Soon: Direct flights between Bagan and Angkor

24 May 2007 (news.com.au) – Soon, after your visit to Angkor, you will be able to fly directly to the ancient monuments of Bagan in Burma (Myanmar) thanks to a just-inked agreement between the governments of Cambodia and Myanmar. This agreement will pave the way for a larger influx of heritage tourists to visit the ancient cities of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos (Luang Prabang is connected to Siem Reap by plane as well).

Cambodia, Myanmar agree to direct flights

CAMBODIA and Myanmar have agreed to direct flights between their main tourist destinations, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong said Wednesday.

The flights will connect Bagan and Mandalay, Myanmar’s top tourist stops, to Cambodia’s Angkor temple town Siem Reap, he said after returning from accompanying the Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, to the reclusive state.

“Cambodia and Myanmar agree to boost the tourism industry between the two nations and attract more international visitors,” he said.

“We have the same culture because we are both Buddhist, so we have to attract more tourists to both countries,” he added.

Impoverished Cambodia has built a booming tourist industry on the back of the 800 year-old Angkor temples, drawing some 1.7 million foreign visitors in 2006.

Read more about direct flights between Angkor and Bagan.

For more information about the ancient capitals of Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, you might want to look up:
– Angkor Cities and Temples by C. Jaques
– The Treasures of Angkor: Cultural Travel Guide (Rizzoli Art Guide) by M. Albanese
– Angkor: Cambodia’s Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition by D. Rooney and P. Danford
– Ancient Pagan by D. Stadtner
– Bagan by B. Broman
– Ancient Luang Prabang by D. Heywood