14 Day Magic Myanmar Mandalay Get ready to be inspired. FROM $4,820 PER PERSON, TWIN SHARE Travelling with Inspiring Vacations allows you to explore the wonders of the world in a variety of different ways. We have partnered with a worldwide network of local travel experts to bring you culturally unique and delightfully unforgettable travel experiences. Whether it is meandering through narrow canyons by rail, cruising the idyllic waters of the Mediterranean or touring through t... Book Now TOUR ITINERARY The information provided in this document is subject to change and may be affected by unforeseen events outside the control of Inspiring Vacations. Where changes to your itinerary or bookings occur, appropriate advice or instructions will be sent to your email address. Call 1300 88 66 88 Email [email protected] www.inspiringvacations.com Page 1 TOUR ITINERARY DAY 1 Destination Yangon Meals included Accommodation N/A Welcome to Myanmar and Yangon. You will be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel. Feel free to explore Yangon – maybe by taking a walk to Sule Pagoda or the Victorian Strand Hotel – then join your welcome meeting at 6pm. Please check with the hotel reception where and when it will take place, or check the reception notice boards. We'll be collecting your insurance details and next of kin information at this meeting, so please ensure you have all these details to provide to your leader. If you're going to be late, please inform the hotel reception or your booking agent in advance. Optional Activities Yangon - Sule Pagoda - MMK3000 Yangon - Bogyoke Market (Scotts Market) - Free Yangon - Let Yangon Take You For a Ride Urban Adventure - USD33 An airport arrival transfer is included. This transfer is only valid if arriving on day 1 or if you have booked pre-trip accommodation through Peregrine. Please provide your flight details at the time of booking, or at a minimum 7 days prior to travel (note - we may not be able confirm request made within 7 days of travel). Once you have provided your details a transfer representative will be booked to meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. DAY 2 Destination Yangon Golden Rock Meals included Breakfast Accommodation N/A With an overnight bag packed, embark on the journey to the Golden Rock. Along the way, stop at Bago (about 1.5 hours from Yangon), an ancient settlement of the Mon Kingdom in the 13th century. Here you'll visit the Shwemawdaw Pagoda, which is even larger than the famous Shwedagon Pagoda, and the Shwethalyaung Buddha, one of the largest reclining Buddhas in existence. Then, it's an approximately 2.5 hour drive to the base camp at Kinponsakan. Here you'll transfer to an open air truck with basic wooden bench-style seating. The next hour, towards the summit, will be bumpy. But the views are well worth it. The Golden Rock (Kyaiktiyo Pagoda) is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. The small pagoda (7.3 metres high) sits atop a gilded 25-metre boulder, which appears to balance precariously on a tabular rock. Legend has it that the boulder is held in position by a strand of Buddha's hair. Spending a night in Kyaiktiyo is one of Myanmar's most spiritual experiences. Accommodation in Kyaiktiyo is more basic than in other destinations on this trip. Due to this being a very popular place of pilgrimage, hotels can often be overbooked and the site crowded. At times we may not be able to secure our The information provided in this document is subject to change and may be affected by unforeseen events outside the control of Inspiring Vacations. Where changes to your itinerary or bookings occur, appropriate advice or instructions will be sent to your email address. Call 1300 88 66 88 Email [email protected] www.inspiringvacations.com Page 2 TOUR ITINERARY preferred accommodation at the summit, and may stay back in the town at the base. Travel times vary, and the journey can be arduous in the wet. Your patience will go a long way toward your enjoyment here. DAY 3 Destination Golden Rock Yangon Meals included Breakfast Accommodation N/A Enjoy a morning of strolling around Kyaiktiyo (the name means 'pagoda borne on a hermit's head' in Mon language). After descending from the summit, return to Yangon, retracing your path from yesterday (approximately 5 hours). You'll arrive back in Yangon late in the afternoon. DAY 4 Destination Yangon Mandalay Meals included Breakfast Accommodation N/A Take a walking tour of downtown Yangon this morning. As you stroll through the streets lined with dilapidated colonial edifices and their restored neighbours, your leader will bring the past to life, as well as explain the present activity. Afterwards, leave for the airport and take a flight to Mandalay – departure time will vary depending on flight availability. The flight takes approximately 1 hour, and after landing it’s approximately a 1 hour drive to the city and your hotel for the next three nights. Mandalay is Myanmar’s ‘Jewel City’, and you’ll and savour the sights, sounds and flavours of this bustling metropolis. Tonight you might enjoy a walk to one of the markets, where a great time can be had enjoying the hustle and bustle or bargaining for local wares. DAY 5 Destination Mandalay Meals included Breakfast Accommodation N/A Make your way down to the city’s lively waterfront, which offers an interesting backdrop for a boat trip upriver. The archaeological site of Mingun is your destination, the location of a number of interesting sights, including the world's largest, albeit unfinished, pagoda – Pahtodawgyi. It’s also home to the world’s second largest ringable bell, the beautiful The information provided in this document is subject to change and may be affected by unforeseen events outside the control of Inspiring Vacations. Where changes to your itinerary or bookings occur, appropriate advice or instructions will be sent to your email address. Call 1300 88 66 88 Email [email protected] www.inspiringvacations.com Page 3 TOUR ITINERARY white Hsinphymae Pagoda, and temples dating back hundreds of years. The river is effectively a major trading, communication and commuting route and a wide range of different boats, barges and steamers can be viewed along the way. The journey usually takes 1 hour on the way there, and 40 minutes on the way back. Later in the afternoon, embark on a tour that visits the remnants of one of the once great cities that surround Mandalay – Amarapura, just 11 kilometres south of the city. Weather permitting, you might also glimpse a breath-taking sunset over the 200-year-old U Bein wooden bridge. DAY 6 Destination Mandalay Meals included Breakfast Accommodation N/A Today you’ll enjoy a full day tour of the city. You’ll visit the Mandalay Palace, built as the residence for King Mindon and the Burmese aristocracy in the 19th century, it sits inside a walled fort at the bottom of Mandalay Hill. Continue to Shwe In Bin Kyaung, the intricately carved Swenandaw Monastery, then visit the nearby cottage industries where gold leaf is made. This gold leaf is used extensively in the important pilgrimage site of the Mahamuni Buddha Temple. Here local Buddhists climb to an impressively decorated 2,000-year-old central Buddha statue and press gold leaf to its exterior. Get another insight into Mandalay’s role as the centre of Myanmar’s arts and crafts industry with a visit to a stone-carving workshop. The surrounding mountains are made from quality marble (Sa’kyin) and there are numerous artisans plying their trade along Kyauk Sitt Than, which literally means ‘Stone Carving Road’. You’ll finish your tour around 2pm, and then have some free time to relax. Later, visit various temples, notably Kuthodaw Pagoda, which claims to house the world's largest 'book' – 729 slabs contain the complete text of the Tripitaka, Theravada Buddhism's most sacred text. You’ll then be transported to the top of Mandalay Hill, where Lord Buddha is said to have left a footprint. A clear day reveals beautiful sunset views from the summit, and a host of religious shrines scattered along the hill. DAY 7 Destination Mandalay Bagan Meals included Breakfast Accommodation N/A Today you will drive to Bagan (approximately 5 hours), which is one of the most impressive archaeological wonders of Asia. You’ll be in a comfortable vehicle and you’ll stop along the way in a local village. When you arrive in Bagan you’ll transfer to the hotel and have some free time rest up or stretch you legs. Later today you’ll take a cruise out on the Ayeyarwady River as the sun begins to set. Stop on the river bank for a sunset drink and admire the changing colours as the sun descends across the stupas that fill the area and great Ayeryarwady River. The information provided in this document is subject to change and may be affected by unforeseen events outside the control of Inspiring Vacations. Where changes to your itinerary or bookings occur, appropriate advice or instructions will be sent to your email address. Call 1300 88 66 88 Email [email protected] www.inspiringvacations.com Page 4 TOUR ITINERARY DAY 8 Destination Bagan Meals included Breakfast Accommodation N/A You can explore the incredible sights of Bagan today, travelling by private vehicle between temples sites. This archaeological site is where Theravada Buddhism was introduced to the Kingdom of Bagan, and was once the site of 10,000 temples, pagodas and monasteries. Today, the ancient city still has over 4,000 brick and gilded ruins, and is a remarkable sight.