Myat Thura

I use NameCheap for hosting my websites. It's cheap, support is suburb and its reliable. The server is also very fast. The only downside is that they don't support Let's Encrypt SSL. You can actually install the Let's Encrypt certificate on the NameCheap server. It's just not automatically installed. You will need to manually install the certificate, which might be challenging for some people.  I've written a detailed tutorial on how to install the Let's Encrypt certificate manually on the NameCheap server. You can read the whole tutorial at my other blog Tiny Tech Notes - How to install Let’s Encrypt manually on NameCheap . The tutorial will work not only on NameCheap but also on any web host with cPanel. Or any web hosting as long as you know how to upload files to the root folder and add TXT DNS records.

 We've got three little kittens! Well, not exactly little anymore as they are probably around 8 months of age. We found them last November in front of our house. My wife told me she heard a scratching sound outside the children's room (she slept with children in the early hours of the night). She thought they were rats. She asked me to go and check outside the bedroom on the balcony. We live in a townhouse with a very big balcony. So the next morning, I opened the door to check the supposed rats. To my amazement, I found three tiny kittens with their mother right next to our children's bedroom, behind the aircon unit. It was quite cold in the early morning and the kitten seemed to be shivering. They were not only tiny but also very thin. I called my wife to show her the kittens. She was like, "Oh". And I know they will end up with us. So we gave them food and lots of blankets to keep them warm. They were very playful. And as I have predicted, all three of them end...

 It seems I have abandoned this little blog for a looooong, long time. It was actually my first ever blog. I have started my blogging hobby on this little blogger platform when blogging was starting to be popular. That was the time before the popularity of social media, namely Facebook. We usually write blog posts and then tag each other in our posts (just link to each other). It was a nice community of bloggers from across the world. Life was simple. Then came WordPress and Facebook. Two giants in the WebSphere. Most bloggers either move to Facebook or host their own sites using the WordPress platform. I simply forgot this little blog. A few days ago, I just found my own blog by accident. It gave me a kind of nostalgia, a deja-vu. You know the feeling. And I think I should start writing on this tiny blog. Whatever, it doesn\"t need to be intelligent or useful. Just anything that might pop up in my mind. And this is my first post after a decade of disappearing from the blogger pla...

Myanmar  will hold its first nationwide free and fair election (sort of) in 25 years on 8 th  of November 2015. The main opposition party led by the Nobel laureate Aung San Su Kyi is poised to win a landslide election. It is interesting to see the election in the numbers. Read the full article here at Myanmar Election 2015 in numbers .

Myanmar Today has published information on travelling to Inle Lake. Travelers to Inle Lake can take direct flight to Heho near Inle Lake, take a bus to Taunggyi and drop on the way in Nyaungshwe or hire a car directly from Yangon, Mandalay or Bagan. Visitors can travel to Inle from Mandalay or from Bagan also. Details can be read at How to Go to Inle - guide to travelers .

I have started writing articles about Inle Lake and Shan State on Myanmar Today . The series starts with an introduction to Inle region , followed by tips on going to Inle Lake and Nyaungshwe, finding a budget hotels and guest house in Inle and Nyaungshwe, mid range and high end hotels in Inle, restaurants, places to visit in and around Inle and other tips for foreign visitors. You can see all the articles on Inle at Inle Travel Guide on Myanmar Today.

Myanmar Today is currently publishing series of articles on travel guide to Maymyo. These articles include introduction to Maymyo (Pyinoolwin) as well as how to go to Maymyo, where to stay in Maymyo , where to eat, where to go , and tips for travellers. You can read all the articles about Maymyo (or) Pyinoolwin on Myanmar Today.

I am writing a series of articles in Myanmar (Burmese) about webhosting. These articles are intended for the Myanmar audience who have very little or no experience in web hosting. This week, I starts with an introduction to web hosting in Myanmar. The articles will include choosing a good web host, setting up an easy to run blog, setting up wordpress, customizing wordpress, wordpress as CMS, search engine optimization. I believe these articles will give some idea and a start on web hosting for Myanmar people. You can see the first article here at Web hosting for Myanmar .

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 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 .

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.

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 .

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 .

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 ...

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

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 spr...

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 M yanmar 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

Ever traveled to Myanmar (Burma)? Ever traveled outside of major tourist destinations in Myanmar? Ever tried to call home from Myanmar? Ever got the feeling of total cut off from the rest of the world? Ever experience frustration for not being able to call home and know what is happening at home? Welcome to Myanmar. Telecommunication in Myanmar is probably the lowest in South East Asia. Auto telephone exchange are available only in some towns. Many towns in Myanmar still don’t have auto telephone exchange and still have to rely on manual exchange. Myanmar is probably the only ocuntry on earth with manual exchange. For trunk call, there are a few telephones (about 3 to 6 phones) in these towns installed at the manual exchange and at the Public Call Outlets (PCO) . Some towns in remote regions have no land lines connected to the main communication hub, and have to rely on satellite links. For example, Mindat from Chin State has only six telephones using satellite links. In many instan...

Myanmar Blogger Society is a non-profit organization for Myanmar bloggers all over the world. It promotes friendship and cooperation among Myanmar (Burmese) bloggers worldwide. The group has set up a web site for the Myanmar Blogger Society on Ning. Those Myanmar (Burmese) bloggers can join the Myanmar Blogger Society by signing up at the MBS website. Approval is needed before you could become a full member. The admin will check your blog before approval of your membership application. At Myanmar Blogger Society , you can post blog posts at the MBS blog, upload your photos, set up your own page, browse and communicate with other members, discuss in MBS forum, and form groups with other bloggers. The site is quite extensive and very user friendly. I believe every Myanmar (Burmese) blogger and blog reader should sign up here to cooperate with other Myanmar (Burmese) bloggers and to promote their blogs and interests.