If you are a foreigner, and coming to Myanmar (Burma) for the first time, you will find yourself in a completely different world. And the first daunting task would be to go to your hotel. If you have already arranged with your travel agent to pick you up at the airport, everything would be OK. …
If you ever traveled to Yangon for the first time, you will be amazed by the public buses running the streets of Rangoon. Not only are they old and worn out, they are also overcrowded. And some of them date back to the pre-world war 2 era. Many wooden buses from the colonial period still …
According to Burmese astrology, there are eight days in a week. They are Sunday, Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday (till noon), Rahu (Wednesday afternoon till the next morning), Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Burmese people believe that the astrological day a person was born is a great determinant in his or her personality and life. For example, a …
Unlike western names, there is no family name in Myanmar. Women keep their maiden names upon marriage, and children can have names which bear no relation to their parents’ names. Burmese names are either one, two or three syllables. One syllable names (e.g. Ba, Mya, Hla) are no longer in used as they are so …
Where to visit in Yangon after Shwedagon and around? After a must pay visit to Shwedagon Pagoda, one can pay a visit to other pagodas. Apart from Shwedagon, another Pagoda worth visiting is Sule Pagoda. Situated in the center of Yangon (Rangoon), in downtown Yangon (Rangoon), it is easy to reach by bus or by …
Yangon (Rangoon) is the former administrative capital of Myanmar (Burma). Although the government has moved the capital to Naypyidaw, Yangon remains the commercial capital of Myanmar (Burma). Yangon is the only port of entry in Myanmar, and because there are many historical places in Yangon, it is worth visiting the City a few days before …
Yangon (Rangoon) travel guide – Shwedagon and arround Read More »
In Myanmar, if you want to be seen polite, you should be able to use proper title when you address somebody. Burmese use appropriate titles and pronouns when addressing each other. When you are talking to an elderly male, you should put “U” (pronounce Oo) in front of his name. Thus, Mr. Ba becomes U …
Myanmar Etiquette – How to properly address a person in Myanmar Read More »
When you meet a friend in an English speaking country, you say “Hi”, or “How are you?”In Thailand, you say “Sawaddee”. In Myanmar, you usually say either “where are you going?” Quite strange, right? In Myanmar, we don’t have an informal phrase or expression to be used as a greeting. The famous phrase “Mingalar Bar” …
People in Chin Hills used to have the custom of tattooing (Payae) the face of the women. Nobody is really sure how the custom became established, but a legend was that hundreds of years ago, Burmese kings and nobles used to come to Chin Hills and hunt for the beautiful Chin girls, as the fame …
If you ever have an experience of visiting a Burmese friend’s house in Myanmar, you will remember that you had been asked a particular question. “Have you already had your lunch/dinner?” is the question that we Burmese always ask our visitors whenever they happen to visit us at meal time. This is not because we …