Myanmar’s Favorite Outdoor Sport

Myanmar loves soccer. You can see the love for the sport when you see the Myanmar men watch the sport on TV or when you see them donning the soccer jerseys showing off their favorite players and teams. But, there is a different game that is Myanmar’s favorite when it actually comes to playing it. That game is called Chinlon.


This game is played with a hollow ball built from bamboo cane. The game is played like volleyball with either 4-5 people on each team or even one person on either side. The court is shaped like a volleyball court and a net separates the 2 teams. The game is played exactly like volleyball with the only difference that you are allowed every body part except your hands.


This game is so popular that they play it everywhere right from proper grounds to near the slums. Players practice hard to get control of the ball with the head, back, legs, thighs and chest. There are coaching agencies too and I understand right this game is part of the Asian games too.

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Burmese Billiards

Have you ever imagined a game of billiards, snooker, 8 ball or 9 ball without a cue stick? Well, the Burmese imagined such a game. This game is played more or less all over the country and is fiercely popular in the Shan State of Myanmar. I saw this game in live action in one of the markets on the Inle Lake. The game is a mix of traditional billiards and carom board.


Basically, the table looks like a large carom board and instead of the balls, there are flat coins that have numbers and colors. Instead of the cue ball, they have a striker coin which is white. They even keep the scoring pattern of billiards in this game. I don’t know what this game is called in Myanmar, but it sure did look interesting.

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