What about one of the variants not having unnatural lakes made from dams, canals etc
And maybe Australian rivers should have the 500km thing like European ones have
That coup results in a massive civil war that is quite genocidal, and as a result the Burmese make up 98% of the state. Burma eventually turns into a democratic and rich country
Slavs are stronger and as a result the Eastern Slavs divide again, one branch going into Scandinavia, becoming Scandinavian Slavs, mostly in OTL Finland, Karelia, Kola and Lappland. Finns are pushed south and settle near OTL Slovenia
Well, the reason for exploration was because the Ottomans blocked the Bosporus by absurd taxes and raids, cutting off the known road to India and China. A Byzantinewank, Serbwank or Bulgarianwank should do the job