Mandalay Travel Guide

Currently, Myanmar Today website is running a series of articles about Travel guide to Mandalay. From back ground history of Mandalay to how to go, where to stay, what to see, where to eat to detailed guides about famous places in Mandalay such as Maha Myatnuni Pagoda, Mandalay Hill, Kuthodaw Pagoda, Kyauktawgyi Pagoda, and many other famous pagodas in Mandalay. This is the free and detailed tour guide about Mandalay, Myanmar's (Burma) second largest city and the most important city in upper Burma.

Myanmar Thingyan

Myanmar Thingyan is coming! Now is the time for celebration for all Myanmar - whether poor or rich, educated or none. Burmese communities all over the world will also be celebrating Thingyan in their places also. This is a great time, the most joyous time for the Myanmar people. Thingyan, or Water festival is the most important and most celebrated event in Myanmar. This is the celebration for everybody in Myanmar. In case you don't know what Thingyan is, I have written an account of Myanmar Thingyan on Today in Myanmar. You can read about Myanmar Thingyan on Today in Myanmar.

Complete Shwedagon Pagoda guide

A complete guide to Myanmar's famous pagoda - The Shwedagon Pagoda can be found on Myanmar2day at Shwedagon. All the articles are original articles, and all the information is based on reliable sources as well as the actual research done at the Shwedagon Pagoda by the author. The Shwedagon Pagoda Guide starts with the history of Shwedagon (not just the popular legend but also the opinions of the archeologists), followed by the various structures around and on the Shwedagon Pagoda. There is also a Shwedagon floor plan/map with explanation of each structure described in the floor plan. There is also an article on a relatively unknown Nine Wonders of Shwedagon Pagoda. This is the most complete guide to Shwedagon Pagoda available on the internet.

Shwedagon Pagoda Guide

I am writing a series of full length articles on Shwedagon Pagoda in next few days on Myanmar Today. The articles include brief history of Shwedagon Pagoda, stairways, terrace, details of the structures on Shwedagon, interesting places, wonders of Shwedagon and a floor pland of Shwedagon Pagoda for visitors to guide them in their visit to Shwedagon Pagoda. The series will run over two weeks. The first of these series starts today at Shwedagon Pagoda Guide - History.

Myanmar's famous and popular tourist attractions

I have written about Famous and popular tourist attractions in Myanmar. These include Shwedagon Pagoda, Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda as well as those around the country like Inle Lake and around Mandalay. This is just a brief description of those places and is not a complete description. I am planning to write about these places in details in later articles.

Read about Myanmar's Famous and Popular Tourist Attractions.

Myanmar Throne by Than Tun

An account of various thrones used by Myanmar kings

King Badon (Bodawphaya, 1782-1819) moved to the new palace on 17 May 1783 and Amarapura (the City of No Death) on 1 June 1783. One of his ministers called Jeyasankhaya (Zayyathinkhaya) compiled An Account on Golden Palace (Shwebon Nidan) and he completed the work on 21 February 1784. This work was used a handbook on the paraphernalia of almost everything used in the palace. It also explained how a particular thing in the palace (for instance a throne) was made, why is was made and for what purpose it was made. Most of the information given below is from this book.

A king uses eight kinds of throne. The name is Pallan (Palin) and it is derived from a Pali word pallanka meaning a seat. As the king uses it, this seat is generally known by the name of Rajapallanka (Yazapalin, the king’s seat). When it has a span of twenty four feet (5.53 meters) it is Mahapallanka, twelve feet (2.76 meters) Majjimapalanka and six feet (1.88 meters ) Culapallanka. Each throne is usually decorated with eight pieces, viz, (1) Lion, (2) Elephant in the Air, (3) Guardian God (Lokhanatha), (4) Peacock Fan, (5) Elephant Ear, (6) and (7) Two posts for the Door of the Reredos.... Read more at Myanmar Throne on Today in Myanmar.

Trishaw

Myanmar Trishaw

Trishaws (or Side-car as it is known in Myanmar) are the easiest and most convenient mode of transportation in Myanmar, especially outside of Yangon. Although buses are the major mode of travel in Yangon, very few buses run the streets of other major cities and towns in Burma. In smaller towns in Myanmar, there is no public bus service. People in these smaller cities and towns have to rely on trishaws as the major mode of public transport.

Trishaw is indeed a Burmese invention. First introduced around 1930 in Mandalay, the second city of Burma, it became the most popular form of public transport in colonial Burma. It had become very popular and successful all over Burma, even replacing the electric tram in Rangoon and Mandalay, forcing their closure and eventually bankruptcy..... read more at Trishaw Myanmar way of travel

A visit to Inle, Shan State

This time when I went back to Taunggyi (the capital of Shan State), I visited Inle Lake. I didn’t have enough time this time so I could only visited Inle. Otherwise, I would have visited Pintaya and Kattu. Inle is my favorite: never feel bored how many times I visited. The most crowded time in Inle is during the Thadingyut festival (the candle light festival celebrated during the month of October). I had been to Inle during one Thadingyut festival when I was young. It was during the time of Phaungdawoo Pagoda festival. So many boats and so many people: it was a very exciting memory of my childhood. This time I visited Inle, it was on the full moon day of Ta-zaun-mone (November), and was not as crowded as the month before. My friends also wanted to go to Khaung-dine (translator’s note: a place where there is a hot spring), so we visited both places - Inle and Khaung-dine. Actually, I wanted to have some delicious fish in Khaung-dine, but the rest wanted to take a bath in the hot spring in Khaung-dine. Finally, we ended up taking a bath in the hot spring. I wanted to go to the fish ponds afterwards, but my friends who arrived here for the first time wanted to see the candle light festaval at night, so we went back early.... read more at Visit to Inle

Beer culture in Myanmar

Last 20 years saw the establishment of beer culture in Myanmar. Before 1988, beer is a rare commodity in Myanmar. The government produced Mandalay beer was always in short supply. It was available only in a very few hotels and restaurants. Foreign brands like Heineken and Tiger beer were available in black markets at a high price. Most Myanmar people cannot afford to buy a can of beer then. With the opening of economy in 1988 saw the introduction of a number of locally produced beer brands in Myanmar. These Myanmar beer brands include Myanmar Beer, Mandalay Beer (now a private venture), Dagon Beer, as well as Tiger Beer, ABC Stout and Anchor Beer which are produced under license from the parent brands. With the introduction of cheap locally made beer, people in Myanmar saw ... more at Myanmar Beer culture

Mrauk U was the old capital of Rakhine (Arakan) Kingdom. Established in 1431 by King Min Saw Mon, the city grew to a population of 120,000 in 16th century. It was a major trading port in the Bay of Bengal, and was always crowded with foreign traders - Europeans, Arabs, Indians, Mon from Hansawaddi, Burmese from Ava. Hundreds of trading ships, on their way from Europe to the exotic eastern trading cities like Java, were docked at the Rakhine port of Mrauk U. At its highest state, Mrauk U controlled half of Bangladesh, including Dhaka and Chittagong, half of lower Burma and current Rakhine (Arakan) state. However, the hay days of Mrauk U ended abruptly in early 19th century when it fell to Burmese invasion from Ava.

There are a large number of pagodas in Mrauk U. Although less in number compared to Bagan, the unique style of the pagodas of Mrauk U are a testament to the glorious history of the Rakhine kings who built them. Pagodas in Myanmar ... read more at Mrauk U