Myanmar, the golden land.

Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar is one of 5 countries in the Indochina peninsula. India lies to the northwest and China to the northeast. Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand are also neighbors. The Bay of Bengal touches the southwest coast.

It is a land of hills and valleys and is rimmed in the north, east and west by mountain ranges forming a giant horseshoe. Enclosed within the mountain barriers are the flat lands of Ayeyarwaddy, Chindwin and Sittaung River valleys where most of the country's agricultural land and population are concentrated.

Myanmar's history dates back to the 1st century with archaeological evidences of the Pyu Kingdoms of Thayekhittaya (Sriksetra), Beikthano (Visnu) and Hanlin. Myanmar entered a golden period in the early 11th century when King Anawrahta unified the country and created the first Myanmar Empire with its capital in Bagan. The Empire lasted until the end of the 13th century, produced a glorious civilization whose monuments still endure. The second Myanmar Empire with its capital in Bago was created in the middle of the 16th century by King Bayinnaung. The third and last Myanmar Empire was founded by King Alaungpaya in 1752 and had a number of capitals, the last being Mandalay. In the later years of the Empire, Myanmar was annexed by the British in three stages, in 1825, 1852, 1885 and became a British colony. Myanmar was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and in the postwar period the independence movement, which had begun in the early 20th century, came to a climax and Myanmar attained independence on 4 January 1948.

Myanmar (Burmese) is the country's official language, though English is spoken in large towns and by elderly folk. There are also many languages and dialects among different national races.

Buddhism is the predominant religion of Myanmar and Theravada Buddhism is embraced by about 80% of the population. The local temple is central to every community, and is also a traditional place of education. Every male is expected to temporarily don the monk's robes at least once in his lifetime. There is freedom of worship for other religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Animism.

Neat and respectful dress should be worn in all religious shrines. It is not considered polite to visit religious monuments in shorts, miniskirts or hot pants. Though shoes can be worn in some temple compounds, they should be removed before entering the chapel of the principal Buddha image. Indeed, all Buddha images are regarded as sacred, and should all be shown due respect.

To us Myanmar is one of exotic countries that we have to visit. We were there in 2003. It was a great place to visit.

We travelled by car for 21 days and visited the highlighted areas. People we've met were friendly, honest and warm. Plenty of beautiful and interesting sites to see and food were great.