrance into my life. She talked alot about what we would do. I tried to get her into school in the USA, but got all caught up in problems dealing with her government's red tape and more. All I did was invite her to accompany me to the great temple in Rangoon, called "The Shwedagon Pagoda". Evidently when you ask a Burmese women to escort you to a temple it is a proposal of marriage. I wanted to help her and her family very much as life in Burma is not easy. They were wonderful people and I enjoyed my welcome in their home. I miss them very much.
Minga-la-ba is the traditional Burmese greeting.