peterchurch1950

Life Story Podcast of South East Asian and Indian business leaders

U Maung Nyi – a decision he made in March 1989 changed his life

https://www.buzzsprout.com/138215/8552902-u-maung-nyi-commonly-known-as-david-was-born-in-kyaukse-on-15-april-1936-he-was-educated-in-kyaukse-mandalay-yangon-and-otago-new-zealand-as-a-mining-engineer-he-spent-many-years-working-at-bawdwin-myanmar-s-fa.mp3?download=true U Maung Nyi was born in Kyaukse on 15 April, 1936 and, at the time of my interview, had just turned 85. Most people now know him as David which was the name he took when he studied Mining Engineering in Otago, New Zealand in the late 1950s on a Colombo Plan scholarship. WikitravelContinue reading “U Maung Nyi – a decision he made in March 1989 changed his life”

U Myint Thein – his life story, including his time as Deputy Minister of Mines from 1992 to 2006

U Myint Thein was born in 1937 and was a highly respected Deputy Minister of Mines from 1992 to 2006. At that time almost all Ministers were active or retired military personnel

Daily life under the Myanmar military coups of 1962, 1988 and 2021

Last night I received the following email from a good friend in Myanmar: “I have experienced three military coups in my life in Myanmar, in 1962, 1988 and 2021. When the first one occurred on March 2, 1962 I was not in the country. I arrived back only after 10 months. According to the news reports, thereContinue reading “Daily life under the Myanmar military coups of 1962, 1988 and 2021”

U K Ba Thaung

The extraordinary long life of U Kenneth Ba Thaung including his relationship with General Ne Win

Why one should listen to travel advice – a lucky escape from a mugging in Buenos Aires

A little over 7 years ago, on 28 February, 2014 Ginny and I arrived in Buenos Aires with our close friends, Anne and Don Wood. We had just disembarked from a cruise around South America and had a couple of days before Ginny and I headed back to Singapore and the Woods to the BahamasContinue reading “Why one should listen to travel advice – a lucky escape from a mugging in Buenos Aires”

U Ko Ko Than

U Ko Ko Than -born 1930. Former Myanmar Deputy Minister of Mines – his life story U Ko Ko Than spent his career in the Myanmar mining sector from which he retired as Deputy Minister of Mines. Deputy Minister was the most senior position in most ministries during the military rule of that era. MinistersContinue reading “U Ko Ko Than”

My “road less traveled”- how I ended up as a lawyer in Indonesia in 1978

I think it was part fate and part passion that I ended up in Indonesia. It is quite a long story which I started writing for my grandchildren to read one day, but thought some of you who read these blogs might also be interested. As a child I loved reading adventure stories like TreasureContinue reading “My “road less traveled”- how I ended up as a lawyer in Indonesia in 1978″

Interesting quotes from some of the leading businessmen and women covered in my Indian life story books*

* “Added Value- The life stories of Indian business leaders” – Roli Books 2010“Profiles in Enterprise – Inspiring stories of Indian business leaders”- Roli Books 2015 Note: the below quotes are extracted from the above books. Sadly some of the people I interviewed have passed away and, where I know this to be the case,Continue reading “Interesting quotes from some of the leading businessmen and women covered in my Indian life story books*”

My time as a monk in Myanmar

I became interested in Buddhism when I was in secondary school at Shore in Sydney during the 1960’s. It was a Church of England school so understandably we were taught the principles of the Christian faith. However, I can remember asking the school chaplain in my mid teens if we could learn a little aboutContinue reading “My time as a monk in Myanmar”

Professor MS Swaminathan -a giant in Indian agriculture

I have been very fortunate to meet many inspirational men and women during my life and Professor MS Swaminathan would be right up there; not just in terms of inspiration but also his contribution to India and the world over his long life. He was born in 1925 and thus when I interviewed him inContinue reading “Professor MS Swaminathan -a giant in Indian agriculture”

Ela Bhatt – a remarkable woman

Ela Bhat is indeed a remarkable woman. She was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat into a life of wealth and social standing in Ahmedabad in 1933. Her parents were Nagar Brahmins. As most of you may know the highest caste in the Hindu religion is that of Brahmin and it is from this caste that HinduContinue reading “Ela Bhatt – a remarkable woman”

What a way to fly

During our time in Jakarta we used to return to Sydney for “home leave” each Christmas to spend time with family. Those Australian readers of my age would remember how back in the 70’s and 80’s, our trade unions were quite militant and the union representing the baggage handlers at the airports worked out, ifContinue reading “What a way to fly”

“Get my God damn aircraft back”

This is the story of another lesson I learnt early in my time working as a lawyer in Jakarta in the late 1970’s. Like the pirate story just published, it shows how legal proceedings are not the way to resolve disputes unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. This general principle is even more true ifContinue reading ““Get my God damn aircraft back””

Indonesian pirates

From 1978 until 1981 I practised law in Jakarta. It was an incredibly exciting time to be there as the first wave of major multinational corporations were exploring the opportunities Indonesia offered since it opened up to foreign investment during the 1970’s. There were at that time only five foreign lawyers in a country ofContinue reading “Indonesian pirates”

Shahnaz Husain

Shahnaz Husain is an extremely colourful and interesting woman who has built a very successful natural beauty business where many of the products are based on ancient Ayurvedic recipes. It is a far cry from the world into which she was born in 1941. Her father was a prominent lawyer and judge and came fromContinue reading “Shahnaz Husain”

My abandoned book on the Prime Ministers of South East Asia

Using this time of self-isolation at home I thought I would spend some time writing up some of the inspirational and interesting stories told to me by fascinating characters I have met over my decades in Asia. Some of these stories are covered in my three life story books on South East Asia and IndiaContinue reading “My abandoned book on the Prime Ministers of South East Asia”

Author Archives: peterchurch1950

Life Story Podcast of South East Asian and Indian business leaders

Life Story Podcast of South East Asian and Indian business leaders

U Maung Nyi – a decision he made in March 1989 changed his life

U Myint Thein – his life story, including his time as Deputy Minister of Mines from 1992 to 2006

Daily life under the Myanmar military coups of 1962, 1988 and 2021

U K Ba Thaung

Why one should listen to travel advice – a lucky escape from a mugging in Buenos Aires

U Ko Ko Than

My “road less traveled”- how I ended up as a lawyer in Indonesia in 1978

Interesting quotes from some of the leading businessmen and women covered in my Indian life story books*

My time as a monk in Myanmar

Professor MS Swaminathan -a giant in Indian agriculture

Ela Bhatt – a remarkable woman

What a way to fly

“Get my God damn aircraft back”

Indonesian pirates

Shahnaz Husain

My abandoned book on the Prime Ministers of South East Asia

Vijaypat P Singhania

Captain GR Gopinath