|
Highlights
of Burma (Myanmar) tourCall Dave on 01543 258631 or email dave@robertbroadtravel.co.uk
Burma holidays main menu
Introduction...
This tour introduces you to the culture of Burma, taking in the most popular and
spectacular sights this beautiful country has to offer. Beginning in Yangon you
visit the majestic Shwedagon Pagoda then travel up to Bagan and its thousands of
stupas and pagodas. Continue on to Mandalay and the ancient capital cities of
Ava, Amarapura and Sagaing ending at the vast Inle Lake.
- Accommodation is a tasteful mix of modern and character hotels.
- Travel is by coach, plane and boat.
View Highlights of Burma (Myanmar) Tour in a larger map |
Tour Highlights
Yangon
The city of Yangon still retains a distinct colonial feel, with wide shaded
lanes, huge green parks, grid streets and many Victorian and Edwardian
buildings. Amongst all this, the shimmering golden pagodas with their tapering
spires soar into the sky. The most majestic of these is the Shwedagon Pagoda,
some 2500 years old.
Bagan
Beginning in the 11th century, during the transition from Hinduism and Mahayana
Buddhism to Theravada Buddhism, an unprecedented religious fervour lasting for
two and a half centuries, led to the construction of thousands of magnificent
temples and pagodas along the banks of the Ayeyarwady.
Inle Lake
The massive Inle Lake rimmed with high hills and villages on stilts. These are
inhabited by the Intha people, known for rowing their flat-bottomed boats by
standing at the stern on one leg, using the oar with the other.
Mandalay
Mandalay was the capital of Burma before the British took over and is considered
the most Burmese of the large cities in Burma. The Mahamuni Pagoda with its gold
leaf covered Buddha image and the Kuthodaw Pagoda with the 'world's largest
book' are some of the sights worth visiting.
Special Festival Departures
- 6th October 2011
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda Festival, Inle Lake: 28 Sep - 15 Oct,2011
Watch the procession of leg-rowed boats, which are ceremoniously tugging four
Buddha statues situated on a royal barge clockwise around Inle Lake. Throughout
the event leg-rowed boat races are being held and you will come across them
during the excursion on the lake. Hundreds of other vessels travel in the
entourage in a general festive atmosphere. Thousands of people from around the
Shan State attend this most holy of all Shan celebrations.
- 6th November 2011 - Sunday departure
Shwezigon Festival, Bagan: 4 - 12 November 2011
In 2011, Shwezigon Festival will be held from 4th to 12th November. There are
evening entertainment programs such as Zats (a variety of dances, songs, short
and long plays), Anyeints (a performance of a few hours in which a number of
'jokers' caricature current situations. Open air screenings of popular movies
are also sometimes shown. On full moon day (10 Nov.), there is a communal
offering of food and various domestic articles to the monks from the nearby
monasteries.
Itinerary...
DAY 1 OUTBOUND FLIGHT
Fly to Yangon via Bangkok on Thai Airways.
DAY 2 YANGON
Arrive in Yangon and transfer to the first class Traders / Chatrium Hotel for
two nights. Rest of the day is at leisure to rest after the long flight. Enjoy a
welcome dinner at Green Elephant Restaurant.
DAY 3 YANGON
Today we enjoy a full day tour of Yangon.Visit Sule pagoda in the centre of the
city. Walk around the Mahabandoola Park to see the colonial courthouse and the
city hall. Visit Kandawgi Royal Lake. Enjoy the taste of Burmese tea and take in
the atmosphere of a local teashop. Visit the bustling Yangon harbour and its
environ. Early evening visit the awe-inspiring Shwedagon Pagoda at sunset.
DAY 4 BAGAN
We fly to Bagan in the early morning and check-in to the first class hotel at
Tharabar Gate / Thiripyitsaya for two nights. We set off to visit the colourful
Nyaung Oo Local Market, Shwezigon Pagoda and its magnificent golden stupa,
Wetkyi-in Gubyaukkyi, a cave temple with exquisite jatakas murals paintings, and
the elegant Htilominlo Temple noted for its plaster carvings. Observe the
process of traditional lacquerware, one of the best-known Burmese handicrafts.
Our next visit is to Ananda, an architectural masterpiece and one of the few
surviving brick monasteries from the early Bagan period. We then visit
Thatbyinnyu, the highest pagoda in Bagan, rising to 61 m. End your day watching
the sun set over the plains of Bagan from one of the open upper terraced
temples.
DAY 5 BAGAN
Drive to Mt. Popa, an extinct volcano over 1500m, about 48 km south east of
Bagan. Visit the Nat worship shrines, stupas and monasteries at the summit. In
the late afternoon, return to Bagan & stop at the countryside village of
Minnanthu, the least visited temple area in Bagan. Enjoy a sunset boat ride
along Ayeyarwaddy River in the evening.
(Optional proposal: Balloon flight will be available for a supplement and you
will be picked up at the hotel around 0500 AM for sunrise balloon ride).
DAY 6 MANDALAY
Take an early flight to Mandalay, the centre of Burmese culture. On arrival, we
drive to Amarapura to witness the daily meal of over a thousand monks at the
country's largest monastery, Mahagandayon. We also visit a silk weaving
workshop, the craft speciality of Amarapura. Check-in at the Mandalay City Hotel
for 2 nights. In the afternoon, we take a tour of Mandalay, visiting Mahamuni
Pagoda, famous for its venerable statue of Buddha covered with gold leaf. A tour
of traditional workshops includes crafts such as woodcarving, marble masonry,
Kalaga tapestry and gold leaf making. Next stop is at the Kuthodaw Pagoda with
its 729 marble stone slabs of Buddhist scriptures (known as the world's biggest
book) & Shwenandaw Monastery. Enjoy the sunset from Mandalay Hill.
DAY 7 MANDALAY
After a leisurely breakfast, we drive to the jetty and take a ferry boat to Ava,
exploring by horse cart, before returning to Mandalay. In the afternoon proceed
to Sagaing, Covered with 600 white-painted pagodas and monasteries, Sagaing Hill
is widely regarded as the religious centre of Burma and is home to 3,000 monks
and 100 meditation centres. Enjoy the sunset from Sagaing Hill.
DAY 8 INLE LAKE
We fly to Heho in the morning and drive to Nyaung Shwe to take a boat to the
picturesque Inle Lake. Check-in at the first class Inle Resort / Aureum Palace
for three nights. Take a full day tour of Inle Lake visiting the Lotus robe
weaving village of Inpawkhon. We stop at a floating village at Ywama, the lake's
downtown, Kan Paw Nan Paw Pagoda. Our final stop is at Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda.
(Note: Enjoy the special festivities at the famous Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda festival
onĀ 06 October departure).
DAY 9 INLE LAKE
This morning, we visit In Dein village in the south of the lake, by motorboat.
From the middle of the lake, the boat takes you through a long channel where you
watch the farmers cultivate their produce. This ride is one of the most scenic
boat tours on the lake. After a walk around the village, passing a local school,
take the covered stairway to the beautiful Alaung Sitthu area where ancient
stupas are partly covered by vegetation. From here we get a magnificent view
over the lake.
DAY 10 INLE LAKE
Enjoy soft trekking about 2.5 - 4 hours in Inle in the morning. Trekking routes
are not fixed. Your guide will be pleased to suggest the best route (softer or
harder trekking routes) depending on your wish (how far and how long you are
able to walk). In the afternoon continue your visit of the lake by boat to the
floating gardens, built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to
the bottom with bamboo poles. Remainder of the day will be at leisure.
DAY 11 YANGON
We transfer back to Heho airport in the morning for our flight to Yangon. Check
in at the Traders / Chatrium Hotel for the night. Enjoy a visit to Chinatown,
fruit market and the famous Bogyoke Market (formerly Scott's market). Rest of
the day is at leisure.
DAY 12 RETURN FLIGHT
The day is at leisure today before you take your return flight to Bangkok and on
to London.
DAY 13 LONDON
Arrive London in the morning.
Departure dates and prices...
|
Departure Date |
Tariff |
Single room supplement |
|
|
Sat 18 Feb 2012 |
£2,495 |
£340 |
|
|
Sat 3 Mar 2012 |
£2,495 |
£340 |
|
|
Sat 10 Mar 2012 |
£2,495 |
£340 |
|
| Sat 06 Oct 2012 | £2,698 | £395 | |
| Wed 24 Oct 2012 | £2,745 | £395 | |
| Sat 10 Nov 2012 | £2,698 | £395 | |
| Wed 21 Nov 2012 | £2,825 | £425 | |
| Sat 08 Dec 2012 | £2,698 | £395 | |
| Sat 19 Jan 2013 | £2,698 | £395 | |
| Sat 02 Feb 2013 | £2,698 | £395 | |
|
The basic tariff is per person, based on twin share |
|||
|
SRS: single room supplement, to be added to basic tariff for those requiring single accommodation |
|||
The basic tariff is per person, based on twin share
SRS: single room supplement, to be added to basic tariff for those requiring
single accommodation
What is included...
The following elements are included in your holiday for group as well as
independent travel. For tailor-made holidays/extensions/amendments there can be
individual variations.
International flights in economy class from London Heathrow.
Airport taxes are included in your holiday price except for places where they
are payable locally directly on departure.
ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) on flight inclusive holidays.
Assisted transfers for all arrivals and departures by air or rail, using a
private coach or chauffeur-driven car. In some resorts the hotel may provide a
courtesy transfer. For courtesy transfers and arrivals/departures by road
assistance may not be available in some places.
Accommodation in the hotels listed, or similar. Unless otherwise specified
standard grade rooms are booked. For booking superior rooms or suites please ask
us for a quote.
Meals as indicated in the "Meal Plan" with each tour. Most tours have a bed &
breakfast arrangement, except in game parks and remote places where full board
is provided. Given the wide variety and choice of restaurants in most hotels it
is preferable not to be tied down to a fixed meal. It is also more cost
effective to have a la carte dining in most hotels.
All scheduled sightseeing including English-speaking guides and entrance fee to
monuments and other sites listed in the tour details.
All scheduled game viewing in game reserves. This is usually in shared jeeps,
seating up to five, or a larger open vehicle, seating up to eighteen,
accompanied by a naturalist. For booking exclusive jeeps a higher charge may
apply. These are subject to availability as only a limited number of vehicles is
allowed inside a game park in a day.
All trekking expenses including guide & cook, porters, camping equipment,
environment fee and insurance for porters. Sleeping bags are provided but you
are welcome to bring your own. When travelling independently the entire retinue
is organised just for you.
All internal travel including flights in economy, trains in the class specified,
boat cruises - normally using exclusive boats for your private use, and road
travel by a private coach or your own chauffeur-driven car. For road journeys
spread over many days a daily allowance for the driver to cover for his
accommodation and meals is included in your price. Again for such long journeys
the vehicle and driver are normally available for local use, within reasonable
limits, at each place of halt at no extra cost. When adding extra days to a tour
using a car circuit, the cost of retaining the car is also included in your
supplementary accommodation costs.
The assistance of our local agents - we have a wide network of tried and tested
agents who are on hand to assist you during your travel.
The services of an experienced local tour escort for published group tours with
minimum 5 persons. If the number falls below 5 we may still, at our discretion,
provide an escort. The escort joins you on arrival and remains with you for the
main body of the tour. For some portions of the tour, normally at the end, the
accompanying escort may leave you. In such instances local assistance is
provided. For example in North India & Nepal the escort remains with you from
Delhi through till Varanasi and the Nepal portion is assisted locally.
How to book