What's in a Name? Burma vs. Myanmar and Other Fun Facts

So what is it?  Burma or Myanmar?  Yangon or Rangoon?  We've used both in our posts, and depending where you are in the world you will hear one, or the other, or both.  From the mid-19th century to 1989, the name commonly used was Burma.  However, in 1989 the military junta decided to scrap 'Burma' and other British colonial names like Rangoon, and changed the country's official name to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and the capitol to Yangon.

The UN recognizes Myanmar as the country's official name, in part because it is more inclusive than Burma (the country's population is nowhere near 100% Burman).  But almost all the opposition groups - including Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, many ethnic groups, and nations including the US and the UK, use Burma.  The reason appears to be primarily because the name was changed by the junta without any reference to the will of the people.  In Burma itself, people seemed to call the country Myanmar or, more often, just 'my homeland'.  We use mainly Burma, but it's something to decide for yourself.

And with that taken care of, before we move on to Bangkok again, a few interesting facts we noted while travelling through Burma:

• In a restaurant, if you want to get a server's attention, pucker up and make a kissing sound to call them over.
• When passing something to someone else (money, your passport, whatever), use your right hand, and use your left hand to support your right elbow.  It's polite.
• On the road, keep your wits about you.  As a British colony, Burma used to drive on the left.  But in 1970, the junta decreed that traffic would drive on the right (possibly for astrological reasons).  However, most cars are still right hand drive either because they are pre-changeover or because they were imported from Thailand, Japan, or Singapore.  Makes for some scary situations, especially when trying to pass on narrow, winding roads!
• In 2005 the military relocated the capital of Burma from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw, halfway up the road to Mandalay and considered a more strategic, central location.  An unnecessary move.  The city of Nay Pyi Taw was built entirely from scratch, over rice paddies, villages, and small towns, at an estimated cost of over $4 billion.  (It's staggering to consider how much health care and education that sum could have provided in this country.)
• Ubiquitous tea houses are good options for inexpensive food and bottomless thermoses of free jasmine tea.
• Maybe it was just peak season, but Burma has the biggest and tastiest papayas I have ever encountered.
• Native dishes to try: mohinga (cheap noodle dish), salad containing pickled tea leaves, Shan-style noodles (slathered in peanut sauce).  Many soups contain dried and/or fermented fish, which can be a little pungent.  But the food is rarely spicy hot.