Latest news from A&K Myanmar
Myanmar to introduce e-visas
Myanmar's Ministry of Hotels and Tourism has unveiled plans to launch an electronic visa system sometime later this year.
The Ministry of Hotel and Tourism is planning on the launch of an e-visa system at entrance and exit points at airports, seaports and border checkpoints to make it more convenient for foreign visitors. The online visa system will be tested before being officially introduced as soon as possible this year.
Myanmar's government introduced a visa on arrival (VOA) system on May 1, 2010 that allowed foreign visitors from any country able to obtain a VOA at Yangon and Mandalay international airports without having to make prior arrangements with a travel management company. However, the VOA was suspended just four months later by the Department of Immigration and National Registration.
VOAs are currently permitted for passengers on Myanmar Airways International flights arriving from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia and China’s Guangzhou.
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Sticky Rice Preparation Competitions
Tabodwe (January-February) is a cool month and also the time when the first harvest is gathered in Myanmar. In Myanmar this first harvest is offered to the pagodas and monks, and to friends and neighbours too, to gain merit. Tabodwe is also known as the month when the Htamane (sticky rice) making competitions are held.
The people of Myanmar organise competitions to make the finest sticky rice. Teams of youth representing their own neighbourhoods enter these competitions with good spirits, sometimes accompanied by traditional “doebut” (a music group) and their own group of fans.
These traditional sticky rice preparation competitions are held all over the country during the Myanmar month of Tabodwe (February). Many are held at monasteries and pagoda compounds but some also in residential areas. No invitations are necessary or needed. Just walk into any competition and you will be warmly welcomed.
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