Itinerary FLT 06

[Name] Myanmar exploration IV

16 Days / 15 nights (For those who want to explore classic and remote sites including a beach)

Day 1. Yangon arrival
Day 2. Yangon - Heho - Pindaya - Kalaw (by flight and car)
Day 3. Kalaw (hiking)
Day 4. Kalaw - Inle Lake (by car)
Day 5. Inle Lake - Indein
Day 6. Inle Lake - Sanghar (by boat)
Day 7. Inle Lake - Kakku - Aye Thar Yar (by car) (trekking to Kakku is possible at additional cost)
Day 8. Aye Thar Yar - Mandalay (by local train and flight)
Day 9. Mandalay
Day 10. Mandalay - Bagan (by public boat)
Day 11. Bagan
Day 12. Bagan
Day 13. Bagan - Thandwe (Ngapali Beach) - (by flight)
Day 14. Ngapali Beach
Day 15. Ngapali Beach
Day 16. Thandwe (Ngapali Beach) - Yangon (by flight) - International Departure in the evening
An additional day (Day 17.) in Yangon of course is possible if guests wish to have more time at the end in Yangon for shopping etc.

Day 1. Upon arrival in Yangon, you will be welcomed by your FLT Tour guide and transferred to the hotel. Visit Yangon city center with many colonial style buildings, Sule pagoda, the reclining Buddha image of Chauk Htut Gyi, Karaweik Hall, a floating barge on Kandawgyi Lake and stroll around Scott (Bogyoke) Market with hundreds of food, clothes, handicrafts and gems stores. Your visit today will conclude with the Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the most awesome and spectacular monuments of Buddhists.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay in Yangon.

Day 2. After breakfast, transfer to Airport for domestic flight to Heho. Upon arrival to Heho drive by car to Pindaya (60 km - 2 hours) passing through beautiful scenery of Shan State. Visit a local village on the way.
In Pindaya visit Pindaya cave, 160 m deep inside, enshrining 8,000 Buddha images. Your visit will also include traditional Shan Paper making industry.
In the afternoon drive to Kalaw (52 Km - 1.5 hours), which is situated nearly, 1,400 Meter above sea level, a charming former hill station with pine forests.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay in Kalaw.

Day 3. After early breakfast, walk to Taryaw Village (9 km - 3 hours) where the animist Palaung ethnic group is living in long-houses. You will pass tea & orange plantations and other crops. After seeing the village life you have a chance to rest for lunch at Viewpoint. Afterwards walk back to Kalaw.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at Kalaw.

Day 4. After breakfast, drive by car to Nyaung Shwe (65 km - 2 hours + diversion to the cave) passing through beautiful scenery of Shan State. You may stop at Aung Ban, a regional trading center for agricultural products.
From Aung Ban, you will drive for around 30 minutes towards Loikaw to visit the still not touristic Myin Ma Hti cave. There are beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. Afterwards you will drive back to Aung Ban and continue to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway to the Inle Lake and transfer to your hotel (1 hour by boat before dawn if your hotel is located on the Lake).
Depending on your arrival time to the Lake, in the afternoon you can still make an excursion on the Lake.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at Inle Lake.

Day 5. After breakfast visit the five day's market at nearby village (if coinciding with market day schedule). Continue your journey to the Western bank of Inle Lake upstream on a creek to get to Indein Pagoda where thousands of Shan style stupas exist. You will also get a chance to stroll around bamboo forest and visit local villages to experience village life of tribal people.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at Inle Lake.

Day 6. After breakfast, start your private long-tail boat trip to Sanghar village (preferably guests should stay at Golden Island Cottages (30 km - 2 hours from Golden Island Cottages)). Sanghar was in the 18th century one of the larger cities in Shan State (30 km - 2 hours). The highlights of this site are the remote village, stupas that sometimes get flooded in the rainy season and water lilies growing in mass. Have lunch at Thar Kaung village and visit a basic local rice liquor distillery and return to your hotel. The trip leads you through very interesting landscape, the lake becomes a creek to widen to a lake again before Sanghar.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at Inle Lake.

Day 7. After breakfast, drive to Kakku Pagoda complex in the territory of the Pa-O ethnic group (70 km from Nyaung Shwe - 2.5 hours; if your hotel is on the Lake, you will need to go by boat to Nyaung Shwe). The highlight of this site is the 2,500 temples and stupas aligned in rows, in a 1 sq-km area. Huge and shady Banyan trees and charming Pa-O villages surround it. A Pa-O guide will also assist you in addition to your tour guide. In the afternoon, drive back via Taunggyi to Aye Thar Yar
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at charming Aye Thar Yar Golf Resort

For guests in very good physical condition, we can arrange trekking from Inle Lake to Naung Khe village (500 Meters difference in elevation - 4 hours fast walking) uphill to continue from there by your car to Kakku. The car will carry your luggage. This is possible at additional cost. The rest of the day from viewing Kakku is the same as above.

Day 8. After breakfast, take the train from Shwe Nyaung Station towards Heho / Aung Ban if you are interested in experiencing a really local and basic train ride crawling up from the Inle Lake plains into the mountains. Please do expect a bumpy but unforgettable ride. Your car with the luggage will go parallel and wait at Heho station. Depending on the actual arrival time, you may continue the train ride up to Aung Ban, return to Heho airport by car for your domestic flight to Mandalay airport. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel in Mandalay (1 hour drive).
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay in Mandalay.

(The train ride is not comfortable; therefore not every guest will opt for it. Alternatively you could take an earlier flight to Mandalay and do sightseeing in Mandalay in the afternoon.)

Day 9. After breakfast, visit Amarapura (former capital) with Mahaghandayone Monastery, where thousands of monks are taking their meals in total silence as well as 200 years old U Bein Bridge. You will also see the most revered Buddha Images of Mahamuni Pagoda Visit will also include a silk weaving factory.
In the afternoon visit Golden Palace monastery with impressive wood (teak) carvings. Continue to see the world's largest stone slab book of Kuthodaw Pagoda. Sunset over Mandalay Hill or visit the Night market.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay in Mandalay.

Day 10. Take away breakfast and very early morning transfer to the jetty for the public boat "Shwe Keinnary" to go downstream on Ayeyarwady River to Bagan. Enjoy a relaxing day with the landscape passing by and observing the people's life along the river. There is an air-conditioned room available. The trip takes approximately 10 hours depending on the river conditions and water levels. Upon arrival to Bagan, transfer to the hotel.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay in Bagan.

Day 11. Continue the day with visits to the most significant Pagodas and Temples of Bagan including Shwezigone Pagoda, built in the early 11thcentury, Ku Byauk Gyi, a temple with superb mural painting and Ananda temple with four standing Buddha Images and a huge teak door.
After lunch, visit to one of the lacquer-ware workshop. Visit will follow to Manuha temple, built in Mon style, Nanbayar Temple with a unique sand stone monument. Your visit will also include Myinkaba Gu Byaukgyi Temple, a temple known for its mural painting.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay in Bagan.

Day 12. After breakfast visit the site of Tayoke Pyay Temple and some further Temples as you wish. The visit will also include Bagan Archaeological Museum where various styles of Buddha Images and hair knot styles are displayed.
After lunch, continue to a farming village around Bagan to know life of local people and local rice-noodle making. Few tourists go to those villages, you have time to explore the village life. In the late afternoon, return to Bagan.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay in Bagan.

Day 13. After breakfast transfer to Nyaung Oo (Bagan) airport for your domestic flight to Thandwe (Ngapali Beach). Upon your check in, your tour guide's service ends.
On arrival to Thandwe airport, transfer to your hotel on seat-in-coach basis.
Rest of day at your leisure.
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at Ngapali Beach.

In case that there is no direct flight from Bagan to Ngapali on the day you are traveling, you may have to fly via Yangon.
If guests would prefer to go to Ngwe Saung Beach, you can fly from Bagan to Yangon and continue by car (230 km - 5 hours) to Ngwe Saung Beach via Pathein town.

Day 14. Day at your leisure at Ngapali Beach
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at Ngapali Beach.

Day 15. Day at your leisure at Ngapali Beach
Lunch and Dinner on your own account and overnight stay at Ngapali Beach.

Day 16. In the morning your hotel will transfer you to Ngapali (Thandwe) airport on seat-in-coach basis
for your domestic flight to Yangon. The car and a guide are at your disposal until your international departure in the evening.
A day-use room will be provided in a hotel near the airport till your international departure.

An additional day (Day 17.) in Yangon of course is possible if guests wish to have more time at the end in Yangon for shopping etc.

PRICES

 
Validity: Prices are valid during the high season from 01 October 2006 until 30 April 2007 (there might be surcharges during peak season times, e.g. Christmas and New Year and depending on the hotels chosen – please inquiry with us for your travel date). Please ask for discounted rates for the low season.
All prices are in USD per Person

Add on for German speaking through-out tour guide: 320.-- USD for the whole tour (not per person). Tour guides speaking other languages can be arranged – please check with us)

A day-use room will be provided in Yangon if departing same day at Seasons of Yangon Hotel

Included:

- Accommodation (twin shared room)
- Breakfast at hotel
- English speaking local "through out" guide including all miscellaneous cost for the guide
- Additional local trekking guide in Kalaw, Sanghar and Kakku.
- Entrance fees and camera fees
- Transport (domestic flights as advised / car-, train- and cart transport as mentioned in the itinerary / all airport- and jetty transfers as mentioned, luggage handling included)
- Airport transfer in Thandwe (Ngapali) on seat-in coach basis
- Public boat "Shwe Keinnary" (except Wednesdays and Sundays)
- Bottled drinking water & refreshing towels in normal quantities

Excluded:

- International airport tax (US$ 10 per person)
- Personal expenses such as beverages, laundry and souvenirs and tips
- Meals (Lunch / Dinner)
- trekking to Kakku unless booked
- Personal insurance
- Visa fees for Myanmar
- International flights
- If guest's wish to alter the itinerary, extra charges may apply.

• Kindly keep in mind that our itineraries might need to be amended on short notice depending on changes to flight- and train schedules, condition of roads etc.