Did you know?
Trousers are a relatively rare sight in Myanmar, as most men prefer to wear a traditional sarong-like garment, the longyi, which is more suited to the country's humid climate.
The most popular makeup is a natural preparation, the gold-coloured thanakha (powdered bark from the thanakha tree), which is a natural sunscreen, moisturiser and perfume worn on the faces of many women.
Unlike in Chinese society, eight is considered an unlucky number. The lucky number is nine in this society, where numerology plays a major role.
Myanmar's wildlife includes leopards, Himalaya bears, serow (mountain goats), crab-eating mongooses, barking deer (also found in Hong Kong) gaur (Indian bison) and gibbons.
Street snacks include pa-yit kyaw (fried crickets), bi-laar (fried beetles) and thin baun poe (lightly grilled though still wriggling) larvae.
The Myanmar New Year starts in April with the raucous three-day Thingyan (water festival). This is also the one time of year when women can be as boisterous as men as revellers attempt to drench each other in water.
'Wa-laiq-ta!' ('How fat you're looking!') is a common, but not a rude greeting. Rather, it is a compliment as a few extra pounds are equated with good health and prosperity.
A favourite sport, which has competitive and non-competitive variations, is chinelon (sometimes called cane-ball), which involves a circle of players attempting to keep a woven rattan ball in the air, soccer-style.
Although Burmese is spoken by about 80 per cent of the population, it is estimated that more than 100 languages are spoken by Myanmar's many ethnic minorities.
