One of Myanmar's biggest shopping malls, the Diamond Plaza, will open 5th of September 2011 in Mandalay. An opening ceremony will take place the same day. Some shops already started to sell their products.
The Ministry of Hotels & Tourism officially announced that all tourists must enter and depart the Republic of the Union of Myanmar via the same immigration office. For example, if a guest arrives in Myanmar via the International Airport in Yangon, the guest also has to depart Myanmar via the International Airport in Yangon. If a guest arrives in Myanmar from Thailand, at the border crossing between Mae Sai and Tachileik, then this guest also needs to leave Myanmar at that border point. Same goes for the border point in Muse, at the Chinese border.
Coming November, "Balloons over Bagan" will be introducing a new premium service on their scheduled balloon flights over the ancient capital of Myanmar. Limited to just eight passengers each morning, a selected few guests will have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of Bagan, while receiving a more personalized and exclusive service and flight experience. This includes pick up from your hotel and an individual safety familiarization before the ride starts. An additional highlight is a camera installation which takes pictures of the guests whilst on flight.
Did you forget to take some books with you to Burma? No problem! With 6.000 titles in Myanmar and English language under one roof and another 4.000 on the way, the newly opened Monument Books in Yangon is a bookworm's dream, with a coffee shop and the promise of regular children's entertainment as the icing on the cake. The store shares the same block as Monument Toys at the corner of Dhammazedi Road and Shwe Gon Street, in walking distance from the Savoy Hotel.
Myanmar Airways International expanding its routes Myanmar Airways International has successfully expanded its regional net with direct services between Yangon and Guangzhou, as well as between Yangon and Siem Reap. The company announced they plan to add flights to Jakarta and New Delhi soon and other regional destinations, such as Tokyo, Seoul, Dubai, Doha and Bali.
A new airline, Air KBZ, is operating now. They use one plane with 64 seats and operate on the route Yangon - Bagan - Mandalay - Heho (Daily).
The Aureum Resort and Spa on Inle Lake has postponed its opening. The new opening date is set for October 2011. At that time, all facilities and services are expected to be completed.
The new airline Asia Wings (AW) flies:
Yangon - Heho - Mandalay - Tachileik (Daily)
Yangon - Nyaung Oo - Mandalay - Heho - Yangon (Daily)
with two aircrafts ATR 72-500 that can board 68 passengers.
As international mobile phones are not working in Myanmar, Uniteam Tours & Travel offers its guests to rent a mobile phone for USD 10,- for their duration of the stay in Myanmar. This mobile phone allows guests to make phone calls abroad for about USD 1,50 to USD 2,00 per minute (instead of USD 5,00 to USD 6,00 per minute by using the hotel phone). Guests need to buy a local CDMA card for 50.000 Kyats to be able to use the phone. Please contact us in advance for further assistance.
