HOUSE OF THE WEEK
A Golden Valley white out
UNBEKNOWST to Myanmar’s diligent meteorological department, an extremely localised snowstorm has carpeted the interior of this two-storey Golden Valley house. moreWebsite promotes events, activities in Yangon
(Volume 26, No. 506)
WANT to know what’s happening in Yangon? A newly launched website – www.eventsinyangon.com – could have all the information you’re looking for.
The site will provide information on music concerts, parties, promotions, art gallery openings and social occasions at local bars and pubs, according to Mr Frank Janmaat, the general manager of Inya Lake Hotel and brains behind the Events in Yangon website.
The purpose of the website, launched on December 15, was originally to let event organisers know what other major social occasions were planned for a certain date. The scope has broadened since then and Events in Yangon is now targeting customers as much as organisers.
“Events in Yangon is a one-stop website where you can check what is going on in the city and is also an important tool for organisers to plan the timing of their functions. Organisers can add their events for free through a link on the homepage,” he said.
“I have tried to make the ‘add event’ function as simple and efficient as possible. It really just takes less than a minute to list an event. Our webmaster will then look at the new entry and put it on the site. I think this extra step is necessary to make sure that the site remains interesting and does not become just an advertising tool for companies and products,” he added.
Mr Janmaat said he got the idea for the website last year, when two charity bazaars were held on the same day.
“One had a larger advertising budget and drew a lot of people. The other, unfortunately, had very few. It would have been handy if the organisers of the smaller event could have checked to see what else was going on in town and they could have considered choosing a week earlier or later,” he said.
Mr Janmaat said he plans to expand the website in the future to include more content, like restaurant reviews.
“There are so many good restaurants in Yangon and still everyone seems to go only to a small number of them. These restaurants will not be reviewed of course but a small restaurant with great food in a not so well frequented area in Yangon will be,” he said.
All events are listed for free and companies can purchase ad space on the website if they want to attract further attention for their event. Those interested can contact Mr Janmaat by email at frank@inyalakehotel.com.
