AMAZING MYANMAR 10D

Mingalabar – Warm welcome to Myanmar!

You can arrive anytime to Mandalay throughout this day. Airport transfer can be arranged at additional cost 35usd per person. This evening, meet your guide and fellow travellers for a briefing session at the hotel lobby 7pm.

Today we explore the city’s highlights and start the day with a morning stroll through the lively main market of Mandalay to experience authentic local life. Your guide will show you locals’ favorite snack stalls and reveal the secret weapon of Myanmar beauty. Get insights to Myanmar’s jade trade at the Jade Market nearby.
Next we take a leisurely “trishaw” bicycle taxi ride through local neighbourhood and continue to artisan quarter where old craftmanship skills have been passed on through generations. We stop at the sacred Mahamuni Pagoda, enshrining one of the most revered Buddha images in Myanmar, covered in tons of gold leaf. It was the crown prize in long past wars between competing Myanmar kingdoms.
Be enchanted by the beautiful decorations of the golden palace monastery, the only surviving Royal Palace building in Mandalay offering a glimpse of the original style and the architecture of the Myanmar Royals. Time permitting we can visit the nearby Kuthodaw Pagoda a compound housing Buddha’s teachings carved on stone slabs and regarded as the largest book in terms of surface area.
We end the day with panoramic sunset view over the city skyline on Mandalay Hill, the highest point of the city.

Morning pick-up from your hotel in Mandalay and drive to Minsontaung Wildlife sanctuary where we have an opportunity to learn about conservation efforts to save the endangered endemic Star Tortoise which is native species of the region. We continue drive to Bagan and stop for lunch on the way. In the afternoon explore the archeological wonderland of over 3000 pagodas built by kings over five centuries. We visit to the beautifully symmetric and majestic Ananda temple with its four standing Buddha images that seem to gaze at the viewer with fixed serenity wherever the viewer stands. For sunset, a bullock or horse cart ride around the temples offers unparalleled photo opportunities of one of the richest archaeological treasures in Southeast Asia as the sun dips behind the temples ruins (weather permitting).

We begin our exploration the Ancient Kingdom of Bagan with a visit to golden gilded Shwezigon stupa, purported to contain a holy tooth relic of the Buddha. Not far from the stupa the Myinkaba Gu Byaukgyi temple is a sight to behold, housing Bagan’s best preserved mural paintings. Next visit the intricate Htilominlo Temple where local artists make traditional sand paintings. In Myingaba Village we visit Bagan’s oldest lacquerware house to learn how generations old methods and techniques are still used to crafts. We return back to hotel after lunch. Rest of the day is free for own explorations. 

Morning pick up from your hotel and 1.5hrs drive to Mt. Popa. We stop on the way to see how toddy – palm sugar juice is harvested and made to caramel like sweets. Mt Popa is Burmese spiritual epicenter for those who worship the pantheon of Nat Spirits and martyrs. You will see here many local pilgrims paying respects to Nat Spirit shrine at the foot of Mt. Popa. We climb nearly 800 steps to the pagoda perched at the top of mountain to admire the beautiful views of the surrounding plains and farmlands.  After lunch break at Popa and we continue long drive (6.5 hrs) to Kalaw through the cities of Meikhtila and Thazi then arrive Kalaw, Shan state highlands. After check in, visit spend your afternoon either luxuriating in fresh mountain air for these who prefer sedentary pleasures.

After breakfast, we embark on a morning walk to the Kalaw market, where ethnic minority group gathers for trading. Join in the ubiquitous tea culture of Myanmar people at a local teashop where we sample local pastry delicacies and have choice of three types of sweet milk teas. Next we visit the Myinmahti Limestone cave, which houses holy shrines and Buddha images. Then drive to the lake give us 2 leisurely hours to observe the countryside. After checking into the hotel, we embark on afternoon explorations of Inle Lake populated with floating islands and garden made from the naturally tangled roots of water hyacinth plants and reeds. Enjoy a home cooked lunch as guests of a local family.  Delight in the sights of fisherman who balance and row with one leg, a technique indigenous to the Inn Thar minority group who do this only on Inle Lake.

After breakfast we journey out by boat, following the currents of a small river to reach the Inn Thein Pagoda Complex, a site that makes us feel as if we’ve stepped through a forgotten portal in time. To access the complex, we walk through verdant bamboo groves that open up to a field covered with the ancient pagodas constructed over 1,000 years ago. We boat back to the lake and visit Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda, the home of some of the country’s most sacred Buddha statues covered in gold leaf by devout followers. We also make a visit to the Inpawkhon Weaving Village to learn how local silks, linens and lotus fabrics are handmade and crafted. As an extra treat, we stop at a house for Burmese Cats built over the lake, where we see the preservation efforts and reintroduction of this rare pure breed of felines to Myanmar. At Nampan Village, local craftsmen show us how Burmese cigars, or “cheroots,” are traditionally packed and rolled. We end our day with magnificent sunset canoe ride with boatmen who gracefully ow perched on one leg.

Transfer to Heho airport for flight to Yangon. Today you will explore Yangon highlights starting from the colonial style city center by Mahabandoola park, city hall and Sule Paya stupa built over 2,000 years ago. During a colonial quarter stroll your guide will share insights to the colonial times and events that took place here. Visit Bogyoke (Scotts) market where hundreds of gemstones, handicrafts, art, clothes and food stores are tucked in a maze of color. We complete the day with a visit to the one of the world’s most spectacular monuments, the Shwedagon pagoda a gold covered bell dome structure that dominates the city’s skyline. Legends state that the sacred hairs of Buddha are enshrined here. The Shwedagon is an iconic symbol of the country, a sight not to be missed.

Breakfast at hotel. Free time until your transfer to airport to catch your onward flight.