IT had been about a week since I had seen any rain in the sky and despite the heat my girlfriend and I decided to go to Shwedagon Pagoda on a date.

I finished up at the office and she was waiting for me in reception so we headed outside into the sun.

By the time we reached the Eastern entrance we were hot and thirsty, so we stopped to buy a drink of water.

While we were at the small shop, a young boy came up to us and gave us a red plastic bag in return for some cash.

It was handy because it meant we could use the bag to put our shoes in, and we wouldn’t need to leave them at the entrance.

Before paying homage to the images of Lord Buddha we found a shady spot to sit and take a short rest.

We sat chatting and watching the passers-by until we felt cool enough to pay homage comfortably.

We found a prayer hall that was almost empty and I told my girlfriend to leave the red bag with our shoes at the entrance to the hall.

I didn’t think it was appropriate to be carrying the slippers in front of the images of Lord Buddha and that slippers did not belong in a holy and clean place.

She did as I asked and we sat praying for about ten minutes.

We felt calm and relaxed and we exchanged satisfied smiles with one another.

We got up to leave and collect our slippers when we realised they were missing.

At first I couldn’t believe that we had lost our slippers and I didn’t believe that anyone would have taken them intentionally.

We searched around the place we had been sitting but we could not find them anywhere.

We decided that someone must have taken them by accident and we set off to see if we could find them.

We walked around the pagoda looking at every red bag being carried by other people.

My girlfriend was upset to have lost her favourite slippers and I was comforting her and pretending that it was okay.

But I became increasingly frustrated and soon I was looking at everyone with suspicion.

All the peace of mind I had gained from paying homage was gone and I was beginning to get worried.

There is a saying in Myanmar that lost property can send you to hell.

It means that if you lose something, you will look at everyone as if they were their fault that your property is missing.

Placing the blame on someone else is a sin that is punishable with a trip to the underworld.

When you go to a pagoda you are supposed to perform good deeds and all I could think about was that some person had unintentionally run off with my slippers.

I said to my girlfriend, “You know what? Let’s forget about it because in the end, if someone has accidentally taken our shoes it is lucky for them.”

“Our bad luck is good luck for someone else.”

I was trying to convince myself just as much as I was trying to convince her.
On the way home we each bought a new pair of slippers and I have to admit I was not sure if I should be happy or sad.