Myanmar Tour, a wonderful adventure

On arrival in Yangon, your local tour guide meets you and takes you to your hotel to leave your luggage. You then start exploring Yangon's colonial city centre, including Maha Bandula Park and the Town Hall near the Sule Pagoda, which dates back over 2,000 years. Next, visit the Bogyoke Aung San Market (Scott Market) for souvenir shopping (it is closed on Mondays) and Chaukhtatgyi, a large reclining Buddha image. In the afternoon, visit the Shwedagon Pagoda, made famous by Rudyard Kipling and one of Myanmar's most sacred places. The large bell-shaped stupa is plated with gold, and its tip is set with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. After a photo stop at Karaweik Hall, a floating barge shaped like a hamsa bird on Kandawgyi Lake, you see the reflection of the Shwedagon Pagoda across the lake. We drive back to the hotel at sunset. Overnight at the hotel.

After an early breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight to Bagan. On arrival, begin your Bagan tour with a visit to the busy Nyaung U Market. You then visit some of Bagan's important archaeological sites, including the Shwezigon Pagoda with its bell-shaped stupa and the Htilominlo Temple with its delicate plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decoration. Continue to a lacquerware workshop to see a demonstration of this traditional craft by a skilled artisan. See the mural paintings, protected by UNESCO, at the Myinkaba Gubyaukgyi Temple, and watch the sunset from the Shwesandaw Pagoda. Overnight in Bagan.

Breakfast at the hotel. We visit the Nanpaya Temple, which is known for its fine masonry and interior design. It shows the strong Brahman influence on the Theravada Mon kings. Look out for the relief of the god Brahma: three of its faces can be seen, each with typical Mon features. These are said to represent King Manuha. The temple is sometimes called the Ganesh or Mahapeine Temple, after the elephant-headed Hindu god whose image once stood at the corners of its five diminishing rectangular terraces. In the afternoon, sightseeing continues at temples where many old murals and friezes can still be seen, as well as several old horoscopes painted to protect the building from damage. We then visit the Ananda Temple, built in 1091 and considered the masterpiece of Mon architecture. In the evening, we board a local boat for a slow sunset cruise on the Irrawaddy River. From the boat you see the daily life of fishermen and riverside villagers and a different view of Bagan's temples. Overnight in Bagan.

After an early breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Heho on the Shan plateau. On arrival, we drive to Nyaungshwe, the gateway to Inle Lake. You see the leg-rowing fishermen and their floating gardens, which are built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to the lake bed with bamboo poles. Visit Nga Hpe Chaung Monastery, which houses dozens of Shan Buddha images. Continue to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the lake's main shrine, which contains five sacred Buddha images covered in gold leaf. We look at the local crafts of Inle Lake with a stop at a cheroot workshop, where traditional Burmese cigars are made by hand. We can also visit a local silk weaving workshop, built on stilts over the lake, where old-style hand looms are still used. Overnight at Inle Lake.

After breakfast at the hotel, we continue sightseeing on Inle Lake with a visit to Indein village and its 17th-century pagodas. Indein is a small village on the western shore of Inle Lake. The creek leading to it is narrow, with many twists and turns. Paddy fields line both banks, and you can see farmers ploughing and harrowing with water buffaloes. In many places, farmers dam the creek with bamboo barriers to irrigate the paddy fields. The water of Indein creek is used not only for irrigation but also for bathing and washing clothes, and you will see novice monks, young buffalo herders and village girls washing and swimming in the creek. A Buddha image is enshrined in a whitewashed stupa on the summit of a hill. Around the hill below the stupa are clusters of hundreds of ancient stupas, most of them ruined and overgrown with bushes. The pagoda hill is quiet and calm. Return to the hotel and watch the sunset from the hotel balcony in the late afternoon. Overnight at Inle Lake.

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Heho airport for the flight to Mandalay. On arrival at Mandalay airport, continue to Mandalay and check in at the hotel. After some rest, you take a sightseeing tour of Mandalay, including the Mahamuni Pagoda with its lifelike Buddha image. Mandalay was the last royal capital of Myanmar, which makes it the best place to see traditional arts and crafts. Visit a gold leaf workshop to see how gold leaf is made by hand in the traditional way. Continue to the Old Palace grounds; the Kuthodaw Pagoda, known as the world's largest book for its 729 marble slabs inscribed with the Buddha's teachings; and the Golden Palace Monastery, known for its fine wood carvings. Finish with the panoramic view of the city from Mandalay Hill. Overnight in Mandalay.

After breakfast at the hotel, cross the Ayeyarwady River to Mingun, home to a large and well-known unfinished pagoda. You also visit the white Hsinbyume Pagoda and the Mingun Bell, the largest ringing bell in the world. We then sail to Ava, the capital from the 14th to the 18th centuries, and travel around the area by horse cart, stopping at the old wooden Bagaya Monastery and the remains of the Royal Palace and fort. This afternoon, we cross a bridge over the Irrawaddy River to Sagaing. Covered with 600 white-painted pagodas and monasteries, Sagaing Hill is widely regarded as the religious centre of Myanmar. It is home to 3,000 monks and 100 meditation centres, and you visit pagodas including Swan Oo Pon Nya Shin, U Min Thone Sae and Shin Pin Nan Gyaing. We drive to the former capital of Amarapura and visit Mahagandayon Monastery, where more than a thousand monks live and study the Buddhist scriptures. We also visit U Bein Bridge, the world's longest teak bridge, and watch the sunset there. Overnight in Mandalay.

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for your international departure flight to Bangkok. On the way, visit local craft workshops for bronze casting, marble carving and wood carving. End of our services.