Page 1 of 15 Prepared for: Dr. Don Rahtz, Mason School of Business College of William & Mary Williamsburg, VA, USA December 27, 2017 – January 14, 2018 Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake, & Mandalay, Myanmar Bangkok, Thailand Siem Reap & Phnom Penh, Cambodia The Mekong River & Luang Prabang, Lao P.D.R. Itinerary Wednesday, Dec 27 USA Departure (-/-/-) [Korean Airlines KE94 IAD-ICN 11:50AM-4:30PM (28DEC)]…or similar Depart from the USA, crossing the International Dateline en route. Thursday, Dec 28 Myanmar Arrival (-/-/-) [Korean Airlines KE471 ICN-RGN 6:30PM-10:30PM]…or similar On arrival in Yangon, clear Myanmar Immigration & Customs formalities and meet your local guide outside the Baggage Claim area. Transfer to your hotel. PARKROYAL HOTEL Superior rooms x 2 nights inc. breakfast https://www.parkroyalhotels.com/en/hotels-resorts/myanmar/yangon.html Friday, Dec 29 Yangon (B/L/D) Yangon retains one of the most complete ensembles of colonial architecture in the world. After breakfast, a walking tour of the city reveals some of the heritage buildings and the rich history of their functions and inhabitants up to the present day. Transfer from your hotel to Yangon City Hall, located at the heart of the colonial-era city. Built in 1936 by Myanmar architect U Tin, it is a massive building with traditional tiered roofs, a combination of European design and engineering technology with traditional Myanmar flourishes. Nearby is the former Immigration Department. This building was designed in 1910 to be the country’s most upmarket department store, Rowe & Company. With its corner tower and top-floor balconettes, the structure retains an air of its former opulence. Proceed to the High Court, a 1911 brick building designed by the architect John Ransome, and another outstanding example of the grand Imperial style. Continue to Strand Road, home to the three-story former New Law Courts, built in 1931 with an imposing colonnade of Ionic columns. Next stop is the 1916 Custom House, a large building with an elegant white tower and double-faced clock above the entrance. The Art Deco period Myanma Port Authority is noted for its imposing square corner tower, wave-inspired stuccowork, and bas-relief sculptures of sailing vessels. Page 2 of 15 The former Irrawaddy Flotilla Company’s graceful white building and colonnaded façade is another landmark. Walk past the red brick General Post Office to the luxurious Strand Hotel, built in 1901 by the Sarkies brothers, Armenian hoteliers. Here you’ll enjoy well-earned (non-alcoholic) refreshments in the famous Bar. Lunch at Monsoon Restaurant. In the afternoon, visit Bogyoke (Scott) Market (closed on Mondays and Public Holidays), which will give you the opportunity to see Myanmar's wide range of handicrafts and souvenirs. Stop alongside Kandawgyi (Royal) Lake to take photographs over the lake towards Karaweik Hall and the Shwedagon. Enjoy the sunset at Shwedagon Pagoda, famous worldwide - its golden stupa is the 'heart' of Buddhist Myanmar. The Pagoda is believed to be 2,500 years old and the central stupa in surrounded by dozens of intricately decorated buildings and statues. It is always full of people praying and making offerings. This evening, the lighting ceremony at Shwedagon Pagoda will make your visit an unforgettable one. We will arrange for oil lamps to be ready for you to light, a particularly auspicious act for Buddhists. The sight of all these candles lit as the night falls is truly breathtaking and an opportunity not to be missed. Dinner at House of Memory Restaurant. Saturday, Dec 30 Yangon – Bagan (B/L/D) Early morning departure to Yangon Airport. [Mann Yadanarapon Airlines 7Y 161 RGN-NYU 6:15AM-7:35AM]…or similar Upon arrival, proceed on a sightseeing tour of Bagan, starting with the busy local market at Nyaung Oo. Continue with visits to a selection of the most important pagodas and temples including Shwezigon, Bagan's most important reliquary shrine. Look for images of the 37 'nats' (spirits) housed in a small hall. Visit Gubyaukgyi (Wetkyi-Inn village), a cave temple with fine frescoes of the 'Jataka Tales'. Next stop is Htilominlo, the last Bamar-style temple built in Bagan, which boasts old murals and friezes. Stop for a photo of Bagan’s tallest temple; 61 meter-high Thatbyinnyu, known as the 'temple of omniscience' dating from 1144. Lunch at River Terrace Restaurant. In the afternoon, visit more sites by bicycle. From the tour starting point near Ananda Temple, begin your ride on a sandy track to Dhammayangyi, a massive temple dating from 1170 – an imposing structure famous for its interlocking mortar-less brickwork. Continue cross country to Dhammayazaka (2 Km) where you may choose to ascend the temple for a panoramic view. Rejoin a paved road, turn left, and if you wish, pause for refreshment at a restaurant (½ Km). Stop at Phwa Saw, a quintessential rural village of rattan houses, busy with bullock carts, zebu cattle and local craft workshops. Proceed to Minnanthu monastic complex and village (½ Km). Here your ride offers uninterrupted views of Bagan’s awesome monuments, acacia and toddy palm trees, and wandering goats. Arrive at Sulamani (2 Km) one of Bagan’s most attractively constructed temples famous for its ornamental work and interior frescoes. The bike ride ends 1 Km away at Ananda Temple, from where you return to your hotel. Dinner with puppet show (a traditional form of Myanmar folk entertainment) at Sarabah II Restaurant. AYE YAR RIVER VIEW RESORT Deluxe rooms x 1 night inc. breakfast http://www.ayeyarriverviewresort.com Sunday, Dec 31 Bagan – Heho – Inle Lake (B/L/D) New Year’s Eve Early departure from the hotel to Nyaung Oo Airport. [Mann Yadanarapon Airlines 7Y 161 NYU-HEH 7:50AM-8:30AM]…or similar Transfer from Heho Airport to the village of Nyaungshwe on the north end of scenic Inle Lake and board a local boat for the ride to your hotel on the eastern shore. After a quick stop to freshen up, depart by boat across the lake to Indaing on the western shoreline, passing through the busy village of Ywama, the largest settlement on the lake, with many channels and tall teakwood houses built on stilts. Enter a long tree-lined canal, with farmers Page 3 of 15 cultivating their land on either side against the backdrop of the Shan Hills. Disembark at the jetty and walk about 15 minutes through the village to reach the 14th-18th Century pagoda ruins of Nyaung Ohak. Many of the pagodas on the grounds are (charmingly) ancient and atmospheric. A covered walkway popular with souvenir stall sellers leads up to Shwe Inn Thein Paya, a complex of weather-beaten 17th-18th Century zedi, as well as a few which are newly constructed. Return to the river for lunch at Golden Kite Indaing Restaurant. A 30-minute walk along a shady path to the Intha village of Sema. Continue by boat downstream past Yethar village, watching local life along the banks and ample bird life until rejoining the lake near Phaung Daw Oo Paya. Return across the lake to your hotel. New Years Eve dinner at the hotel. NOVOTEL INLE LAKE MYAT MIN Junior Suites x 2 nights inc. breakfast http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-9395-novotel-inle-lake-myat-min/index.shtml Monday, Jan 1 Inle Lake – Heho – Mandalay (B/L/D) New Year’s Day This morning, a presentation about Inle Lake relating to sustainable development and environmental issues by Mr. Aung Kyaw Swar, principal of Inle Heritage Hospitality Vocational Training Center. Lunch at Intha Heritage House. Transfer from the hotel back to Heho Airport for the short flight to Mandalay. [Mann Yadanarapon Airlines 7Y 874 HEH-MDL 5:55PM-6:25PM]…or similar On arrival, transfer to your hotel. Dinner at the hotel. MANDALAY HILL RESORT Superior rooms x 1 night inc. breakfast http://www.mandalayhillresorthotel.com/www/ Tuesday, Jan 2 Mandalay – Chiang Mai, Thailand – Chiang Rai – (B/-/-) After breakfast, visit beautiful teakwood Shwenandaw Monastery, the only Royal Palace building to survive Allied bombing raids in World War II, and Kuthodaw Pagoda, where Theravada Buddhist scriptures are inscribed on 729 marble slabs, giving rise to the nickname “the World’s Largest Book.” Continue with a visit to Mahamuni Pagoda, with its spectacular Buddha image covered with thick layers of gold leaf (merit-making offerings by devotees). Stop at local workshops: solid marble being carved into Buddha images and gold being beaten by hand into paper-thin gold leaf. Lunch on your own. Transfer to Mandalay Airport for your international departure flight. [Bangkok Airways PG726 MDL-CNX 6:00PM-7:55PM] Arrive in Chiang Mai, gateway to Thailand’s northern region. Clear Thai Immigration and Customs and meet your local guide outside the Baggage Claim area. Transfer directly to Chiang Rai Province and the small village of Ban Kiew Kan near the historic Mekong River and the Thai-Lao border (approx. 5 hours). Originally the capital of the ancient Lanna Kingdom, the over-700-year-old town of Chiang Mai is surrounded by the remains of massive walls, five gates, and a moat, and reveals a more peaceful, charming, and “laid back” lifestyle compared to the relative chaos and commotion of Bangkok. Lanna (the “Kingdom of One Million Rice Fields”), dates from the mid-13th Century. The seat of power of Lanna changed several times over its first few decades (Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Wiang Kum Kam), and in 1296AD, King Mengrai moved the capital to what is now Chiang Mai in the fertile Ping River Valley. Lanna Page 4 of 15 remained an independent kingdom until it was conquered by Burmese invaders in 1558 AD.