Myanmar Fast Facts

2 Names - Myanmar or Burma?

The country was called 'Myanma' for centuries before the British arrived. During the British 'occupation' shall we say for about 100 years, the name was changed to 'Burma'. The majority ethnic group making up about 70% of the population is Bamar. The British being as they are, called them 'Burmese' instead and hence named the country Burma during their occupation.

The military changed the name back to Myanmar in 1989 along with the names of many towns and streets which previously had English names. e.g. The capital 'Rangoon' was changed to it's previous name of 'Yangon' once again.

I thought the capital was Yangon, but no. This was changed by the military about 6 months ago to a small town 350Km north of Yangon to a place called Pyinmana.


Here is some info I got from the web about this:
Pyinmana is basically a timber town, with a forestry and agriculture school nearby. The construction sites are about 30 km away, virtually on all sides of the town. New six lane roads have also been constructed leading to the construction sites though only military vehicles are plying at present on this road.

A media report indicates that the new capital will be named “Yan Lon” which means “secure from strife” similar to “Yan Gon” (the official name for Rangoon) meaning “end of strife.

There are various theories and analyses for shifting the capital from Rangoon to Pyinmana. Some of these are:

The official reason as given by the Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw Hasn is “It is centrally located, and has quick access to all parts of the country”.

It is believed that the military junta is worried about foreign invasion (potentially by the US) especially after the regime change effected in Afghanistan and Iraq. The junta is apprehensive of being close to a port, more so with a weak naval force as compared to its army.

The new capital is centrally located and will help the administration exercise better control over the ethnic tribes such as the Shans, Chins and the Karens in the border areas.

Another theory is that like the old Burmese Kings, the military rulers are superstitious and the move is on the advice of the soothsayers. Even the date and time of the move (November 6 at 6 AM) has been so decided as the number six is considered auspicious in some Asian societies.

Currency: Kyat (Pronounced 'Chat')

The official government exchange rate is 1USDollar = 450Ks, the black market exchange rate down at the market is 1USDollar = 1250 to 1300!!
Here is the funny thing; the denominations are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000Ks. Previously there were also notes of 15, 45 and 90 but there have unfortunatley been removed! So the biggest paper note here is 1000Kyats, which is less than 1 US dollar (80Cents?)!! it's a pretty big piece of paper as well the 1000Ks note, doesn't fit into the wallet. So when I went to change 200 dollars at the market in Yangon, the dude in the market gave me a bag full of cash.

Population

I think it's about 55million. Only about 70% are ethnic Bamar and there are a lot of other ethnic minorities - Kayin, Kayah, Chin, Shan Rakhaing, Mon to name but a few. The Lonely Planet mentioned somewhere that one researchers named over 100 different minorities, but then again with reasearchers would tell you anything.

Burmese Basics

Hello - Minglaba
Thanks - Cezube
Thank you very much - Cezube tin ba deh
My name is... - ChInoh nahme ....
I love Myanmar - ChInoh Myanmar goh chIteh (always gets a laugh from the locals)



That's all for now...

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