Myanmar
Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Myanmar
Myanmar is a fascinating country, built through centuries of invasions, ethnic strife, and civil war. Yet somehow, despite all this, the Burmese people are filled with optimism and have a pride in their country and its heritage and a hope for its future that is both touching and inspiring. The country is almost entirely Buddhist, and as a result they have cherished and respected most of their ancient temples, although the importance of preserving them from an archaeological and historical perspective is sometimes lost.
We were anxious to get to Myanmar soon after the dissolving of the military junta in 2011, but it took us a couple of years to squeeze it into our schedule. Still, it remains a lightly visited country (relatively speaking), which means that the culture is highly preserved and the people are warm and happy to see tourists. We highly recommend going while it’s still relatively untouched – there are sufficient amenities in place to make travel comfortable, though it is difficult to make arrangements if you’re not local. However, it’s very easy to find tour companies to help you with your hotel and internal flight arrangements (and guides and drivers if you’d like those). We’ve worked with Indochina Pioneer a number of times now, and have been very happy with them – they think we’re a bit odd because of our bizarre requests and crazy schedules, but they’ve always been great!
Of the destinations listed below, you’ll notice one of the most popular ones is missing: Mandalay. We opted to eliminate it from our schedule in favor of some of the more obscure places (like Mrauk U) and we have no regrets (although we also don’t know what we’re missing). Plus, it gives us a reason to come back!
Where to stay
Things are changing so quickly in Myanmar that it’s probably pointless to list the various places we stayed. We recommend using a travel agency to book your hotels (like the previously mentioned Indochina Pioneer)- they’ll know of cool local (but nice) places you can stay, and you can get some really great deals this way. Sure, we could afford to stay at five star hotels when we travel, but we’d rather find a great balance of comfort and economy and be able to travel more often (or retire early and then spend all our time traveling…gotta see the big picture, right??).
Suggested Itineraries
We were traveling with Tom’s parents on this trip, so our itinerary was much less frenzied than we would have done if it was just the two of us, but we still got a lot done in under two weeks.
Day 1: Arrive very early in Yangon, then take an internal flight to Heho. Drive to Pindaya, stopping to visit sites and enjoy the scenery of the Shan Plateau on the way there. After visiting Pindaya, return to Kalaw for the night.
Day 2: Hike through the Kalaw countryside in the morning, visiting the Paine Pin village. Afterwards, tour Kalaw and return to your hotel.
Day 3: Check out of your hotel after breakfast, then drive to Green Hill Elephant Camp to spend the morning giving the elephants their spa treatment. Drive towards Inle Lake and start your biking tour, cycling into your hotel at late afternoon (enjoy the weird looks you get from the other guests). Settle in to your hotel room, then drive to Taunggyi for the balloon festival. Return late and spend the night in Inle Lake.
Day 4: Get up early to start your trip to Sagar. Enjoy the scenery on your long boat ride, and spend the day exploring the sites around Sagar. Return to your hotel around sunset.
Day 5: Get up early again to try and cram as much into your day as possible – have breakfast and check out of your hotel. Head to the market first thing to avoid the crowds, visit the monasteries and pagodas, and head over to Indein. Transfer back Heho for a late afternoon/early evening flight to Bagan. Spend the night in Bagan.
Day 6: Get up before dawn for the drive to hot air balloon launch site. Enjoy your sunrise balloon flight over Bagan, giving you an aerial view of the places you’ll visit later. Return to your hotel and grab a late breakfast, then spend the rest of the day exploring Bagan before catching sunset at Shwesandaw Pagoda. spend the night in Bagan.
Day 7: You get to sleep in (a little at least)! After breakfast at the hotel, check out and spend the rest of the day exploring Bagan before transferring to the airport for your flight to Yangon. Stay in Yangon.
Day 8: Spend the morning exploring Yangon before taking an early afternoon flight to Sittwe, after which you’ll transfer to your private boat for the journey up the Kaladan River to Mrauk U. Spend the night in Mrauk U.
Day 9: Get up before sunrise and hike up a nearby hill to enjoy the view as the sun comes up. Return to your hotel for breakfast, then spend the day exploring Mrauk U’s awesome Indiana Jones-esque temples. Spend the night in Mrauk U.
Day 10: Get up before sunrise and transfer to your private boat to return to Sittwe. Enjoy watching sunrise and the scenery along the banks of the river. If there’s time before your flight back to Yangon, visit some of the sites in Sittwe, then head to the airport for your mid-day flight. Spend the afternoon seeing remaining sites in Yangon, including Shwedagon Pagoda in the late afternoon/early evening – it’s particularly lovely at night. Grab one last dinner in Myanmar before driving to the airport for your late flight home.
Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Myanmar