Page 3 - Myanmar Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

HISTORY The name "Burma" is derived from the Burmese word "Bamar", which in turn is the colloquial form of Myanmar which historically revered to the majority Burmese. In 1989 the military government officially changed the English translations of many colonial-era names, including the name of POPULATION the country to"Myanmar". PAGE 3 Myanmar has a population of Surrounded by towering mountains walls that encircle the country like an Population | Time | Visas approximately 56 million although it Insurance | History iron horseshoe, Myanmar has always been an isolated and insular region. is a rough estimate because no comprehensive or widely trusted During the early Christian Era, four separate races migrated down the PAGE 4-5 census has been taken since 1931. It is river valleys from Tibet to settle in different parts of Burma. The first History | Language estimated that 80% of the population major group were the pyu, a mysterious race that settled in south central PAGE 6 are rural dwellers and 20 percent Burma near the present-day town of Prome. It is thought that the Pyus Climate urban. practiced a syncretic form of Theravada Buddhism that included Brahmani Hinduism, naga-worship, and animism. Leaving almost no PAGE 7 The greatest concentration is in the The Land records behind, the Pyus were destroyed in 832 when Chinese from Irrawaddy delta region, where, along Nanchao plundered the capital and deported 3,000 slaves to Yunan. PAGE 8 with Arakan and Tenasserim - the People | Safety & Crime Burmese form the majority. The The next major group were the Mons, who were firmly entrenched in the ruling State Law and Order PAGE 9 Pegu region of Southern Burma prior to the arrival of the Burmese people Restoration Council recognizes 135 Currency | Credit Cards nationalities. The upland areas are sometime in the 7th-9th centuries. Other Mon groups scattered over to Changing Money | Tipping inhabited by hilltribes of which the Thailand and Cambodia and established the earliest empires in these PAGE 10 Karen are the most numerous. nations. Religion | Etiquette TIME The Mons were a highly civilized and cultured race of people who had a PAGE 11 Myanmar time is GMT plus 6 hours, profound influence on the Burmese people in pagan. The third major Communications Health & Vaccinations 30 minutes. group to migrate into Burma were the Burmeses themselves who fled the Tibetan plateau to escape Chinese raids for human sacrifices. The PAGE 12 VISAS Burmeses settled in the central valley of Upper Burma at Pagan. The last Food| Shopping | Customs A tourist visa is required and must be group to emigrate were the Shans (Tai or Thai), who eventually settled in PAGE 13-14 obtained prior to arrival. the hills on the Thai-Burma border. From the moment of their arrival Culture & The Arts | Religion these four Mongoloid-Chinese races waged almost continual warfare INSURANCE against each other with brief periods of peace and unity. You should not assume your U.S. or other existing health insurance will cover you in Myanmar. Since the standard of emergency treatment in Myanmar is not as high as in the West, it is advisable in addition to normal medical insurance. We advise travelers to take out a policy which covers evacuation to either Singapore or Bangkok.