Myanmar trivia: 46 questions and answers

Naypyidaw. Naypyidaw is the capital: the government moved there from Yangon in 2005. Yangon is still the largest city, and Mandalay was the last royal capital.

The Irrawaddy. The Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady), about 2,170 km long, runs from the far north to the delta south of Yangon. The Mekong only touches the border with Laos, and the Salween flows further east.

False. False. Myanmar's neighbours are Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. Laos lies between Myanmar and Vietnam.

The kyat. The currency is the kyat, pronounced roughly 'chat'. The baht is used in Thailand, the taka in Bangladesh and the rupee in India.

Anawrahta. Anawrahta became king of Pagan in 1044 and is seen as the father of the Burmese nation. Bayinnaung ruled in the 1500s, Alaungpaya founded the Konbaung dynasty in 1752 and Mindon founded Mandalay in 1857.

Bayinnaung. Bayinnaung reigned from 1550 to 1581 and conquered the Shan states, Lan Na, Manipur and the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya. His empire fell apart soon after his death.

Mindon. King Mindon founded Mandalay in 1857 and built a walled palace city with a moat at the foot of Mandalay Hill.

Thibaw. King Thibaw was deposed in November 1885 and exiled to India, and on 1 January 1886 all of Burma was annexed to British India.

True. True. The military government made the change on 18 June 1989. Both names come from the same Burmese word, and the United Nations uses Myanmar.

False. False. Unlike most former British colonies, Burma did not join the Commonwealth when it became independent on 4 January 1948.

Mohinga. Mohinga is the national dish: thin rice noodles in a fish broth with lemongrass and ginger. Lahpet thoke is a tea leaf salad, htamane a sticky rice snack and palata a flatbread.

Pickled tea leaves. Lahpet is pickled tea leaves. Myanmar is one of very few countries where tea is eaten as well as drunk, and lahpet is offered to guests as a welcome.

False. False. Burmese tofu is made from chickpea flour or yellow split peas cooked with water, turmeric and salt, and has nothing to do with Chinese soy tofu.

Nan gyi thoke. Nan gyi thoke began as street food in Mandalay. Mohinga and ohn no khao swe are noodle soups, and htamin jin is a rice dish from Inle Lake.

Thingyan, the April New Year water festival. Mont lone yay baw are made and handed out during Thingyan, the April New Year water festival. The full moon of Tabodwe is the time for htamane.

True. True. Rice comes with curries, soup, salads and side dishes that all arrive together, and the eldest people are served first.

Inle Lake. Htamin jin, 'sour rice', is the specialty of the Intha people of Inle Lake in Shan State, made with fish caught in the lake.

Yangon. Yangon, formerly Rangoon, was the capital until 2005. It is still the largest city, with over five million people.

Mandalay. Mandalay, founded by King Mindon in 1857, was the last royal capital before the British took it in 1885.

True. True. The British made Moulmein their capital from 1826 to 1852, before Rangoon took over.

Shwedagon Pagoda. The Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill in Yangon is believed to hold relics of four Buddhas. The Uppatasanti Pagoda in Naypyidaw is a copy of it.

Kyaiktiyo, the Golden Rock. Kyaiktiyo, the Golden Rock, is a granite boulder covered in gold leaf in Mon State. Legend says a hair of the Buddha keeps it in place.

True. True. The 1.2 km footbridge at Amarapura was built around 1850 with teak from the old royal palace at Inwa.

Bagan. Bagan, with more than 2,200 surviving temples and pagodas, was inscribed in 2019. Myanmar's other World Heritage Site is the Pyu Ancient Cities, inscribed in 2014.

False. False. Inle Lake became a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2015, a different list, and it is only on the tentative list for World Heritage. Myanmar's World Heritage Sites are the Pyu Ancient Cities and Bagan.

729 marble slabs carved with the Buddhist scriptures. The pagoda keeps 729 marble slabs carved with the Buddhist scriptures, each in its own small shrine. King Mindon had them made, and they were opened to the public in 1868.

False. False. Burmese people have no family names. A title such as U for an older man or Daw for an older woman shows respect instead.

A paste made from ground tree bark. Thanaka is a paste made from ground tree bark and a little water. It cools the skin and protects it from the sun.

Secretary-General of the United Nations. U Thant was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first Asian in the post.

A team keeping a rattan ball in the air without using their hands. Chinlone is a team keeping a rattan ball in the air without using their hands: about six players stand in a circle and pass a woven ball. There is no opposing team.

True. True. Myanmar switched to the right in 1970, although many cars are older imports from Japan with the steering wheel on the right.

George Orwell. George Orwell served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. Burmese Days, his first novel, came out in 1934.

Myanmar. Most gem-quality jadeite, prized above all in China, comes from the mines of northern Myanmar.

Cooked rice. Htamin means cooked rice, and also a meal. Tea is lahpet yay, a market is zay and a river is myit.

True. True. Hpaya means a pagoda and is also used for the Buddha.

Sat. Sat means spicy, so 'ma sat ba ne' means 'not spicy, please'. Yay is water, nga is fish and myo is town.

Tea, usually sweet milk tea. Lahpet yay is tea, usually sweet milk tea. Lahpet means tea leaves and yay means water or liquid.

Mingalaba. Mingalaba means hello. Kyay zu tin ba de is thank you, ba lauk le asks the price and thwa dau me means 'I'm going now'.

How much is it?. 'Ba lauk le?' means 'How much is it?'. Where is the toilet is 'Ein tha be hma le?', thank you is 'Kyay zu tin ba de' and I'm sorry is 'Taung ban ba de'.

True. True. 'Nay kaung la?' means 'How are you?', and the usual answer is 'Nay kaung ba de', 'I'm fine'.

Lahpet yay ta khwet pay ba. 'Lahpet yay ta khwet pay ba' means 'One cup of tea, please'. The others ask for the toilet, call for help and say sorry.

False. False. You take off both shoes and socks at the entrance of the whole pagoda compound, so you walk barefoot even across the courtyards.

Clockwise, with the stupa on your right. Walk clockwise, with the stupa on your right, as local pilgrims do.

A long sarong worn at the waist. A longyi is a long sarong worn at the waist, folded and tucked in without a knot. It covers the legs, so it is also ideal for visiting pagodas.

True. True. Tap water is not safe to drink, so choose sealed bottled water.

Read your government's latest travel advice. Read your government's latest travel advice. A civil war continues in many parts of the country, and some governments advise against all travel to large areas.