Hotels in Myanmar

Myanmar is located at the mainland of Southeast Asia. Formerly known as Burma, the country is bordered by China to the north side, India to the northwest, Bangladesh to the west, Thailand to the southeast and Laos to the east.

In the old days, Myanmar has built three Burmese empires.  The first Burmese empire is during King Anawratha takes the throne in the year 1044. At that time, Bagan was the capital of first Burmese empire. However, the kingdom power was slowly declined. Moreover, King Narathihapate has made a diplomatic mistake by executing his envoys. After that, he fled to Pyay (Prome) where he had committed suicide.

The second empire was built during a settlement of Bamar refugees in Toungoo between Mon and Shan. Then, Bayinnaung took the throne when he had successfully reunified all of Burma. He also managed to defeat Siamese in the year 1550. After the death of Bayinnaung in 1581, the power of Bamar has once again declined. The capital city had also changed to Inwa in 1636.

During the third empire, it was launched by King Alaungpaya. The empire was built by contesting the Mon and then managed to take over Iowa in 1752. After Alaungpaya’s death. he has forced the Siamese to relocate their capital. His successor, Bodawpaya has taken the Rakhine to put under Burmese control.  During that time, the British felt the tension because they had an interest towards Rakhine’s economy. This led to wars with the British. During the British rule, Myanmar was flooded with Indian and Chinese immigrants. They come to the country to build a business. Besides that, the British were refused to honour local custom which has created an offence to the majority of the Buddhist population. Besides that, the country has experience unemployment and they had the highest crime rate during British rule.

In 1940, Aung San had formed a party called the Burma Independence Army before Japan entered in the Second World War. Nevertheless, Japan has taken over Rangoon and the British administration has destroyed. After the war ended, Aung San negotiated with other leaders that can guarantee the independence of Burma with the Panglong Agreement.  On 4th January 1948, they have become an independent republic.

In the present, the capital of Myanmar is Naypyidaw. It was founded near Pyinmana which is at the north of the old capital of My Myanmar, Yangon. The construction for Naypyidaw has started in 2002 and fully completed in 2012. Myanmar government began to shift its administrative centre to Naypyidaw which is last time it is only called the greenfield sithe te. The city was officially named as Naypyidaw during Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day. a Naypyidaw has an area of 2a ,723.71 square meters and the population of this city is estimated around 924608 people.

Now, the official language of Myanmar is Burmese. This language was spoken by two-thirds of the population. Burmese is a Sino-Tibetan language. It is the mother tongue for Bamar people. The other languages that are spoken by the Myanmar people are Shan, Karen languages, Kachin, and Mon. In the schools, Burmese is used as the primary language and English is placed as the second language. Majority of people in Myanmar is Buddhism with 90%. Followed by the second highest religion, Christian with 6% and the rest is Islam with 4%. The culture in Myanmar is also heavily influenced by Buddhism. That is why most of the buildings in Myanmar are more to pagodas and temple.  Myanmar has a few types of seasons. It was said that hot and rainy seasons are in the middle of the year. The peak time for the tourists to make a visit is during the end of the year to early of the year. It is because, during that period, they have a cool season. The visa for a tourist can be used for 28 days. Whereas, for business travellers, they can use to 70 days

Myanmar has lots of great dishes that must-try on.  The first dish is the Mohinga. It is recognized as the most wanted dish by the people in Myanmar. Mohinga is concocted fish soup with rice noodles. Next dish is a fermented tea leaf salad. In Myanmar, they called as Lephet Thoke. The dish is usually eaten as dessert but they can eat in their own way. If the tourist comes to a traditional restaurant, they can see curry is the main food for their dish on the menu. In Myanmar, the tourists have to try the Burmese rice. Burmese rice is nice to eat with some other foods like curry, fried vegetables, soups and many more.  Besides that, the most recommended sweet dish to try in Myanmar is Muon. The sweetness of the dish is not coming from the sugar. Instead, it is getting from coconut milk, rice - flour taste cooked glutinous rice, tapioca, and fruit. The following dish is also in the list of the most famous dishes in Myanmar. It is Shan-style tofu noodles. However, tofu is not included in the ingredients include tofu instead, it is a thick porridge made from chickpea flour. The customers can choose to have a marinated pork or chicken inside the dish. In addition, it has some pickled vegetables, a bit of chilli oil and broth. If you like some savoury flavour, this is the food that you have to try on.

How to Get There?

By Flight

There are a few airlines that make their stops at Yangon International Airport. The price range for a ticket to Myanmar is around RM 300 to RM600 per person. From Malaysia, they can take a flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The journey takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Once they have reached Yangon International Airport, they can request for a rental car or grab a taxi at the entrance of the airport.

What to Do There?

Bagan

Back then, Bagan is the capital of the country during the first Burmese empire. Today, this place is one of the best destinations to visit in Myanmar. It is because Bagan contains most of the temples than any other places in the world. There are Buddhist temples, pagodas, and stupas. Bagan is a perfect destination for visitors who want to learn more about Buddhism. It also represents the majority of Myanmar citizen's religion.  The visitors can also experience watching a unique Bagan view from a hot air balloon.

Inle Lake

The moment the tourists arrived in Inle Lake, they can see the natural beauty of the lake.  A trip on the lake can be taken in a long narrow boat. There will be a guide that brings them to a few places such as several pagodas, small workshops in stilt village and a market. The tourists are able to witness fishermen using a leg-rowing technique during their journey to catch the fishes. Besides that, they can see floating gardens. It has fruits and vegetables which is taken care by Intha residents.

Mandalay Hill

For those who are adventurous and likes to climb up the hill, Mandalay is a worth place to visit. There is a stairway on the hill and on you will have to pass through temples and pagodas.  The tourists have to a note that when they pass through them, they will need to honour the place barefoot. The climb will take about 30 minutes or even longer if they make a few stops during the journey.  However, it is also possible to drive up to Mandalay Hill. When they arrived at the car park, they need to take an escalator or a lift to the top of the hill. As they reached to the top hill, the tourists are able to watch a stunning view of Mandalay.

Where to Stay?

Lavender Hotel

Lavender Hotel is located at 55, Old Yay Ta Shay Road, Near Bahan 3th Street Market, Bahan Township, Yangon. This hotel is a perfect place to stay for those who travel in Bahan. Besides that, this hotel has provided great services and the staffs are very helpful to their customers.  Lavender Hotel is also strategically placed near to pagodas. For nature lovers, there are some recommended places to visit for the tourist.

M.G.M Hotel

This 3-star hotel is an ideal place to stay in Lanmadaw. This hotel has received a lot of great response from the former guests. Besides that, this hotel offer at the very reasonable price. Moreover, they offer a few facilities and great services that make the guest feel more comfortable to stay in. There is a 24-hour front desk available for the guests to do check in and check out, as well as if the guests need any assistance from them.  The hotel has a good location since some of the attraction places is just minutes away from the hotel.

PARKROYAL Yangon

PARKROYAL Yangon is the right choice to stay for those who want to have a comfortable and relaxed during the visit in Mingalar Taung Nyut. This hotel provides the best facilities to their guests such as spa treatment, gym, and an outdoor tennis court. Moreover, this hotel is suitable for business travellers since they have provided meeting facilities and conference room.