MYANMAR CROSSROADS INCLUDING AYAVATA RIVER CRUISE

TOUR OF CENTER OF CULTURE, RIVER CRUISE, ANCIENT TEMPLES,
 EXTINCT VOLCANO, AND RURAL LIFE
YANGON – MANDALAY – BAGAN – MOUNT POPA – BAGAN – SALAY –
CHAUK– BAGAN– YANGON

Day 1 Yangon Friday

Your Ah Nyar Thar Tour Guide will meet you on arrival at Yangon International Airport to accompany you to your hotel. This afternoon, an orientation drive acquaints you to the Historic Buildings of Colonial-Days and the Sule Pagoda, in the heart of Yangon. Take a short walking tour of the downtown and browse the hundred stalls of Bo Gyoke Aung San Market (also known as Scott’s Market). Afterwards, you will head for Chauk Htat Gyi Temple; there is time to marvel at a gigantic reclining Buddha image. Stop for photos at the Kandawgyi Gardens beholding the Karaweik Hall, a royal floating barge, and a backdrop of lush trees and an idyllic lake. The day ends at Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the fairest place and most spectacular religious monuments in the world, surrounded by an array of temples, shrines and pavilions. Take your time to be at this truly spectacular and remarkable highlight. Enjoy the dinner and overnight in Yangon. (D)

Day 2 Yangon – Mandalay Saturday

Rise before daybreak and you will be assisted to the airport for your flight to Mandalay. Upon arrival at Mandalay Airport, you will drive directly to Amarapura to visit Mahagandayone Monastery, home to some 800 monks and one of the most prestigious monasteries in Myanmar. Afterward, you will take a stroll over a historic bridge, known as U Bein Bridge and originally built in 1851, spanning over the Taungthaman Lake. Proceed to your hotel for check-in. Enjoy a lunch at a local restaurant. On this afternoon's sightseeing, a visit is firstly made to Mahamuni Pagoda, Mandalay's most fabled religious monument where you will have an awe inspiring view of a Buddha image covered with chunky layers of gold foils. Continue to Shwe Nan Daw Kyaung (or Golden Palace Monastery) to marvel at a superb traditional wooden building and Kuthodaw Pagoda (also known as the world’s largest book), consisting of 729 marble slabs engraved with Buddhist scriptures. If time permits, visit a craftsman’s workshop to see Kalaga tapestries being created. Be sure to watch the sunset from Mandalay Hill. Enjoy a dinner at your hotel and overnight in Mandalay. (B, L, D)

Day 3 Mandalay – R.V Ayavata– Mingun Sunday

This morning is yours to relax at your hotel. Later, you will be assisted to Gawein Jetty to embark a river cruise for two nights by R.V AYARVATA from Royal Mandalay (Mingun & Sagaing) to Ancient Bagan.

The embarkation time is at 12.30 a.m. at Gawein Jetty. Welcome Cocktail in the Saloon.
Upstream to Mingun
Lunch will be served at 13.00. The sailing time to Mingun is about 2 hours. Our English speaking manager (or your private guide) will assist the guests during the visit of the Mingun Pagoda Complex.
Moor Overnight at a sandbank mid-stream. After dinner guests can enjoy a Dance and Drama performance by the Mandalay Arts School on the sundeck (if available).

Day 4 R.V Ayavata Mingun – Sagaing –River Village Monday

Downstream to Sagaing
Early in the morning cruise downstream during the 2 hours journey the passengers can enjoy the natural beauty of the river and the life of its banks while relaxing on the sundeck or just sitting outside their own cabin. Sunrise over Sagaing Hill

Visit Sagaing
Enjoy the sunrise. After an early breakfast passengers can go ashore to visit Sagaing with the assistance of our Ship Manager or their own guide (in the meantime the 1 Night cruise passengers will embark).

Downstream to Bagan
The cast off time is at 11.15 hrs. Lunch will be served at 13.00. In the late afternoon we stop at Yandabo, a village specialize in Pot-Making, where the peace treaty of the First Anglo-Burmese war was signed on Feb. 24, 1826. Cruise all day and moor overnight near a typical river village or a sandbank.
Moor overnight near the village of Shwe Nann Tint

Day 5 R.V Ayavata – Bagan Tuesday

River Village
Early in the morning we proceed downriver to Bagan. After breakfast (if time permits) we visit another typical river village. Enjoy the sunrise near Bagan. Passengers will disembark near Wetkyi-Inn Village 4 km. North of Old Bagan at around 10.15 hrs.

Upon arrival in Bagan, transfer to your hotel for check-in. Enjoy a lunch at your hotel. Highlights on this afternoon's tour include Shwezigon Pagoda, the prototype of pagodas in Myanmar, Wetkyi-in Gu Byauk Gyi Temple with fine tempera mural paintings depicting the life stories of Buddha, and Ananda Temple, the most aesthetically beautiful monument in Bagan. Enjoy a lunch at a riverside restaurant. A visit to Bupaya on the bank of Ayeyarwaddy River, a perfect spot to enjoy a magnificent sunset, will conclude the day. Enjoy a dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Bagan. (B, L, D)

Day 6 Bagan – Mount Popa – Bagan Wednesday

Optional tour: For an once-in-a-lifetime experience, take a balloon ride to have a bird-eyes view over the pagoda-studded plain of Bagan. Before the daybreak, you will be picked up from your hotel. The balloon flight takes approximately 30 - 45 minutes depending on the prevailing weather condition and wind speed. A glass of sparkling wine is served during the flight. You will be back at your hotel for the breakfast.

This morning travel on a scenic route (50 km – 1½ hours) to Mount Popa, an extinct volcano and an oasis in the scorched Myingyan Plain. It is, among Myanmar people, widely known as the abode of “Nats”, animist spirits. For the energetic, there is time to climb the 777 steps to the shrine at the top of the volcanic plug. Enjoy a lunch at the Popa Mountain Resort with magnificent views across the ravine and lush trees. Return to Bagan. In this afternoon, you will visit a lacquer craftsman’s workshop to discover the intricate process of making lacquer wares. Continue to Manuha Temple with a large seated Buddha Image, enshrined in a relatively small sanctum, illustrating the melancholy of a confined king, and Nanbaya Temple with noted perforated windows and friezes, a unique sandstone monument that is said to have been the residence of King Manuha. Next, you will proceed to Myingaba Gu Byauk Gyi Temple, a Mon-style temple renowned for its fine frescoes, preserved by UNESCO. Enjoy a dinner at your hotel and overnight in Bagan. (B, L, D)

Day 7 Bagan – Chauk – Salay– Chauk – Bagan Thursday

After an early breakfast at your hotel, drive to Salay for approximately 2½ hours via Chauk, one of the original oil fields of BOC (UK), with "nodding donkeys" (oil-well pumps) still extracting oils nowadays. If time permits, visit the local market in Chauk. Upon arrival in Salay, you will drive directly to Yoke Sone Kyaung Monastery, a fine teak building of late 19th century and embellished with the 45 stylish wood carvings, exhibiting the theme on curbing of sexual desire in order to live a better life. Afterward, you will take a stroll to another wooden monastery and a large seated Buddha image, made of lacquer. A picnic lunch will be served. Experience rural life on a tour to Magyigan (Tamarind Lake) Village where you will experience an intimate look at the culture of these residents and their way of life. Return to Bagan Enjoy a dinner at your hotel and overnight in Bagan. (B, L, D)

Day 8 Bagan – Yangon Friday

Time this morning to relax in your hotel before the transfer to Nyaung U Airport. Relax during the flight with distinctive and varied aerial views over the mountain ranges with lush trees, the fertile plain, the rivers and the paddy fields of delta region. Upon arrival, you will have a vehicle with driver and tour guide at your entire disposal for further sightseeing or shopping. Enjoy a lunch at a local restaurant. Opportunity to take a short walking tour of the downtown and visit National Museum, the home of Sihasana Lion Throne and Royal Regalia of the last monarch of Myanmar. You will be assisted to Yangon International Airport for your departure by international flight in the evening. (B, L)

 (B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner)