MYANMAR CROSSROADS

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

Day 1 Yangon

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

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 – Mingun – Mandalay – Bagan

This morning, take a boat trip on the Ayeyarwaddy River to Mingun, situated about 11 km (one hour each way) upstream from Mandalay. Visit the unfinished Mingun Temple , originally built with the intention of being the world's biggest pagoda, the Mingun Bell, weighing 87 tons and being the world's largest intact bronze bell, the elegant Hsinbyume Pagoda, and Myatheindan Pagoda with its ornate 7 circular terraces. Return to Mandalay for a lunch at a local restaurant. You will be assisted to the airport for your flight to Bagan. Upon arrival in Bagan, transfer to your hotel for check-in. Enjoy a dinner at your hotel and overnight in Bagan. (B, L, D)

Day 4 Bagan

Highlights on this morning'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. In the afternoon, you may take a siesta or 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. 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 5 Bagan – Mount Popa – Bagan

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. The afternoon is at leisure to pursue your individual interests. Enjoy a dinner at your hotel and overnight in Bagan. (B, L, D)

Day 6 Bagan – Salé (Salay)– Chauk – Bagan

You will sail down the Ayeyarwaddy to Salé (20 km – approximately 3 ½ hours) passing by little pagodas perched on the hills and large trees punctuating the river banks. Depending on the time of travel, one may also see some farmers working in their farms on the sand banks of very fertile alluvial soil, growing cash crops such as pulses and peanuts. Upon arrival at the jetty in Salay, you will drive directly to Yoke Sone Kyaung Monastery, a fine teak building of late 19th centure 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 ways of lives. Return to Bagan 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. Enjoy a dinner at your hotel and overnight in Bagan. (B, L, D).

Day 7 Bagan – Yangon

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)

If the guests would like to travel at leisurely pace, we would suggest that they spend an additional night in Yangon on Day 07 so that they can take a morning flight homeward.

 (B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner)