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Asterism Travels & Tours - Myanmar | Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Pinday and Inle lake |
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Tours - 11 days Myanmar discovery 
Join a small group travel to the most interesting places of Burma. This tour is designed to give a good introduction
of the country within 11 days. A knowledgeable local guide speaking Burmese and English languages will be
traveling together. The tour is not rush, and it gives some leisure times to ponder amids the scenes of the
country.
Day 1: Arrive Yangon (recommend morning flight) Meet at Yangon international airport, and transfer to the hotel. Lunch will be provided at Green Elephant restaurant. After lunch start orientation tour of Yangon city. Visit Chauk-htat-gyi Reclining Buddha image and Karaweik hall on the royal lake. Then you will explore in your own pace the streets in down town city center lined with colonial style buildings, the jetty on the bank of Yangon river, and observe the movement of people. In the evening transfer to visit Shwedagon pagoda, over 2500 years old world famous stupa on a hill. Dinner with cultural show at Kandawgyi Palace hotel Mingalar hall restaurant. Your first night stay in hotel at Yangon. (L,D) Day 2: Yangon - Mandalay - and to Pyin Oo Lwin Ealry morning breakfast at hotel. Transfer to Yangon airport to fly to Mandalay in a morning flight. From the airport you will travel 68 km to the east to May Myo (also called Pyin Oo Lwin) in the more than 1000 meters high mountains. May Myo is a former British summer resort town with colonial era buildings, horse drawn carts, gardens and waterfalls. After checking into the hotel you will have leisurely tour of the town where people of different races including Indians, Nepaliese, Shan and other ethnic tribe people live. Then visit Kandawgyi national park, Pwe Kauk and Ani-sakhan water falls, Peik-Chin-Myaung cave, etc. in the available time. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Maymyo. (B,L,D) Day 3: Pyin Oo Lwin - Mandalay Breakfast at hotel. Have a couple of hours free time in a cool atmosphere of the hotel compound. Late morning transfer back to lowland, to Mandalay. Check in hotel and have lunch at a restaurant. Afternoon and evening sightseeing in Mandalay will include Maha Myat-muni pagoda - a bronze Buddha Image cast during the lifetime of Buddha himself, Atumshi monastry, Mandalay palace, Kuthodaw pagoda - known as the world biggest book of Buddhist teachings, Shwe Inn Bin monastry - noted for its exquisite wood carvings. Evening time will be on Mandalay hill to have panoramic views of Mandalay plain and its environ at sunset. Dinner and overnight at your hotel located at the foot of Mandalay hill. (B,L,D) Day 4: Mingun, Sagaing and Amarapura Breakfast at hotel. You will take a 45 minutes private boat trip up river on the Ayeyarwaddy to Mingun which is 11 km from Mandalay, on the western side of the river. Visit Mingun bell - one of the world's largest ringing bells made of bronze, the un-finished yet still large Mingun Pahto-taw-gyi pagoda, Settawya pagoda. Back to Mandalay jetty by boat and continue to visit remaining interesting spots of Mandalay such as gold-leaf making, Embroidery work. Lunch at a restaurant. In the afternoon transfer to Sagaing located 21 km south-west of Mandalay, on the western bank of the Ayeyarwaddy river. Visit Kaung Mu Daw pagoda and silver work shops. From the Sagaing hills you will have another panorama views of the Ayeyarwaddy and surroundings. 
Late afternoon back to Mandalay. On the way visit Amarapura (an ancient capital of Kongbaung Dynasty in 1783).
Visit Kyauktawgyi pagoda, Mahar-ga-na-yone monastry where one may observe the daily light life
of the monks studying Buddha's scriptures, local silk and cotton weaving industry and have your sunset time
on U-Bein bridge (1.2 km long and over 200 years old wooden bridge over a lake).
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Mandalay. (B,L,D)
Day 5: Down the Ayeyarwaddy to Bagan Early breakfast or pack brekafast and drinking water. Transfer to the boat jetty. Today is a boat trip on the Ayeyarwaddy river down to the 11th century buddhist archaeological site at Bagan. Back to the old times! The boat is a tourist boat, seats in halls, with roof, decks, common toilets, and have a restaurant. The boat leaves Mandalay at about 6 am, it stops at a couple of places. You will see the local villages, fishing boats, small cargo boats, firms on the river banks, bull carts – the life on and along the largest river of Myanmar. Have your lunch on the boat. Arrive Bagan jetty in the evening. Transfer to the hotel in old Bagan. Spend the evening at your own leisure. Overnight hotel in Bagan. (B) Day 6: Bagan After the breakfast at hotel make a morning visit to Nyaung Oo market. Continue to visit Shwezigon pagoda - the prototype for later Myanmar pagodas, Ananda temple - a master piece of King Kyansittha, Thatbyinnyu temple - the highest builiding in the Bagan plain, Dhamma Yangyi temple - the most massive temple, Gubyaukgyi temple, Myinkaba village, Manuha temple and Bagan famous lacquareware cottage industry etc. In the evening have sunset view from a tower (being built now) or top of a temple. All around you are the 1000 plus years old monuments, behind them is the Ayeyarwaddy river, on the western side are hills on which the sun sets. Dinner at the famous river side retaurant with puppet show, and overnight hotel in Bagan. (B,L,D) Day 7: Driving trip to Pindaya (Southern Shan state) Breakfast at hotel. Today you will travel overland through the low land central Myanmar and to the heights of southern Shan land. Bagan to Kalaw is around 260 km or about 7 to 8 hours driving through farmlands and villages. Kalaw is at more than 1300 meters above the sea. Lunch is provided on the way. Have time to see the beautiful hill resort town of Kalaw dotted with pine trees. Before it becomes dark continue to Pindaya, 1200 meters above the sea. Dinner and overnight in the hotel in Pindaya. (B,L,D) Day 8: Pindaya - Inle lake Breakfast at hotel. In the morning visit Pindaya caves (Shwe Oo Min limestone caves in which there are over 8000 Buddha images dating centuries back in history) and Pindaya town. Lunch at hotel and then transfer to Inle lake in the afternoon. On the road from Pindaya to Inle take a short stop at Aung Ban (a small high way junction town between Taungyi, Thazi, Pindaya and Kalaw). Just sit in a tea shop to people watch. 
Proceed to Khaing Daing village Resort on the western bank of Inle lake. Spend the evening time at your own
leisure. Dinner and overnight hotel at Inle lake. (B,L,D)
Day 9: Inle lake Breakfast at hotel. Full day sightseeing to explore the lives and nature of Inle lake along its length and width. High lights are Phaung Daw Oo pagoda, 5-day rotating market where different tribal proples trade their home produces, floating market, Nge Phe Chaung monastery, fisher men villages, In Paw Khong village famous for its silk products, floating gardens. Lunch is provided in a restaurant. Back to the resort in the evening for dinner, leisure and overnight. (B,L,D) Day 10: Inle - Heho - Yangon Breakfast at hotel. Free time at your own leisure until time to transfer to Heho airport. Take a flight back to Yangon. After taking lunch at a restaurant you can visit the remaining places such as China town, Bogyoke Aung San market (Scott market) till evening. Dinner and overnight hotel in Yangon. (B,L,D) Day 11: Departure Breakfast at hotel. Free at your leisure, and we will send you to Yangon airport for your departure flight. (B) B = breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner Hotels (first class in Yangon and Mandalay, and the rest are middle range) For photos and information please click here.
Tour dates (Day 1 in the program)
Full payment is required by bank wire at least one month before the tour date. We will email you the instructions for the bank wire transfer after getting confirmation from the domestic airlines and hotels with your names. Please kindly pay the bank charges at your side. Cancellation Cancellation should be made by email or fax. If you cancel the tour after the payment (after the confirmation of flights and hotels) the charges are:
Changes in the tours Depending on the various situations the details of the tour itinerary may be changed from the above. If the hotels mentioned above are fully booked we will use other hotel(s) of similar class. Myanmar visa We recommend you to arrange your visa well before your travel by contacting the nearest Myanmar embassy. When you do the payment to us you should already have Myanmar visa in hand. Additional services If you want us to provide trips to other places of Myanmar or places in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia please feel free to ask us. We can also arrange air tickets between these countries in addition to the local tours. |
