371GETTING THERE
& AWAY
Entering the
Country
If you’re arriving by air, and
have your visa ready (see
p 369 ) and a valid passport
with at least six months of
validity from the time of
entry in hand, you should
have no trouble entering
Myanmar.
Arriving and departing by
land from China and Thailand
is possible, but not very prac-
tical. Regular tourists are not
allowed to enter Myanmar by
land or sea from Bangladesh,
India or Laos. For more on
border crossings see boxed
text, p 375.
There is no requirement
for you to show an onward
ticket out of the country in
order to enter Myanmar.Air
Airports & Airlines
Practically all international
fl ights arrive at Yangon (Ran-
goon) airport (RGN); there’s
also a connection to Kun-
ming in China from Mandalay
airport (MDL). The most
common route to Yangon is
via Bangkok, though there
are direct fl ights with several
other regional cities such as
Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
The following airlines have
regular international links.
See p 373 for a list of domes-
tic carriers.Air Asia (airline code FD;
%01-251 885; http://www.airasia.
com; Park Royal Hotel, 33 Ah
Lan Paya Pagoda Rd, Dagon)
Twice daily to/from Bangkok
and Kuala Lumpur.
Air China (airline code CA;
%01-505 024; http://www.airchina.
com; B13/23 Shwe Kanayei
Housing, Narnattaw Rd) Five
times weekly to/from Beijing
and Kunming.
Air India (airline code AI;
%01-253 601; http://home.
airindia.in; 127 Sule Paya Rd)
Kolkata (Calcutta) on Mon-
day and Friday.
Bangkok Airways (airline
code PG; %01-255 122; http://www.
bangkokair.com; Sakura Tower,
339 Bogyoke Aung San Rd)
Four times weekly to/from
Bangkok.
China Airlines (airline code
CI; http://www.china-airlines.com)
Three times weekly to/from
Taipei.
Malaysia Airlines (airline
code MH; %01-2410 0720;
http://www.malaysiaairlines.com;
Central Hotel, 335/337 Bogy-
oke Aung San Rd) Daily to/
from Kuala Lumpur.
Myanmar Airways Inter-
national (airline code 8M;
%01-255 260; http://www.maiair.
com; Sakura Tower, 339 Bogy-
oke Aung San Rd) Unaffiliated
with the government’s My-
anma Airways. Flies to/from
Bangkok, Gaya, Guangzhou,
Kuala Lumpur, Siem Reap,
Singapore. There are plans
to add Delhi, Hong Kong,
Kunming, Seoul and Tokyo
flights to its schedule.
Silk Air (airline code MI;
%01-255 287; http://www.silkair.com;
Sakura Tower, 339 BogyokeTransport
CLIMATE CHANGE & TRAVELEvery form of transport that relies on carbon-based fuel generates CO^2 , the main cause
of human-induced climate change. Modern travel is dependent on aeroplanes, which
might use less fuel per kilometre per person than most cars but travel much greater
distances. The altitude at which aircraft emit gases (including CO^2 ) and particles also
contributes to their climate change impact. Many websites off er ‘carbon calculators’ that
allow people to estimate the carbon emissions generated by their journey and, for those
who wish to do so, to off set the impact of the greenhouse gases emitted with contribu-
tions to portfolios of climate-friendly initiatives throughout the world. Lonely Planet off -
sets the carbon footprint of all staff and author travel.