Friendship Force International - Discover Myanmar (February 21, 2014) Yangon Heho Taunggyi Inle Lake Mandalay Bagan Yangon 13 Days / 12 Nights Depending upon the availability of hotels, flights and other services, as well as local circumstances the itineraries may change. Day 01 - Yangon (X/X/D) Individual arrivals at Yangon International Airport by a midday flight and transfer to the hotel (both international flights and transfers by own arrangement). Check-in at the hotel (official check-in time 2 p.m). Relax and recover from your long-haul journey till 5.30 p.m when all participants will meet at the hotel lobby for a briefing (approx-30 min) and head out for the welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at Green Hill Hotel Yangon or similar (Local rating 4*) Day 02 - Yangon (B/L/D) Morning: 0800Hr: Set out by bus to the Central Railway Station for a walking tour to explore Rangoon s past and present enjoy the city s sights and sounds as you stroll along the streets bustling with vendors selling commodities of all kinds not to mention various kinds of foods reflecting on the city s ethnical diversity against the backdrop of magnificent Victorian style colonial buildings. Next, board your coach and head for a short visit to the Kandawgyi Garden on the bank of the Royal Lake for a photo op and then on to the colossal Chauthtetgyi Reclining Buddha. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. Afternoon: We will pay a visit to Shwe Taung Taik or a similar monastic school where more than a hundred destitute children from remote areas of Myanmar live and study (where school supplies can be donated). Afterwards we will go to a local teashop to rub shoulders with locals.
Last but not the least, we will go and pay an extended visit to the world-famous Shwedagon Pagoda. Dominating Yangon s skyline this Pagoda is the most sacred for Buddhist pilgrims and a must-see for tourists. You will have the opportunity to watch the devotees as they perform their devotions. The Shwedagon Pagoda, exquisite with its myriads of subsidiary pagodas, gleaming in gold and encrusted with jewels is sure to WOW you. Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight at Green Hill Hotel or similar (Local rating 4*). Day 03 - YANGON (B/L/D) Morning: 0800Hr: We will drive out of the city to visit Hlawga National Wildlife Park, home to a collection of Burmese indigenous wildlife species of mammals, reptiles and birds, in their natural habitats. For the more adventurous, you will have an option to ride an elephant. After a picnic lunch in the park, we will return to Yangon. En route we will visit another monastic school where Rotary Club has donated a water purification and supply system. Afternoon: We will meet with local friends. Dinner will be arranged at a friend s house and overnight at the Green Hill Hotel or similar (Local rating 4*). Day 04- YANGON HEHO INLE (B/L/D) Morning: Transfer from hotel to the airport for an early morning flight from Yangon to Heho, Upon arrival at Heho airport, drive to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway to famous Inle Lake. Upon arrival at Nyaung Shwe, board the long-tail boats and set out on the excursion of the lake, vast body of water with an estimated surface area of 44.9 sq miles, where Inthar people live in simple houses on stilts and grow their crops on floating gardens. (Here the principle mode of transportation is long-tail, out motored boat.) Afternoon: We will explore through their Inthar Villages and Floating Gardens by boat, meet with local people over a communal meal (lunch), get to learn about their lives, aspirations and challenges. We will also visit their treasured Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda and Jumping Cat Monastery as well as cottage industries including famous silk and lotus weaving houses. In late afternoon we will check into the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel Inle Resort or similar (Local rating 4*)
Day 05- INLE (B/L/D) Morning: If we are lucky enough to coincide with the revolving local market (venues shifting from one village to another everyday thus each major village hosting the market every five days), we will visit it the first thing in the morning. And then we will proceed by boat again through villages and up a scenic creek to visit a very picturesque pagoda complex known as Inn Dein Pagoda situated at Inn Dein Village where PaO and Inthar live together. Afternoon: Lunch will be served at a local restaurant and we will start our exploration of the pagoda complex on foot (inner sanctuaries are to be visited barefooted). Next we will meet with the Giraffe Ladies and have an interview with them. In the late afternoon we return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel Inle Resort or similar (Local rating 4*) Day 06- INLE (B/X/X) Whole day at leisure with lunch and dinner on own. For those who wish to explore more of the beautiful Inle Lake, we have an optional tour to the southern part of the lake. Optional Tour to Southern Inle (8 hours approx with lunch @USD60 per person) Southern part of Inle Lake was off limit to foreign visitors until recently. Even now few tourists have been there due to limited accessibility. On this excursion you will get to see less developed parts of Inle Lake (more authentic), stunning scenery, quaint villages of PaO, Inthar and Shan people, such as Sagar Village with its ruined pagodas some of which are flooded for a few months every year; Thaya Gone Village, which supplies highly potent liquor distilled from fermented barn rice to the whole region, you will be able to see the process and taste their liquor; Sae Khaung Pottery Village; and perhaps you may wish to photograph another picturesque pagoda complex at Tarkaung Village. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel Inle Resort or similar (Local rating 4*). Dinner will be on your own tonight.
Day 07- INLE KAKKU - TAUNG GYI (B/L/D) Morning: Check out from the hotel. (Optional) Those, who are fit enough and wish to test their stamina, can go on a trek (approx 5 hours). You will be transferred first by boat to the eastern shore the lake and then start trekking up the hills rising to the east. You will go through the plantations of beans, sugar canes, cheroot leaves and mangoes and arrive at Hti Ni Village of PaO people and there from the altitude of 3500 feet above sea level (approx) you will be able to appreciate the beauty of the Inle Valley down below. Continuing further along the trail, you will get to Naung Ke, another PaO village and reconvene with non-trekking group. (It is an approximately 5 hour trek for those in generally good shape up gentle slopes most of the way except for a few points where they are rather steep. We will have one PaO local guide and two porters with us. It will cost an additional $15 per person based on minimum 5 participants less than 5 would be subject to a higher cost. Participants should be in good health and Care & Share will not take or accept any responsibility for personal injuries resulting from negligence or personal health issues.) Those who do not go trekking will be transferred by boat to the town of Nyaunag Shwe, where you will board the bus and drive via Taung Gyi to Naung Ke, PaO Village. Afternoon: Both parties trekkers and non-trekkers will converge at the Village of Naung Ke and have lunch at the monastery or the village headman s house. Next we will drive to Kakku, another Shan-style pagoda complex, where few tourists have visited due to poor accessibility. We will explore this magnificent complex and set off by bus to Taung Gyi. Dinner and overnight at the hotel Taung Gyi Hotel or similar (Local rating 3*) Day 08- TAUNG GYI HEHO-MANDALAY (B/L/D) Morning: Check out from the hotel and proceed to visit the Sisters Orphanage to distribute the gifts and medical aid we have brought with us. Three sisters originally started this orphanage in 1992 but since the death of the two sisters there is only one sister to care for over 100 children, ages 3 to 18, before going to the airport for the flight to Mandalay. Lunch will be served at a simple local restaurant near the airport. Fight from Heho to Mandalay
Afternoon: A full fast-paced program awaits, for us to make the most of our time in Mandalay. Upon arrival at Mandalay Airport, one hour drive from the city, we will transfer directly to the most venerated Buddha Image in the Buddhist world, Mahamuni, which literally means the Great Sage. It is a gigantic bronze image, which locals fervently believe was consecrated by the Buddha himself by infusing seven breaths into it thus making it alive. For that reason, it is known as the living Buddha and every day early in the morning, a devoted monk washes his face, brushes his teeth and offers breakfast. In the entrance way there is a large number of souvenir shops selling an assortment of handicrafts and offertories that are sure to entice you. Moving on we visit a gold leaf workshop, where artists, employing the same methods as their forefathers did centuries ago, pound the 24-carret gold with heavy hammers for hours until the gold becomes incredibly thin foils ready to be offered to innumerable Buddha s and pagodas in the country. After that we will visit the Golden Palace Monastery noted for its incredibly ornate woodcarvings adorning the whole monastery inside out. A short walk from there will take us past another imposing monastery to Kuthodaw Pagoda, nick-named the biggest book of the world referring to 729 pages made of marble slabs. After making the rounds of the central stupa we board the bus for Mandalay Hill for sunset and its unrivaled panoramic views of the city. Dinner and accommodation at Sedona Hotel or similar (Local rating 5*) Day 09- MANDALAY (B/L/D) Morning: 0730 a.m: Drive to visit the Phaung Daw Oo Monastic school where thousands of underprivileged children receive free education and free health care services are provided for the poor. This visit will also give us glimpses of life at a Myanmar Buddhist monastery. Next we pay a visit to Aye Yeik Mon Nunnery or similar where dozens of orphan girls as well as those from poor families are looked after. Next we will have lunch and return to the hotel. Afternoon: time at leisure (or) Join our OPTIONAL excursion to AVA and AMARAPURA @ USD45 per person You will feel as though you have stepped back in time 200 years when you travel by horse-drawn carts to visit Bagaya Kyaung Monastry, one of the oldest teak monasteries in Myanmar. Here you will see a superb example of traditional monastic structures in the olden days. Next you continue with your interesting ride to visit
Nanmyint Watch Tower. Climb the tower on its steep wooden steps and be rewarded with a great view of the surrounding palace site and the distant Sagaing Hills covered with numerous pagodas. Continuing the tour, we visit a remnant of the old royal capital of Ava in the form of a huge monastery built of bricks but still following the traditional wooden architectural style. Once again we board our horse-drawn limousines and return by ferry back to the bus. We drive to U Bein Bridge, also known as the world s longest teakwood span, built in 1847 with teak logs and planks dismantled from AvaPalace, which was moved to Amarapura that year. The ambience from the bridge is particularly romantic around sunset time. Return to Mandalay. Dinner will be arranged at a private home to meet with friends of Mandalay. Accommodation at Sedona Hotel or similar (Local rating 5*) Day 10- MANDALAY-BAGAN (B/L/D) Early morning departure from the hotel by bus to the jetty and board the private boat to journey down the historic Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) River to Bagan (8/10 hours depending on the river conditions). Enjoy the scenery and daily activities of local people at villages along the river from the boat. Lunch will be served on board. In the late afternoon we will arrive at Bagan. Upon arrival transfer to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation at Thazin Garden Hotel or similar in Bagan (local rating 3*). Day 11- BAGAN (B/L/D) Optional Tour: Indulge yourself in the magical experience of gaping at surrealistic landscape of Bagan from a hot air balloon (available from late October to March). For details or further information on Ballons Over Bagan (BOB), please contact Care & Share. Morning: After breakfast, drive to the colorful local market at Nyaung Oo to browse while you observe the local life and colors. From there you will take a sightseeing tour of this stunning archeological zone covered with thousands of pagodas from the 11 th, 12 th and 13 th Centuries. First we visit the majestic and glittering Shwezigon Pagoda, built by King Anawrahta in the early 11 th Century to enshrine some relics of the Buddha as well as to mark the official adoption of Buddhism as the state religion. Moving on, we will visit Myinkabar Gubyaukgyi, built in 1113 by King Kyanzittha s son, Rajakumar, and famous for its well-preserved stuccos on the outside walls and magnificent murals on the inside and from there to the Nanpaya Temple, unique in style and décor. It is said to have been the site of the palace for the captive king of Manuha, who had his own temple erected nearby, known as Manuha temple, which we will visit next and learn how he felt languishing as a captive king in the hands of his captor. After that, we will go and have lunch at a local restaurant. Afternoon: Visit one of thelacquer ware workshops to marvel at this age-old traditional technique. Then time for temples again! This time we will head out to visit the Andanda Temple, noted for its perfect architectural
plan, myriads of sculptures in niches around the walls inside as well as four gigantic standing Buddha images. After a good tour of this fascinating temple, we will be picked up by our special chauffeurs from ancient times whose motorcade of ox wagons will take us to a temple where we should be able to climb up to watch the famous sunset of Bagan. And back to our hotel. Dinner will be served at a local restaurant and accommodation Thazin Garden Hotel or similar in Bagan (local rating 3*). Day 12- BAGAN (B/L/D) Morning: Breakfast at Hotel. Today we will go on an excursion to Mt. Popa, with a visit en route to Dhamayazika Pagoda with five sides. This unique temple shaped like a pentagon is sure to intrigue you. You ll feel like you are on top of the world when you climb to the top for a panoramic view of this ancient city from this angle. After that we will proceed to visit a primary school in the nearby Minanthu village, meet with the children and give them the gifts we have brought with us. Our journey continues with our drive to Mt Popa, Taung Kalat Monastry built on the top of an extinct volcano plug it is 737 meters (2417 ft.).home to the Nats folk religion you will see many dedicated shrines to the Natsspirit worship. Nats worship still pervades almost all aspects of life among some people in Myanmar Buddhists or non-buddhists alike despite Buddha frowning upon such practice. People turn to Nats or spirits for help with their immediate concerns or worldly aspirations. They would ask their patron Nats or Spirits for a particular wish to come true and if they have success, they are bound to make an offering to the Nats-Spirits, who they believe have helped them. Failure to do so would result in the Nats-Spirits punishing them. They love and respect the Buddha whilst they fear and worship the Nats-Spirits). Upon arrival we will break for lunch at a local restaurant and after with our newly found energy, we will climb up the hill! (Not for the faint of heart). Afternoon: We make our way back to Bagan with a visit en route to a house of a toddy farmer, who will be happy to show us how he harvests his toddy sap and makes it into sugar and liquor as well as other wares that the family makes from parts of the amazing toddy palm trees. Arrive in Bagan, for a well-deserved rest to let the heat go out of your body before taking a shower. This evening we will have a special farewell dinner designed to render you life-long memories.
Accommodation Thazin Garden Hotel or similar in Bagan (local rating 3*). Day 13- BAGAN-YANGON-DEPARTURE (B/L/X) ]Morning: Flight back to Yangon. Upon arrival we go on a shopping spree at Scotts market etc. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant before your departure. *** End of Service*** Note: Due to sudden boom in tourism industry in Myanmar, inadequate infrastructure and dire shortage of hotel rooms, prices have been going up since 2012. Care & Share will do its utmost to secure the best available options for the accommodation in terms of cleanliness and comfort (hotels with western style toilets). In some hotels there may be some rooms secured which may be of a higher category than others. In such events rooms will be distributed at random among the group members. Services Included Hotels accommodation with daily breakfast (half twin basis) Domestic flights tickets (Yangon/Heho, Heho/Mandalay and Bagan/Yangon) Boats cruise as per itinerary Meals as mentioned in above program Entrance fees and zone fees for the visits All transfers, sightseeing and excursion by private air-con vehicle with drivers as per proposal English speaking tour guide Services Excluded International air tickets to/from Myanmar Visa Arrangement to Myanmar International airport departure tax if any, Drinks Tipping Meals other than mentioned Visa Fees (US 30 per person) Insurance and Any other services not mentioned above B= Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner