About Burma
Burma (Myanmar) is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.
Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the country's largest city, is home to bustling markets, numerous parks and lakes, and the towering, gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, which dates to the 6th century and contains Buddhist relics.
Capital Naypyidaw
President Htin Kyaw
Currency Burmese kyat
Official language Burmese
Neighboring countries Thailand, China, India
Diving
In the Andaman Sea, to the north of the Thai border lie the largely undisturbed seas of Myanmar. Since the area was only opened up to tourism in 1997, divers who choose to liveaboard dive in Burma feel a great sense of privilege at witnessing the awesome sights above and below the surface of the Mergui region (also known as Myeik) that has remained untouched for years.
Many divers board Myanmar liveaboards to explore the Similan Islands, but if you venture further north into Burma's Mergui Archipelago, what will you find? Firstly you will have the opportunity to dive and cruise far from the average tourist's beaten track. Picture yourself onboard a ship cutting through the silence on flat-calm crystal seas, past uninhabited, secluded islands without another vessel in site. Burma scuba diving safaris offer rewards beyond its excellent dive spots.
Fish sightings you can expect in the archipelago include armies of barracuda, dogtooth tuna, batfish, unicornfish and trevallies. Bigger pelagic such as manta rays and the awesome whale shark, and grey reef and white tip sharks may put in an appearance. Many of the dive sites are renowned for their big fish action and you hear people talk of sites such as Shark Cave and Black Rock in hushed, reverential tones.
However it is the smaller stuff which is beginning to win recognition and make divers realize there is more to diving Burma than merely the big fish and seclusion. Lobsters, crabs and shrimps of seemingly every shape, color and size scuttle over the sea floor whilst cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, frogfish and octopus all enjoy the relatively boat-free Mergui waters.
