Water puppet show

The Vietnamese water puppet, also known as Mua Roi Nuoc is a unique art that originated in the delta of the Red river during the 10th century. This form of entertainment was created by the farmers of this region using the natural mediums obtained around their environment.After floods, the ponds and the rice paddies were used as the stage for these puppet shows. This art form unique only to north Vietnam has recently found its way to the world stage as a result of the normalized relation with the West.
Now, the mordern water puppetry is performed in a pool of water with the water surface being used as the stage. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface. The puppets are carved out of wood and often weigh up to 15 kg. The background music is provided by a traditional Vietnamese orchestra and the Cheo singers from North Vietnam narrate the story through their songs.
The skits are based on rural themes with a strong reference to Vietnamese folklore. It portrays the day to day life of rural vietnam and the folk tales handed down over generations. Stories of the harvest, fishing and the festivals are highlighted. One should never miss such an extrodinary show of high cultural value.

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1. Shwedagon Paya in Yangon is popularly ranked as the 8th wonder of the world
2. The historic city of Bagan is ranked 17th among the 100 places of a life time in Hillman wonders
3. Sule Pagoda in Yangon has a 46 metre octagonal shape stupa built over 2000 years ago to house a strand of Lord Buddha’s hair
4. To see the most significant throne in the world covered with Gold of the last king, Besides each section of the carvings on the throne will tell you so many tales
5. To see the largest book the man ever created. The Buddhist holy book was engraved on 729 white marble stones and each marble tablet is about 3ftx4 ft wide
6. To ring the largest ringing bell in the Universe in Sagaing which is 26 feet high and weighs 90.55 tons
7. To experience a visit to this 2400 year-old miracle Golden Rock, called Kyaiktiyo Pagoda
8. To walk around on the amazing floating-islands and to row a boat in the highest and largest lake in SE Asia
9. To see the living mummies-There are approximately 20 prestigious Buddhist monks around the country, who had died decades or some centuries ago and their bodies never decayed
10. To see the largest man-made stone cave, Narga Cave (Dragon Cave) at Word Peace Pagoda
11. To see the largest Reclining Buddha in the world that is about 181 feet long
12. The famous author Rudyard Kipling wrote some of his novels including the jungle book series at the Strand Hotel in Yangon
13. It was once estimated that there were 13,000 pagodas and Stupas built in Bagan
14. The shape and construction of each building in Bagan is highly significant in Buddhism with each component part taking on spiritual meaning
15. The 1st Indian film that was shot in Myanmar was Bose- The forgotten hero and crew shot the film in Yangon, Bagan and Mandalay
16. Myanmar Sea is an amazing place to go scuba diving
17. It is a great place to buy genuine jewellery at an extremely low price
18. Myanmar is an exciting destination to buy some exotic souveniors to hang on the wall
19. The Khakaborazi Peak is the highest peak in the South East Asia
20. It is an amazing place to walk around on the amazing floating-islands and to row a boat in the highest and largest lake in SE Asia
21. Meet a fortune teller in Myanmar and see your future. Just for fun
22. Myanmar cuisine is similar to thai food but much lighter. You might not many restaurants in the world that serve Burmese cuisine.

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Reclining Buddha

Yangon was founded as Dagon in the 6th century AD by the Mon, who dominated Lower Burma at that time. Dagon was a small fishing village centered about the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1755, King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon, and renamed it “Yangon”. The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826) but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841.

The British Empire seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. By the 1890s Yangon’s increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University.

Colonial Yangon, with its spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as “the garden city of the East.” By the early 20th century, Yangon had public services and infrastructure on par with London.

Before World War II, almost half of Yangon’s population was Indian or South Asian. Soon after Burma’s independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the city’s name was changed to “Yangon”, along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names.

Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards. Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thuwana and Okkalapa in the 1950s to Dagon Myothit (New Dagon) in the 1990s. Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly 400 square miles (1000 sqkm).

In November 2005, the military government designated the newly developed city of Naypyidaw, 200 miles (322 km) north in Mandalay Division as the new administrative capital. The motives for the move remain unclear. At any rate, Yangon remains the largest city, and the most important commercial center of Burma.