Wisenomads​
Not your average online travel guide​​ to Myanmar
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It is one of the most unknown countries in South East Asia and one of the most beautiful and wildest places still to discover. Burma, the country’s official name was changed to Myanmar in 1989 by the military regime that still rules the country.
King Anawrahta founded the first unified Burmese state at Pagan in 1054 and adopted Theravada Buddhism. And since then it has remained the main religion but nowadays you can find in the biggest cities, like Yangon; Buddhists, Christian, Hindu and Muslim temples in less than 500 m. around.
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Capital: Naypyidaw (Spelled Nay Pyi Taw) is Myanmar’ s capital since 2006. It was built from scratch.
Country code: +95
Currency: Kyat
Population: 54,584,650 (July 2012 est.)
Language: Mostly Burmese but there are other languages spoken by ethnic minorities like Shan, Karen, Chin, Mon, Kachin, Rakhine, Lahu, Akha and Lisu.
Ethnic groups: Bamar 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% (more than 130 ethnic groups).
Climate: Hot (March-May temp. 30-35°C), rainy (June-Oct 25-30°C) cool (Nov-Feb temp. 20-24°C).
Time: GMT+6,50h. Between October-march sun set about 5.30pm.
Health: It is advisable to take a travel insurance that covers Myanmar.
Tourist info: MTT is the government’s official tourist information offices. You will see many offices that call themselves Tourist Information, but they’re actually travel agencies. To start your trip you can have a look to the official Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels & Tourism www.myanmartourism.org
Internet & phones: Internet in Myanmar is usually slow. In touristic areas is easy to get Wi-Fi and many times is faster than going to Internet Café. There is no international roaming yet. So you won’ t be able to call from your foreign cell phone. Prepaid SIM cards are available for local phones. It’s possible to rent a pre-paid Sim card from 2$/ day. You also can rent a cell phone. You need to leave a deposit. If you want to buy a Sim card, you can get it from 100,000 kyats, with internet is from 125,000kyats.
You can find it on the arrival hall at Yangon's airport or in some phone shops in some touristic cities.
Note: Prices shown in this guide are always in US$ and Kyats. Currency converter
Warning: Before planning your trip, it’s very important to check all the restricted areas for foreigners: www.tourismtransparency.org/content/myanmar-no-go-zones​
Burmese cuisine
Cities:
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​MYANMAR
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