Late Myanmar actor and singer U Win Oo's Songs Collection

For those who love to listen to Burmese oldies, here are some songs by late famous legendary movie star and singer Win Oo.

http://www.imeem.com/people/IWLOHD/music/V_3p6xOy/myanmar_songs_win_oo_4/

Mee Pon Pwe

Maung Do Cherry Myay

http://www.imeem.com/people/IWLOHD/music/n04N9Zeh/myanmar_songs_win_oo_5/

http://www.imeem.com/people/IWLOHD/music/6hUYjsWg/myanmar_songs_win_oo_3/

Tain Hlwar Mo Mo Lwin

Barani

May Dar Wii

Atwe Atwar

Enjoy late U Win Oo's songs.

Oh, and here is the Youtube video of his song and performence (together with Khin Than Nu) in Mhon Shwe Yee.

Weekly Eleven News Journal

This is an online version of Weekly Eleven News Journal from Myanmar. It is quite a popular weekly journal from Myanmar with news from both Myanmar and the world. You can read the journal at Weekly Eleven website.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Weekly Eleven, Journal, Myanmar Journal

Money Exchange in Yangon (Dollar Exchange)

If you are visiting Myanmar, you will find yourself trying to find a money exchange to change your foreign currency into Myanmar kyat. Although US dollar is universally accepted, small vendors will be reluctant to accept US dollars because of difficulty in exchanging into kyat. So you invariably have to change some money into Myanmar kyat anyway.

The first place you can change is at the airport. There is an authorized money exchange counter at the airport, but the rate they pay is very low, so you better not change there.

Your hotel might be able to make money exchange for you at a reasonable price, so you should always ask their price first. If they cannot, they can give you some advice on it. They can contact a money exchange dealer as they always have contact with these people.

Apart from your hotel, the most convenient place in Yangon to change your dollars into kyat is in Bogyoke market. There are a number of money exchanges in Bogyoke market although none of them are authorized. Just ask any shop in the market and they will show you the direction to one of these black market exchanges.

Next, you can try in the Bar Street (Maharbandoola Garden Street) near the Yangon City Hall. There is Myanmar Foreign Exchange Bank in Bar Street, and many black market dealers stalking the street near by. Just walk along Bar Street, and they will ask you whether you want to sell your US dollar.

There are also some black market money exchanges near Trader's Hotel in downtown Yangon in Sulae Pagoda Road, but be mindful of them. Read the following comment posted on my blog by one of my visitors.

" guy said...

I went to the theater on Bogyoke Aung San Rd./33 street. The movie was very dark and the sound crackling (english). But the tickets were available without a problem. Nice way to spend an afternoon in Yangoon. I think I spend about Kyt 500 -600. Btw. Beauty Land II Hotel was a great place to stay. And one more thing. There are always some money changer crooks hanging out in front of the Traders Hotel. When I changed money they let me count 1000 Kt bills and later handed me a stack of 500 Kt bills with the same thickness without me noticing it.
I lost about $15 not to bad but very irritating. Those crooks seem to work in organized groups of spotters and closers. They were nicely dressed and spoke good english. A few days later I recognized one of those guys in front of the Traders Hotel in Yangon and When I grabed one and started to shout for the police they gave me my money back."

Personally, I recommend those in Bogyoke Market. They are safer and quite well established, so you are unlikely to be cheated. Those on the street, you cannot trust them.

US dollar is the only acceptable currency in Myanmar although on some occasions, you will find somebody who is willing to buy Thai baht or Singapore dollar. For other currencies, like Japanese yen, Euro or Australian dollar, forget about them. Nobody would take them. So bring enough US dollar when you go to Myanmar.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Yangon, Rangoon, Money exchange

Bus to Mandalay

If you are planning to go to Mandalay directly from Yangon, you have three options. The most comfortable, convenient and expensive one is to take a flight. The price (for two way ticket) is more expensive than a two way ticket between Bangkok and Yangon. The second, less expensive one is to use the train. The cheapest and most uncomfortable way to travel is by bus.

Buses from Yangon to Mandalay usually leave around 5 PM in the afternoon, and arrives to Mandalay the next morning around 9 AM. The buses are all air-conditioned, but some of the bus drivers may turn off the air cons once the leave Yangon. Most buses will also take passengers in the axle seats, which makes the bus very crowded. The buses will stop on the way for dinner and supper, usually around 8 PM and after midnight. The stop depends on the bus service. Food might be a little difficult for you to digest as this is always Burmese rice and curry. Food price is not included in the bus fare. The toilets at these restaurants are almost always dirty.

The road is OK for most of the way although it is quite bumpy. Burmese soap operas, karaoke or sometimes Burmese traditional Anyeint is shown on the bus, usually with unbearably loud sound. The road is usually bumpy, and the bus jumpy so it is difficult for a traveler to sleep well on the way. There is no toilet on the bus so don't hesitate to go to the toilet even if the toilets are extremely dirty (which is true in some cases).

For a bus service, I recommend "Man Shwe Pyay" as the buses are newer and in better condition. They also open air con all the way and don't have the axle seats so the bus driver cannot take any passenger on the way.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Travel

Popular Myanmar Online Journal

This is the online version of Myanmar Popular weekly journal. You can read about latest news on Myanmar movies, music, movies stars, actors, actresses, singers and entertainment community. You can also read the online version of Yati Magazine. The online version is not as complete as the print version but at least you can read some news on Myanmar entertainment community. Read it at Myanmar Popular Journal.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Yati Magazine, Popular Journal, Myanmar journal

Tip on going into town from the airport

If you are a foreigner, and coming to Burma for the first time, you will found 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. But if not, you will have to hire a taxi. There is no airport bus service running from the airport so the only way yo can go to your hotel is by a taxi. And this might be more complex than you think. The taxis in Myanmar are not metered, and the fare is not fixed. So you have to bargain with the taxi drivers at the airport. They will tell you that this is a fixed price, but it is not true. The taxi fare from airport is always more expensive, but you can always bargain. If you are not carrying many things, you can walk out of the airport compound (which indeed is a very small compound) and hail a taxi on the road. Only a few taxis come this way but most of the time, you will be able to get a taxi, cheaper than the one from the airport. Good luck with your travel.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Travel, Taxi

Chin Head Basket

Have you ever heard about head basket? Well, we have in Chin Hills. Lets call it Chin head basket. It is a kind of basket that you carry by hanging around your head with a string. You don't carry it by hand. The basket is quite a large one, big enough to carry a 5 gallon water container. And people, even young women and children, carry them by a string hung over their head. It is a tiring thing to do so. I once tried to carry one with some weight in it but couldn't carry more than a few minutes. For the Chin people, they have been carrying a big load since they were young so seem no problem carrying a heavy head basket over their head.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Chin Hills, Chin State, Mindat

How to go to Mindat?

If you are interested in going to Mindat, here is a guide. You cannot go there direct from Yangon. First, go to Pakokku, a big city on the west bank of Irrawaddy (Ayarwaddy). To go to Pakokku, you have two options. One is the direct bus trip to Pakokku from Yangon. The buses are quite old and slow, and carry a lot of goods and cargo. I recommend the second option which is to take a bus to Pagan (Bagan) and from there, cross the Irrawaddy. The bus to Bagan leaves around 3 PM from Yangon, and arrives there around 5 AM the next morning. You can take a ship from Bagan to Pakokku. This ship travels between Bagan and Mandalay, but you can drop in Pakokku. The trip will take around one and half hour. Alternatively, if you are more adventurous, you can take a ferry boat to Pakokku. From the boat pier, you can take a tricycle or a horse cart to Mindat bus station. The station is called "Mindat Gyar Sakhan", meaning "In between camp". From there, you take a bus to Mindat. It is actually a Jeep that carries people and goods from Pakokku to Mindat. The road is not bad for Burmese standards, but quite rough compared to other roads in neighboring Asian countries. The trip from Pakokku to Mindat usually takes around 6 to 8 hours although it is only 96 miles. If you use your own car, it will take around 4 to 5 hours, depending on the condition of the car as well as the weather. On the way, you will have to pass Pauk Town and Kyauktu Town. Only around 10 miles near Mindat is mountain road. The road trip is generally safe so you don't need to be worry to much.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Chin Hills, Chin State, Mindat

Mindat - a Southern Chin Town

If you ever want to visit Chin Hills, Mindat is the most convenient and easiest to reach town in Chin Hills. Situated in Southern part of Chin Hills, Mindat is a small but peaceful, beautiful and tranquil town. With a total population of nearly 10,000 people, it is considered a sizable town in Chin Hills. The town is built along the top of a mountain range that runs east and west. So practically, Mindat is a long line of houses built along the main road with some small side roads fanning out here and there.

Situated at 4,860 feet above the sea level, it is cool in summer and very cold in winter. And a lot of rain falls during the rainy season. The best season to visit Mindat is during summer where the weather is cool but not cold, and the roads are dry.

As soon as you reach Mindat, you will notice immediately how beautiful the town is. Tall pine trees line the approaching road while distant mountains shadows the town. It is a scenery that will definitely impress the first time visitors. Then you see the small, beautiful wooden houses with scenic backdrop along the main road. Curious faces of locals will pop through the windows of these houses while the smiling faces of their children will follow you. Welcome to Mindat.

You can see many aspect of Chin life in Mindat. Local people still wear Chin dress and carry Chin buskets and knives while some men carry locally made shot guns on the streets of Mindat. Many women dress beautiful Chin necklaces while some old women still wear enormous Chin traditional earrings. Many people carry woods or rice in Chin head baskets, the one that they carry with a string hung over their head. If you are lucky, you can even observe a Chin wedding or funeral rite. You can also observe the way they make famous Chin Khaung (Chin Beer).

Walk around the town along the small dart roads the run around the road. There are many Chin traditional huts that were built of pine wood and roofed with thatch. See the way real Chin village people live and work over the harsh terrains of Chin land.


If you are a Buddhist, go and visit the Taung Pu Lu (Taungpulu) Buddhist monastery in Mindat. The head abbot is the famous Ashin Pyinnyar Thiri. You can make donation for the monastic school for the local poor children opened at the monastery and operated by the abbot. These children really need your help.

If your guide can arrange for you to stay in a Chin village for a night, ask him. If he cannot, you can still take a walk to a near by village. One thing to be careful is that this area is a malaria area so take a malaria precaution and prophylaxis.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Chin Hills, Chin State, Mindat

Burglish

Everybody knows that typing Burmese (Myanmar) is a difficult job. You cannot deny it. It takes a lot of practice and patience to be able to type in Myanmar quickly and efficiently. Moreover, you also have the frustration of having to familiarize yourself with a different keyboard layout whenever you change the font system. Many Burmese people out there cannot type Burmese well. Most of us even don't know how to type in Myanmar. That is how we have developed Burglish. This is a writing system where user use the English alphabets to spell Burmese words. You cannot get the correct pronunciation although you get as close to the correct sound as possible. Although this system is far from perfect, at least you have a basic communicability on the internet. It allows Burmese chatters to use Burmese in online communications.

Now, here comes a big improvement. Some Burmese computer genius invented a system of converting these Burglish words into a meaningful Myanmar words using real Myanmar alphabets. That may be a small step for these people but actually a big leap for the Burmese online netizens. You can check it out the Burglish online. Alternatively, you can download Burglish too and use it off line on your computer. You can also see the development of Burglish at their Burglish blog.

By the way, if you are interested in other Myanmar (Burmese) language projects, check out at Myanmar Language Technology Portal (MMLT).

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Burmese, Language, Burglish

Greetings

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” is quite formal and nobody use it in the streets. It is only used in formal announcements on the airplanes! And it is not really Burmese. The expression was invented during the colonial period; a rather indirect translation of “Good morning”, “Good afternoon”, “Good evening”, or “Good day”. The closest literal meaning of “Mingalar Bar” is “have good things unto you”.

So next time you meet a Burmese friend in the streets of Yangon, ask “where are you going?” instead. And remember, don’t ask this question to a stranger. This is only for friends.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Burmese, Culture, Custom

Myanmar Hotel Online Reservation and Booking

For those visitors who are coming to Myanmar and want to book their hotels online, here are some of the travel agents that handle online reservation.

Last Minute Myanmar - An online travel website where you can book your hotel, flight and transportation online. Hotels in their list include those from Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Kyaikhtiyo, Inle, Pyinoolwin and Taunggyi.

The Governor's Resident - A luxurious hotel in the heart of Yangon, Myanmar.

Hotel Travel - An international travel site that also accept Myanmar hotel booking and reservation online.

Burma Hotel Guide - Another travel website for hotel booking and reservation in Myanmar.

Burma (Myanmar) Hotels - A travel website with hotel reservation and booking of hotels in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Inle and many other destinations.

Visit Mekong - A travel website with hotel booking and reservation in Myanmar and other Mekong region.

Myanmar Hotels - Book hotels in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and other destinations in Myanmar online.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Travel, Hotel, Tourism, Tips, Booking

Update on Myanmar MP3 free music download

It was a long time ago since I posted the links to Myanmar MP3 music sites for free song download. There are now a few new entries to this area so I think I should update my list again. Here is my update.

Myanmarmp3 - The old Myanmar mp3 download site is even better, with new and improved design and more new songs.

Nyakabyar - Another old Myanmar mp3 songs download site. It is better than before with many new songs although not as extensive as the Myanmarmp3 site.

Myitzuri - Looks like a new site, or may be I didn't noticed it the first time. Got a nice collection of Myanmar modern music.

Miss You - A new site, with some collection of Myanmar songs and MTV, but not extensive.

Ayinepan - Another old Myanmar mp3 download site, getting better this time.

Myanmar Image - A section in Myanmar Image site. Some nice modern music but not much.

Inwa - A section in Inwa website to view music videos from Myanmar.

MMA - Myanmar MP3 Album - New mp3 music download site.

Technorati Tags: Myanmar, Burma, Burmese, mp3, songs, music, free, download

Cinema halls in Yangon (Rangoon)

Compared to other capital cities of South East Asia, Yangon has fewer cinema halls. And most of them are quite old, dating back to as far as the colonial period. There are about six or seven cinema halls in downtown Yangon which show Hollywood, Bollywood (Indian movies) and local movies. They usually play four shows a day.

In Myanmar, the cinema halls are single theatre types, usually having two levels of seating. On first level, there are usually three or four classes with the front seats being the cheapest. Level two is upper class or first class, and the most expensive. Because of limited number of cinema halls in Yangon, there usually a lucrative black market of cinema tickets, sold at two to three times the official selling price, depending on the popularity of the movies.

Most of the theatres in Yangon are equipped with old and out dated projectors and sound systems. There are now a few theatres equipped with more modern projectors and sound systems. However, the quality is still no where near those from other modern theatres.

Myanmar Web Text Editor

Here is a very nice program I have been looking for, for a very long time. A Myanmar Web Text Editor! I couldn't type Myanmar properly, and there are many people out there who cannot type Myanmar. I believe a visual Myanmar test editor, either online or standalone version, would be a great help. Now it is coming. All you need to do is to click the appropriate buttons, and the text editor will do the rest. Try it at http://www.mysteryzillion.com/project/webtext/. Myanmar online web visual keyboard for Zawgyi-one font.

Khaung (Indigenous Beer)

“Khaung” is a kind of alcoholic beverage made locally in some parts of Myanmar, mostly among ethnic people. There are various kinds of “khaung” produced locally but most widely known are Kachin and Chin khaungs. I don’t know about Kachin khaung, but I have some knowledge about Chin khaung that I could share with you.

In Chin state, the most famous khaung is made in Southern Chin State, especially in Mindat Township. In contrast to khaung from other ethnic people, Chin khaung is made from millet seeds, not rice or sticky rice. Every family in Mindat grows millet seeds in their farms solely for the purpose of making khaung.

The process of khaung making is as follows. First, red millet seed is cooked until it becomes thick. Then it is allowed to cool down. Once it is cool down, yeast is added to it and blends properly. Then it is put into a clay pot and sealed air tight. Fermentation takes place inside the sealed pot. This process takes at least a month, but the longer the fermentation time, the better the quality of khaung. To get a really good quality khaung, it needs at least six months of fermentation.

After a certain period, it is ready to drink, but you need to make beverage or khaung from this mixture. The pot is opened, and water added into the pot. Banana leaves are put above the content and a straw is inserted into the pot. Khaung is then siphoned through the straw and into the cup. First cup is the best and usually served to the guest of honor. When water contents in the pot lowers, more water is added, again and again, until there is no more taste.

The taste of Chin khaung is sweet, and a bit sour. It tastes somewhat like a mix of alcohol, grape fruit juice and lemonade. Khaung plays a very important part in Chin culture. If you are offered a cup of khaung in Chin Hills, don’t refuse under any circumstance. You are considered a guest of honor and refusal of the offer will be considered rude.

Yaw Festival

I was visiting a small remote town (actually a large village) in Yaw region. It was Laungshae, a very ancient town in Myanmar, and situated in Saw township. I saw these local people on a religious procession on a Buddhist holy day.

Chin Hills

Here is a group of local people in a small town in Chin State of Myanmar (Burma) pulling a cow to the market. This is a large mountain found abundant in Chin Hills. They are bringing this cow to the butcher.

Chin National Day on 20 February

Just a quick reminder. Chin National Day is on 20 February, and there will be a big official celebration in Hakha, the capital of Chin State, Myanmar. There will be Chin traditional costume shows, Chin traditional dances and Chin traditional wrestling. Interested visitors should plan their visit in advanced as there is only one guest house in Hakha.

Shin Pyu

Shin Pyu is an essential and integral part in a life of a Burmese Buddhist male. “Shin Pyu” is a ceremony in which a young Buddhist male becomes a novice in the order of The Sangha.

For a Burmese Buddhist male, it is important for him to be a novice for a certain period in his life as this will enable him to gain merit which will enable him, in his future lives, to gain Nirvana (enlightenment). Gaining Nirvana is the ultimate goal for any Buddhist. By entering the order of The Sangha, as a novice in this life, it will greatly enhance his Karma (Merit) in gaining Nirvana in later lives. Not only he will gain Karma, his parents will also gain the same Karma as him. Thus, it is the most important event for both the boy and the parents in his life.

Usually, the boy who is around the age of 10 years will join The Order as a novice. There is no fixed age for entering the order as a novice, but he must be under the age of 19 years and 3 months. (In Buddhism, a person becomes alive at conception, so at 19 years and 3 months, he will be 20 years old). He will usually stay in The Order as a novice for a few weeks. (Usually a week to a month, but may be more). He will learn basic principles that are essential in becoming a good Buddhist.

As this is a very important occasion for him and his family, the parents usually celebrate the event in an extravagant manner. The boy is dressed in princely outfits of silk and wears a gold headdress. He is then ridden around the town on a white horse or in a car, in a grand procession. Musicians are hired to entertain guests. Not all families can afford this however, and many shin pyus are more modest.

At the monastery, his hair is shaved and begins the ceremony of becoming the novice. After the ceremony, he becomes a proud member of the Holy Order of Sangha.