General Information
Duration: 13 days/12 nights
Tour Routine: Yangon – Bagan – Yandaboo – Amarapura – Kyauk-Myoung – Katha – Tagaung – Mingun – Mandalay
Start/End: Yangon/Mandalay
Tour Style: Landscape, In-depth Cultural
Guides: Myanmar Local Guide (English Speaking Guide, Other Languages upon Request)
Transportation: Boutique RV Kalay Pandaw Cruise Ship, Private First-class Air-conditioned Vehicles
Brief Itinerary:
Pre-cruise
Day 1: Yangon arrival
Day 2: Yangon City Tour
Day 3: Yangon – Bagan
10-Night Cruise with RV Kalay Pandaw
Day 4: Bagan – Yandaboo
Day 5: Yandabo – Amarapura
Day 6: Kyauk-Myoung
Day 7: Khanyat
Day 8: Katha
Day 9: Sail Upstream Kyunt Daw Island
Day 10: 2nd Defile of Irrawaddy
Day 11: Tagaung
Day 12: Mingun
Day 13: Mandalay Disembarkation
Full Itinerary:
Day 1: Yangon arrival
Mingalabar! Welcome to Myanmar – the land of faiths & magical allure.
Today, welcome by Go Myanmar’s local guide at the airport and then we transfer to the hotel in the city center for check-in. After settling down into your hotel, enjoy your own time at leisure.
Day 2: Yangon City Tour
A full day to discover the fascinating Yangon. Start the day with a scenic drive to Kandawgyi Lake, the most beautiful photo stop in the city. This is a picturesque spot where you can save great photos with the impressive Karaweik Palace – a prominent landmark of Yangon.
After that, soak up the lively atmosphere of Bogyoke Aungsan Market, the largest bazaar in Yangon. Stroll around the market area to gaze out at an array of the stalls of local products and jewelry stores.
Then drive through the fascinating colonial buildings to Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda – home to one of the most highly revered reclining Buddha images in the country. Along the way, you will have a closer look at the antique colonial buildings which is said can be found nowhere else in Southeast Asia.
In the afternoon, follow your guide to the National Museum to see the collection of fine Burmese art, history, and culture.
Late this afternoon, highlight your trip with a visit to Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the grandest Buddhist pagoda in the world. Made from 16 tons of pure gold and thousands of diamonds and sapphires making it glittering at the golden light of sunset. Take your time to wander around the pagoda land to observe the local pilgrim paying homage to the Buddha and return to your hotel in the evening.
Fulfill this evening with a great dinner at Karaweik Hall Restaurant. Enjoy the scrumptious Burmese cuisine and a cultural show following.
Day 3: Yangon – Bagan
Say goodbye to Yangon this morning to board a flight to Bagan, the old town of magnificent temples. On arrival, head straight to Nyaung U Market, the fresh local market in Bagan where you can have a very first look at the local life and trade. From there proceed to Shwezigon Pagoda, the most popular attraction in Bagan and one of the main pilgrimage sites in the region. Here you can learn more about the Buddhist teaching and 37 Nats (natural spirit of Burmese).
About noon, check-in at RV Kalay Pandaw and enjoy a welcome lunch on board. After lunch, visit Htilominlo Temple, an elegant temple with strong construction helping it surviving after many earthquakes. Leaving the temple, head to a local lacquerware workshop to gain more knowledge about the lacquerware item – the most unique product in Bagan. Attend a demonstration to learn more about the process of making the intricate items from bamboo and lacquerware.
Late afternoon, return to the ship and we start sailing to Yandabo.
Day 4: Bagan – Yandabo
Today you will pass through the confluence with the Chindwin River to reach Yandaboo village, a charming and historic village that is famous for its production of terracotta pottery from the riverbank clay. Take a short excursion to the village to discover the untouched village and learn more about the way people create the clay pot using traditional methods.
This afternoon, continue sailing to Mandalay.
Day 5: Yandabo – Amarapura
Wake up early this morning to taste the morning scenery on board. After breakfast, leave the boat for a trip to Ava to explore the ruins of the former ancient capital.
Visit Bagaya Kyaung, a 200-year-old teak wooden monastery not for elaborate woodcarvings. Then visit Amarapura, home to U Bein Bridge, the longest and oldest teak bridge in the world.
Day 6: Kyauk-Myoung
Today visit the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-myoung where the famous 50-gallon water pots are made by hands. Here you will have a chance to see all stages of manufacture from the throwing of the pots to the week-long firing in huge kilns. Later on, return to the ship and enter the third defile of Irrawaddy.
Day 7: Khanyat
The morning of day 7 continues to take us through the charming landscape along the Irrawaddy River. Make a stop at Khan-nyat village to see many Buddhist monasteries and visit the former head teacher’s house, which also includes his small museum collections. We then go ashore and climb the Pagoda Hill at Tigyang to marvel at its stunning views of the Upper Irrawaddy River.
Day 8: Katha
Today we reach the enchanting colonial town of Katha which set for George Orwell’s Burmese Days. To date, there is little thing has been changed. We will take an interesting trip to the fire station’s collections of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company’s ship’s bells taken from sunken ships in the Second War. Being the final resting place of the old flotilla, there were a hundred ships were scuppered in 1942 in an Act of Denial before the advancing Japanese. Then we also visit an elephant logging camp at Katha in the hardwood forests of the hills that surround the town and further upstream.
Day: Sail Upstream Kyunt Daw Island
Today, transfer by the local boat to visit Kyun Daw village where we get a chance to marvel at countless small Pagodas.
Day 10: 2nd Defile of Irrawaddy
Today, the ships take you through the 2nd Defile, you will see the most dramatic of the three gorges with cliffs towering over the narrow channel. Enjoy your own time at leisure onboard
Day 11: Tagaung
Today the ship takes us to the ancient city of Tagaung viewing the fortifications, a famous nat or spirit shrine, and the archaeological area. Listen to your guide to learn more about the history of the sites.
Day 12: Mingun
Slip our moorings early in the morning and then stop at Mingun – a charming village to see Mingun Bell – second-largest working bell in the world and Mingun Pahtodawgyi – the unfinished pagoda that tended to build as the largest single mass of the brick building in the world. Then visit the Mingun Old People’s Home, which built with the assistance of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in the 1930s. Highlight with a drive through the beautiful Sagaing hills to the hilltop to enjoy an incredible view over countless temples, stupas and Irrawaddy River.
Day 13: Mandalay Disembarkation
After breakfast, say goodbye to the cabin crew and check out at Rv Kalay Pandaw ship. Trip ends. Thank you for making your Myanmar river cruise with Go Myanmar Cruises.
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