Myanmar

Our guide will pick you up from Rangoon International Airport and transfer you to your hotel. Visit the National Museum to get an insight in to Burmese history and culture. This is followed by a trip to Bogyoke Market – often still referred to Scott Market. We then drive in to heart of downtown Yangon, and during a one-hour leisurely walk enjoy some of the best that colonial-era Yangon has to offer including the High Court building and the Goverment Telegraph Office on Pansodan Street.

Visit the stunning Shwedagon Pagoda at sunset. This 325ft gilded pagoda and stupa is Myanmar’s most important landmark. The top of the stupa is covered with 1800 carats of gold and studded with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and topaz. A huge emerald sits in the middle to catch the first and last rays of the sun.

We depart Yangon and drive to Prome (Pyay) and the archaeological site of Thiri-ya-kittiya, the former centre of the Pyu civilisation which includes a fascinating museum of early Buddhist artifacts and sculptures.

The lovely RV Paukan is a boutique hotel on the river, beautifully furnished with a unique combination of modern and traditional motifs. The timber-walled cabins are furnished with colonial style cupboards, dresser and doors while the ceiling is traditional Myanmar. The single or double beds are proper and comfortable ones and not mere bunks, enough room for 55 passengers who will be looked after by a 30-member crew.

Explore the pleasant colonial town of Thayetmyo which once guarded the border between Royal Myanmar and British Myanmar following the 2nd Anglo Myanmar War of 1855. Many of the buildings including the covered market date from this period. Thayetmyo also boasts the oldest golf course in Myanmar (1885). We visit the market, see the colonial houses and ride out by horse cart to the golf course, passing through the former British botanical garden.

Return to the boat in the afternoon.

Today we disembark to see Minhla. Here we explore the two Italian built forts constructed to keep the British at bay from Royal Myanmar. The fight for the Minhla redoubt was the only serious action in the war and the death of a young subaltern inspired Kipling to write a poem. We ride Trishaws to reach the magnificent Magwe Myat-thalon Pagoda, constructed with solid gold bricks. Of interest are the many nat shrines and hermitages within the temple precincts. Return to the boat in the afternoon.

Visit the Yout-saun-kyaung Monastery with its spectacular wood carvings; we also explore an area of splendid colonial-style houses and continue sailing upstream.

In the morning we moor at the Tan-Chi-Taung Mountain and enjoy the view. Continue with one of the highlights of your trip with a tour of a selection of the 3,000 listed monuments at this World Heritage Site, Bagan.

Today we have plenty of time for further exploration of the Bagan monuments followed by a lacquerware workshop and a visit to the local markets. We sail in the noon upstream. In the evening we walk around Oh Ne Kyaung village to see the local life in this typical river side community

Arrive at the picturesque village of Yandabo which specialises in pot-making. Here the peace treaty signifying the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War was signed on February 24th 1826. We disembark to walk around some pot-making workshops and visit a local school and monastery.

Enjoy a tour of Mandalay visiting the Mahamuni Pagoda and Shwe Nan Daw Kyaung teak carved monastery. In the afternoon we visit Sagaing. The true delight of Sagaing lies in its 1000 hermitages and sanctuaries, rich in woodcarving and religious art. Next we explore the ancient capital of Amarapura by coach, take a boat ride along Taungthaman lake and watch the tranquillity and serenity of this beautiful lake and its famous U-Bein Bridge at sunset.

Disembark at Mingun to see the largest working bell in the world and the unfinished pagoda which is the largest single mass of brick building in the world. We also visit the Mingun Old Peoples Home originally established with the assistance of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in the 1930s.

Visit the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-myoung where the famous 50 gallon water pots are handmade. We see all stages of manufacture from the throwing of the pots to the week-long firing in huge kilns. In the afternoon we cruise back downstream to Mandalay.

Today we bid farewell to our boat as we disembark in Mandalay and transfer to our hotel. The remainder of the day is free to relax or explore the city.

After breakfast we transfer to the airport for the short flight to Heho. Upon arrival at Heho, transfer to Nyaung Shwe, the small town at the entrance to Inle Lake. Transfer by long-tail boat to your hotel on the lake for check –in.

This afteroon we explore Inle Lake. First, we will visit Nga Phe Kyaung, primarily of interest for its extensive collection of Buddha images made of different materials, and in various styles and sizes. visit to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the holiest religious site in Southern Shan state. Its five uniquely shaped,glided, but relatively small images are carried around the lake by boat during the annual Inle Boat procession (usually in the period September / October).

Continue visit to Kaylar Village and walk around in the village. This village is located in the middle part of Inlay Lake and famous for its floating gardens. Transfer back to hotel.

After breakfast we have a boat trip to Tar-Kaung Pagoda located on the other side of Sakar village. This is followed by a visit to Samkar, a rarely seen area south of Inle Lake. Here we can gain an insight into the unspoiled culture and traditional lifestyle of the ethnic Pa-O and Intha inhabitants. Enjoy beautiful scenery, flowering trees and numerous settlements dotted on both sides of the canal.

Continue to the nearby villages inhabited by Pa-Oh, Intha and Taungyoe. In the late afternoon we return to our hotel at Inle Lake.

Transfer by boat to the village Khaung Daing, a tourist yet rarely visited place. Village life is best observed in the early morning, because it is most alive at that time. During the visit you will get a glimpse into the lives of the local, rural populations Khaung Daings, which is very active working in tofu and bean production.

Take a one-hour boat trip on a small canal to Pa-Oh Indein village on the western shore. After a stroll through the village we climb the nearby hill, on top of which is located a Buddha image ringed by hundreds of stupa ruins and overgrown with creepers. From here we have a wonderful view of the Indein Pagodas complex.

After Breakfast we transfer to Heho Airport for the flight to Yangon. Upon arrival at Yangon we transfer to our hotel. The rest of the day is free at leisure.

Transfer to Yangon International Airport for your onward flight.