Itinerary Details
Travel to Myanmar before big crowds flushing in and enjoy Thailand's essences. Discover diversity of their unique landscapes, cultures and lifestyles in real touches with the locals in Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake and Bangkok, free your mind and body in cool water of Phuket. This journey is prone to make you smile.
Arrive in the former capital of Myanmar, the city greets you with a smile. Your private guide and driver will welcome you at airport and escort you to your hotel.
Accommodation option:
- Sedona Hotel Yangon
- (4 Ratings)
breakfast and lunch
Usually people don't think of Yangon as a metropolis, because compared to Bangkok, Singapore or Ho Chi Minh City, Yangon is a laid-back city. Today, take the train around the city to observe the city landscape.
The Yangon circular train has a total length of 45 kilometers, but it takes about 3 hours to complete the loop, which means that the speed is quite slow and you will get a great opportunity to watch the way local commuters go to school, workplace or market. It takes 40 minutes by train to reach Chaukhtaty Paya, where there is a huge reclining Buddha, worshipped by the locals.
Walk into the National Museum to learn more about this country. Have some local delicacies for lunch. Go to the U Thant House Museum to display important historical relics about the life of the former UN Secretary.
Local devotees enter the landmark Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon at sunset. As the sun goes down, the heat dissipates, and the lights continue to light up, forming a spectacular silhouette of the gleaming pagoda in the night sky. On some important days, there will be some rituals, for example, a ceremony where parents send their young son to a monk or temple as a monk.
Accommodation option:
- Sedona Hotel Yangon
- (4 Ratings)
Shwedagon Pagoda
breakfast and lunch
On the way to the airport, you will stop by Aung San Suu Kyi's House, where she has been held captive for over 15 years. Fly to Mandalay.
In the afternoon, you will go to Amarapura, once an ancient capital of Burma. Stop by Bagaya Monastery, a still living monastery, home to numbers of monks and young novices. Local villagers send their sons here to get free education. Get to Sinkyone Fortress, built in trio of 19th century to prevent the British conquest and now only two canons and the moated square bastions remain. You can get a view of the distant Saigaing Ancient City at the fortress.
When the sun goes down, row a boat on the river for a nice view of U Bein Bridge.
Accommodation option:
- Mandalay Hill Resort
- (4 Ratings)
U Bein Bridge
breakfast and lunch
Mandalay has always been the main academic location of Burmese Buddhism, and everything in this city serves the gods.
You will make your first visit of the day at Mahamuni Pagoda. The site is famous for the face-washing ceremony held at 0400 every morning. Fresh towels, flowers, food and other items were brought by local devotees. Return to the hotel for breakfast and rest.
Later, head to Shwe Inn Pin Monastery and you will learn how it differs from other monasteries in the city. This teak temple is home to more than 30 local monks, and today you will chat with one of them. Before lunch, visit the famous Kuthodaw Pagoda where you will find the largest book in the world.
The largest Buddha statue still rests on the Mahanyatmuni pagoda, which is covered with gold leaf. Give yourself a piece of gold leaf and place it on this god. Then, visit the gold leaf factory to learn about its production methods.
If you can still complete the task, please transfer back to your hotel or walk a little longer to Mandalay Hill.
(*Note: Only male visitors can enter the main hall of Mahamuni Tower. Female visitors can watch the live video in the front hall.)
Accommodation option:
- Mandalay Hill Resort
- (4 Ratings)
Mahamuni Pagoda
Shwe Inn Pin Monastery
breakfast and lunch
Take the morning flight to Bagan. Upon arrival, you will check in hotel, and your private guide will take you to the lesser-known village west of Pwa-Saw Village, the friendly home of the Shan people. The experienced chef is waiting for you to start today's cooking class.
Travelers who do not have food expectations in Myanmar travel are usually surprised by traditional Myanmar cooking, which is characterized by the large use of fish products (fish oil, fish sauce, etc.) and lettuce. West Pwa-Saw Village is located near the main road into Nyuang U. It is part of the JICA Bagan Tourism Development Project. The cooking class funds will be used to support the community's schooling and housing.
Enjoy the fruits of labor with enthusiastic villagers. Afterwards, visit Shwezigon Pagoda, which is the first Burmese style pagoda. All pagodas all over Myanmar are built according to its magnificent style. It was built in 1060 and is still the most worshiped shrine in Nyuang U, Bagan.
Accommodation option:
- Aye Yar River View Resort
- (4 Ratings)
Pwa-Saw Village
breakfast and lunch
Compared to Mandalay, Bagan is more like a dizzy daydream, and you find it difficult to be hypnotized by the psychedelic places of thousands of towers in the morning mist. Today, you will visit the World Heritage Site of Bagan Archaeological Zone. As some pagodas are just an empty shell, your guide will provide you with some textbook examples, such as Ananda Pagoda, Dhama Yangyi Pagoda, Maha Bodhi Pagoda and Dama Yangyi Temple.
(*Optional hot air balloon flight: flying in the sky, overlooking all temples at sunrise, a 1-hour hot air balloon ride may tell your friends something special. Reservations can be made from October to March of the following year, every morning Timetable and sunset flights upon request.)
Accommodation option:
- Aye Yar River View Resort
- (4 Ratings)
Bagan
breakfast and lunch
Inle Lake has a high altitude and is a great place to stay away from the hot plains. In the morning, take a flight to Heho, a small airport town on Inle Lake.
After lunch in the floating restaurant, you will take a boat trip on the lake. Have the opportunity to observe the legendary one-legged fisherman rowing. Their technique of using one leg to control and guide the hull and the other leg around the aorta to provide propulsion is fascinating. They want to show off their skills by posing for your camera.
As the speed of the boat decreases, your guide will introduce the construction of farm beds in the water garden. Residents collect weeds from the bottom of the lake, turn them into fertile.
Accommodation option:
- Inle Hot Spring Resort
- (4 Ratings)
Inle Lake
breakfast and lunch
Learn about the vibrant lifestyle of Inle Lake, and today your guide will take you to the local market in the lakeside village. After a 5-day rotation, the trade fair is called the "5-day market" and will be held in some major villages near the lake shore. We will have a simple lunch at a floating restaurant overlooking the busy lake traffic.
Then, enter the narrow river bank, where you will reach the Indian Pagoda Complex. Visit the biggest highlight of the peaceful village of Tuangyi. There are countless ancient pagodas emerging from the water. It is so easy to be immersed in the eternal atmosphere when your boat crosses the creek.
Accommodation option:
- Inle Hot Spring Resort
- (4 Ratings)
Floating Market
breakfast
Leaving Myanmar, Thailand is waiting for you. Take the morning flight to Bangkok. Transfer to the hotel and free time on your own.
Accommodation option:
- U Sukhumvit Bangkok
- (4 Ratings)
breakfast and lunch
A place busy, busy, noisy but friendly enough for you to blend in, that is Bangkok. To avoid traffic jams, today we will drive to Bangkok for 2 hours in the early morning to reach the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.
This is the postcard you see on every postcard in Bangkok, but considering your travel time is correct, it is still worth a visit. 8 to 10 in the morning is the best time to avoid crowds of tourists. In this market, your guide will take you on a long-tail boat through a creek full of boats. The visit will be 1 or 2 hours, then return to Bangkok and have lunch on the way.
The magnificent Grand Palace is a very Thai sacred building, today you will understand why. Your guide will take you to the ground and visit the Emerald Buddha Temple. Today’s last stop is the former residence of Jim Thompson, you will learn about his dedication to Thai silk life.
Accommodation option:
- U Sukhumvit Bangkok
- (4 Ratings)
Grand Palace
breakfast
Enjoy some free time in Bangkok, and then take an afternoon flight to Phuket. Transfer to the hotel to relax.
Accommodation option:
- DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Banthai Resort
- (5 Ratings)
Phuket
breakfast
Free day on your own. Relax at your hotel, or explore the surrounding area.
Accommodation option:
- DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Banthai Resort
- (5 Ratings)
breakfast
Free day on your own. Relax at your hotel, or explore the surrounding area.
Accommodation option:
- DoubleTree by Hilton Phuket Banthai Resort
- (5 Ratings)
breakfast
After breakfast at the hotel, free at leisure until depart for Phuket Airport for your flight home or to your next destination.