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Day1.YANGON
(arrival with morning flight)
Upon arrival at Yangon, check into your hotel. A uniformed host
will invite you a welcome drink and collect your tour program
from our tour guide.
City tour includes downtown and Rangoon's riverfront. On the
way see many of the remarkable sites of the colonial and religious
past of this garden city. Old Rangoon was Dr. William Montgomery's
design. He was the army superintendent surgeon and learnt his
city planning skills from Sir Stanford Raffles in Singapore.
Buildings of heritage in Yangon are now listed for protection.
The old city centre includes:
Yangon City Hall, designed by U Tin in 1925, the Strand Road
with the Moorish arched General Post Office, The red brick Customs
House, the towered Port Authority, The Queen Anne style Civil
Court, the red brick General Hospital built in 1911 and the
Railway Station. Take a break at hotel.
In the afternoon, visit China Town area with various local foods,
Indian ward with various street sellers and drive to Mawtin
Jetty and take a rickshaw for a short trip along the Rangoon
River that offers a remarkable atmosphere with spectacular colors
for Kodak moment. Overnight at hotel.
Day2.YANGON-MANDALAY-AMARAPURA-SAGAING-MANDALAY
(by morning flight)
Take a morning flight to Mandalay; the last capital of Myanmar
Kings. Upon arrival, proceed to Amarapura (the city of Immortal);
visit the Mahagandayon monastery; famous for Buddhist learning
centre. It is home to a thousand monks, who will from a procession
as they to take their noon and final meal of the day. Amarapura
was the capital of upper Burma until 1850.
As it was the custom, most of the important wooden palaces and
monasteries were taken down and transported to the new capital
in Mandalay. Apart from pagodas that have survived, the ancient
art of silk and cotton weaving, using handlooms is very much
alive and visit U Bein wooden bridge, over 150 years old, which
is still in use.
In the afternoon, proceed to Sagaing and visit silverware making
at Ywahtaung village, Kaunghmudaw pagoda, drive up to Sagaing
hill and visit Umin-thonese pagoda and Son-U-Ponyashin pagoda.
Enjoy the sunset from this pagoda. Overnight at Hotel.
Day3.MANDALAY-MINGUN-MANDALAY
After breakfast, excursion to Mingun, 12km away from Mandalay
and a very pleasant boat trip with plenty to see along the Ayarwaddy
River. Tour highlight with Mingun bell(90 tons),Myatheindan
pagoda and Phahtodawgyi Pagoda: an enormous unfinished temple
.In the afternoon, visit King Mindon's Myanansankyaw Palace
site of Konbaung dynasty, Golden monastery, Kuthodaw pagods
with 729 stone tablets(known as World's Biggest Book).Finally,
drive up to Mandalay hill(Anti-ageing hill)and take a panoramic
view of Mandalay city. Overnight at Hotel.
Day4.MANDALAY-BAGAN
(with RV-Pandaw)
After breakfast, visit the downtown area and famous Zegyo market,
designed in 1903 by Count Caldari, the picturesque open air
market at the west of Zegyo market. And visit Shwe Inn Bin monastery;
one of the surviving wooden monastery in Mandalay and transfer
to Gaw Wein jetty and board the RV-Pandaw. RV-Pandaw is the
historical vessel which was built in Scotland in 1947 for the
shallow conditions of Ayeyarwaddy River. The company restored
in teak and brass an original colonial river steamer called
the RV Pandaw. The Pandaw Concept, as it became known, offered
a new travel experience quite unlike other forms of travel:
combining an expedition atmosphere with an elegant base afloat.
But what made the Pandaw style unique was the ability of these
shallow draft ships to penetrate and explore remote areas of
the country and enable real cultural exchange between the traveler
and the inhabitants of the great river valleys of Myanmar.
Depart form Mandalay and cruise all day. Dinner and overnight
on board.
Day5.RV-PANDAW-PAKOKKU
Yandabo is a rarely visited small village with no roads access
t the world. This village is famous for the production of terracotta
pottery made from river bank mud. See the pottery making process
at various stages. You are invited into people's homes and visit
the local monastery. Lunch on board.
In the afternoon, you will arrive at Pakokku, a port city just
south of Confluence of two great rivers (Chindwin and Ayeyarwaddy).
Here you will find workshops making anything from sandals to
cheroots. There are many pagodas and monasteries. You can also
visit the downtown area with rickshaws. Have dinner and overnight
on board.
Day6.PAKOKKU-BAGAN
The boat will leave Pakokku after having breakfast and you arrive
at Bagan appr. 10:00 am. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel
and check into your room. And Bagan sightseeing starts with
selected famous pagodas such as; Shwezigon pagoda, a prototype
of real Myanmar stupa, built by King Anawrahta in 1087, Gyubyaukgyi
temple with finest mural jataka scenes, Htilominlo temple noted
for its fine plaster carvings, Ananda temple, the finest architecture
in Bagan with huge four standing Buddha images and numerous
seated figures and niches around the galleried interior. In
the afternoon, visit Sulamani temple, decorated with finest
ornaments; Dhamayangyi temple, the most massive one with pyramidal
shape, Thabyinnyu temple, the highest one in Bagan, Shwe Gygi
temple, combining with early and late Bagan period traditional
style and you can see a panoramic view of Bagan. Enjoy the sunset
of Bagan from the terraces of Shwe Sandaw pagoda. Overnight
at hotel.
Day7.BAGAN
After breakfast, drive to Nyaung Oo colorful local market and
down town area. Sightseeing continues with Minnanthu area including
famous pagoda such as Phaya Thonesu, Nandamyanna temple and
Tayokepyay pagoda. You can also visit nearby village and talk
with the people and learn more about their daily life. In the
afternoon, visit the lacquer ware factory in New Bagan, Abeyadana
temple with very interesting paintings, showing a Mahayana influence;
Nagayon temple a well-preserved temple by UNESCO, built by King
Kyanzittha. Enjoy the sunset of Bagan and overnight at hotel.
Day8.BAGAN-YANGON
(by morning flight)
In the morning, drive to Bagan Airport to catch the flight to
Yangon. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel and check-in. Today
sightseeing is with the famous world renowned pagoda; the highlight
of Yangon. The Shwedagon pagoda described by Somerset Maugham:
"The Shwedagon rose superb, glistening with its gold, like
a sudden hope in the dark night of the soul of which the mystics
write, glistening against the fog and smoke of the thriving
city". This massive bell-shaped stupa rises nearly 100
meters above its hill-top surroundings. Wander through this
magnificent structure and its courtyards, stupa, bells, temples
and Buddha images and see religious and secular visitors from
all parts of the globe. Shwedagon has become the symbol of Myanmar.
And visit Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda (72m long Buddha image),Karawaik
Hall(designed as a Royal Floating Barge on Royal Lake) for Kodak
moment.
In the afternoon you have enough time to wander around the sprawling
Scott market and to drive through residential areas where you
can still find some private old teak houses as well as with
many beautiful galleries. Overnight at hotel.
Day9.YANGON
(departure with morning flight)
Today, the tour ends with the breakfast at hotel and transfer
to Yangon International Airport for your departure flight.
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