Golden Yangon and a Cruise Myanmarto Mandalay November 10–24, 2014 15 days, 11 nights Post-Tour Extension to Inle Lake: November 23–26, 2014 EARN DOUBLE Book and pay in full by June 30, 2014 POINTS! CALL TODAY! and receive 2 for 1* pricing! 800-491-1148 *Call for details Golden Yangon and a Cruise Myanmarto Mandalay November 10–24, 2014: 15 days, 11 nights A nine-night cruise up the Irrawaddy River to Mandalay reveals a land that has been virtually closed to Westerners for decades. Begin your journey in cosmopolitan Yangon, site of the amazing Shwedagon Pagoda, lively historic neighborhoods and outstanding restaurants. Board the new river cruise ship Irrawaddy Explorer in Prome and venture north through an enthralling ecosystem to Mandalay, the cultural center of the country. The lush riverine vegetation surrounds such sites as once-royal Bagan, with its 2,000 sacred monuments, the carved teak monasteries at Mingun and Salay, and the caves of Monywa. This land of golden spires is also a land of rice growers, fishermen, weavers and woodworkers, some of whom you will meet along the way. Your handsome small ship, built especially for these waters, offers ever-changing views of the landscapes and activities around you. Enjoy the sights, the distinctive cuisine and warm hospitality as you experience this ancient land. Consider extending your journey to beautiful Inle Lake, another of Myanmar’s treasures. www.ccjourneys.com • 800-491-1148 l www.smallshiptravel.com • 888-870-8020 A message from Ati Jain, MYANMARMYANMAR Cross-Culture President: (BURMA)(BURMA) This is the time to visit Myanmar, which has scarcely been Myin Ma Sagaing Mandalay viewed by Western travelers in recent decades. With the changes Monywa Ava in their government and the opening of services for visitors, you have opportunity to visit the country while much of its Yandabo traditional way of life is still practiced. It is a rare moment. Bagan Heho Your experience of Myanmar will range from a spectacular Salay field of Buddhist temples to bustling cities to mysterious jungle. The journey begins in the largest city, Yangon, where we’ll see Irrawaddy River the great Shwedagon Pagoda and visit markets, monasteries Inle Lake and other highlights. In Prome we’ll board the new Irrawaddy Magwe Explorer, a ship built especially for Myanmar’s waters. It’s an intimate ship for just 56 travelers, with plenty of space and comfort aboard. The ship will carry you north to extraordinary Thayet Myo sites including the great pagodas of Bagan, caves filled with statues of the Buddha, and Mandalay Hill, which honors British and Indian soldiers felled there in battle in 1945. Thar Yar Gone Pyay (Prome) After the cruise you may extend your trip to visit Inle Lake, a watery world within a ring of mountains. Tour the lake by Irrawaddy River longboat to visit the floating villages and hydroponic gardens, watch the remarkable leg-rowing fisherman and visit the Cruise Route workshops of area artisans. It’s a chance to experience a Land Route beautiful environment that supports time-honored ways. Included Air Cruise route is approximate Book and pay in full by June 30, 2014 and receive 2 for 1* and dashed lines reference Inle Lake extension only. pricing! Early registration will assure you a better choice of Yangon staterooms or suites on the Irrawaddy Explorer. Interest in (Rangoon) Myanmar is high now that the country is welcoming travelers again, and the small ships that cruise its rivers are in demand. For registration or information call Cross-Culture Journeys at Average temperature and precipitation 800-491-1148 today! ranges in November (in degrees Fahrenheit) City High Low Precipitation Yangon 89 72 1.5" Bagan (Nyaung U) 86 64 1.9" Mandalay 86 67 1.5" Inle Lake (Taunggyi) 73 53 2.6" Ati K. Jain President, Cross-Culture Journeys Burma versus Myanmar The official name of the country, Myanmar, was imposed by the military *Call for details regime that assumed power in 1962. It is the name recognized by the United Nations. The United States, which did not recognized the military regime, has continued to call the country Burma in most circumstances but has adopted “Myanmar” in recent diplomacy. To avoid debate over the adjectival form of “Myanmar,” the word “Burmese” is commonly used. www.ccjourneys.com • 800-491-1148 l www.smallshiptravel.com • 888-870-8020 Monday, November 10–Tuesday, November 11 and some of the embassies. Visit Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, which DEPART U.S. houses an enormous statue of a reclining Buddha, the soles of Depart the U.S. on your flight toward Yangon, Myanmar his feet entirely covered with symbols of his life and teachings. (formerly Rangoon, Burma). Your transpacific flight will cross After lunch, continue your tour of this handsome city where the International Date Line. ancient, colonial and contemporary features coexist. The wide Wednesday, November 12 tree-lined boulevards, built on a grid by the British in the 1850s, ARRIVE YANGON, MYANMAR • TRANSFER TO HOTEL are bordered by colonial-period buildings. Yangon, which was Arrive this evening at Yangon International Airport, where the capital before 2005, bustles with activity but is free from you will be met and accompanied to your hotel. the extreme traffic, high-rise buildings and sense of urgency found in many cities. One highlight of our route is the Sule Pagoda, Thursday, November 13 considered the very center of Yangon. Enjoy your welcome dinner SHWEDAGON AND CHAUKHTATGYI PAGODAS tonight at one of the city’s outstanding restaurants. B/L/D KALAYWA MONASTERY • PANORAMIC TOUR OF YANGON WELCOME DINNER Friday, November 14 Start your morning tour with the view of the monumental SCENIC DRIVE TO PYAY (PROME) • SHWESANDAW AND Shwedagon Pagoda as the sun illuminates its golden bell-shaped WUNCHATAUNG PAGODAS • BOARD IRRAWADDY EXPLORER dome. According to legend the domed stupa enshrines eight WELCOME RECEPTION AND DINNER hairs of the last Buddha, this relic now surrounded with serene The scenic drive from Yangon to Prome, on the Irrawaddy River, images of the Buddha and of mythical beasts. The exterior of the takes you to Thayekhittaya, also known as Sri Ksetra, an ancient stupa is plated with thousands of gold slabs, and the tip set with Pyi city that ruled the area many centuries ago. Continue to thousands of diamonds, rubies and sapphires. A huge emerald Prome, a trading city on the Irrawaddy River, and have lunch at the peak catches the sun’s first and last rays. Hundreds of aboard your ship, the Irrawaddy Explorer. In the afternoon we other temples, shrines, pavilions and statues cluster around will visit one of the country’s major Buddhist pilgrimage sites, the the central site. Shwesandaw Pagoda complex, and the hilltop Wunchataung Pagoda, which affords a sweeping view of Shwesandaw Pagoda Continue to Kalaywa Monastery and Nunnery, where and the surrounding mountains. Return to the ship for dinner nearly 1,000 monks will be having the final meal of the and your first night aboard. B/L/D day in mid-morning. At the Nunnery on the grounds we will make a donation to supplement the nuns’ daily diet. All young men in Burma must experience monastic life once before adulthood and again after age 20, and while girls are not required to do so, many spend a period in ACCOMMODATIONS LIST a convent. For some these stays are quite brief; others LOCATION ACCOMMODATIONS RATING (Hotel & Travel Index) remain for life. Continue past such landmarks as the Yangon Traders Hotel Superior First Class home of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi Irrawaddy River Irrawaddy Explorer Superior First Class equivalent www.ccjourneys.com • 800-491-1148 l www.smallshiptravel.com • 888-870-8020 Saturday, November 15 BRITISH COLONIAL SITES AT THAYET MYO Explore the town of Thayet Myo, site of the oldest golf course in Myanmar. Visit the local market as well as several homes built during the years of British rule. Return to the ship for lunch and an afternoon cruise upstream toward Magwe (Magway), and stop for the night at one of the villages that dot the banks of the Irrawaddy. B/L/D Sunday, November 16 GOLDEN HILLTOP PAGODA AT MAGWE Disembark at Magwe to visit Myat Than Lun Paya, a pagoda built in 1929 with bricks of solid gold. Its hilltop setting provides panoramic views of the river and surrounding countryside. During the afternoon, continue traveling upstream toward Salay, a center of Bagan-style religious architecture on a more modest scale. Irrawaddy Explorer will dock this evening at a riverside village. B/L/D Monday, November 17 INCLUSIONS SALAY • MOUNTAIN VILLAGE OF TAN KYI • Private transfers (if purchasing trip with group flights) Tour Salay, a village founded in the 13th-century when Bagan dominated • Domestic flight returning from Mandalay to Yangon the region. You will find shrines from that era as well as 19th-century teak ($175 value) monasteries covered with historical and religious carving, and well-preserved • Nine nights accommodation in stateroom or suite British colonial buildings. After lunch cruise upstream to the village of Tan on Irrawaddy Explorer Kyi, where a World War II jeep takes you to a mountaintop overlooking the Bagan plains. At this site stands one of the four stupas that marked the • Two nights accommodation at Superior First Class original limits of old Bagan. Spend the night moored at a village near hotel in Yangon Tan Kyi. B/L/D • All meals on board, featuring Burmese and international dishes Tuesday, November 18 • Coffee, tea, water, and soft drinks with meals; local BAGAN: PAGODAS AND TEMPLES • OXCART RIDE AT SUNSET beer and house wine with dinners Arrive at Bagan, where the ship will remain docked until tomorrow.