THE FLAVOURS OF MYANMAR

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Yangon (D)

Stop At: Yangon (Rangoon), Yangon (Rangoon), Yangon Region
On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check in. Relax at the hotel or take a walk on the nearby streets and explore this historic city. Late afternoon, transfer to one of Yangon's finest restaurant located on the edge of the Inya Lake where you will enjoy a delightful welcome dinner at Le Planteur Restaurant. Overnight in Yangon
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in Yangon

Day 2: Cooking Class – Yangon Highlights (B/L/D)

Stop At: Yangon (Rangoon), Yangon (Rangoon), Yangon Region
After breakfast, transfer to Monsoon Cooking School. Learn how to cook and enjoy the taste of traditional Myanmar food with the chef at Monsoon. The class will take about 3 hours. You will have your own cooking for lunch as well as additional Myanmar dessert and tea / coffee.
After lunch tour around the city centre which is filled with various historical and colonial buildings. Stop at the Sule Pagoda which is a 2200-year-old temple surrounded by government buildings. Then, head to Mahabandoola Park, where Independent Monument stands.
Continue your tour by passing City Hall on the way to the Botahtaung Pagoda. It is situated downtown beside the Yangon River. Next, visit the Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, one of Myanmar's more beautiful reclining
buddhas which is topped by a crown encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones. The feet of the statue is carved with traditional symbols and often many locals gather to pay homage and pray.
Complete your day with a visit to one of the world’s most spectacular monuments, the Shwedagon Pagoda, a gleaming bell dome structure that dominates the city’s skyline. Legends state that the sacred hairs of the Buddha are enshrined here. The Shwedagon is an iconic symbol of the country, a sight not to be missed. Dinner at Shan Yoe Yar Restaurant

Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in yangon

Day 3: Yangon to Bagan by flight – The Best of Bagan (B/L/D)

Stop At: Bagan, Bagan, Mandalay Region
Transfer to Yangon Airport for domestic flight to Bagan. Upon arrival in Bagan, proceed on a sightseeing tour, starting with the busy local market and continuing with visits to a diverse selection of the most important pagodas and temples such as Shwezigon Pagoda, built by King Anawrahta in the early 11th century. See 13th Century frescoes adorning the corridors of Kyansittha 'Cave' Temple. Continue to Gubyaukgyi (Wetkyi In village), another 'cave' temple with fine frescoes of the 'Jataka Tales'. Next stop is Htilominlo, the last Bamar style temple built in Bagan, with old murals and friezes. Visit the Taungphi village to see old monasteries, which have beautiful Khone Baung dynasty frescoes. Lunch at Ayeyarwaddy River Terrace Restaurant, a nice restaurant overlooking Irrawaddy River serving delicious Asian food.
In the afternoon, continue visit to Ananda Temple, a whitewashed masterpiece of Mon architecture with four standing Buddhas, and the adjacent brick monastery from the early Bagan era with well-preserved murals. Make a photo stop at the tallest temple measuring 61 meters - Thatbyinnyu known as 'temple of omniscience' and dating from 1144. Continue to Mingalazedi, the last of the large Pagodas built in the 13th Century, representing the pinnacle of Bamar pagoda architecture. Enjoy sunset at one of the monuments along Irrawaddy River. Dinner at The Secrets Home Restaurant.

Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in Bagan

Day 4: Cooking Class – Nat Htaung Kyaung (B/L/D)

Stop At: Nat Taung Kyaung Monastery, Near the Ayeyarwady River, Leya Myanmar
Enjoy a cooking class (Pennywort Cooking Class) at the Kuthodaw library runs by the charismatic Ms May. She welcomes you in her small garden and typical Bagan house and introduces the ingredients that you will use for today’s class to prepare delicious Burmese recipes. Besides the plants in her garden, the most important ingredient Ms May uses is her love of food and sharing it. She graduated in bio-gardening in Thailand and is an ardent promoter of pesticides and fertilizers free agriculture.
The daytime course includes a visit to the market to shop for ingredients (with accommodations made for vegetarians and dietary restrictions), followed by a walk back to May's house for preparation – using charcoal fires to make curries, soups, salads and other dishes. After the cooking class, sit and take the time to savour today’s creations. It's a great way to learn more about Burmese food, customs and culture, and May gives back to the community, with 20% of earnings going towards a town library.
In the afternoon, an excursion to the nostalgic Nat Htaung Kyaung, a monastery famous for woodcarvings, built in 1781 by a group of monks. Admire the monastery's collection of ancient Buddha statues and lacquer boxes. Return by boat on the Irrawaddy River at sunset while slowly sipping cocktail and local snacks on board. Dinner with puppetshow at Nanda Restaurant

Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in Bugan

Day 5: Bagan to Heho by flight – Nyaung Shwe (B/L/D)

Stop At: Heho, Heho, Shan State
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for domestic flight to Heho, a quiet transit town with one of the few airport links in the beautiful hills of Shan State. On the way to Inle Lake, stop at a local family’s house to see Shan umbrellas and paper making using traditional methods and fibres of the mulberry tree. Next, we take a 1-hour drive to Inle Lake that descends through the valley with views of the Shan mountains and rice paddy fields. On the way to Nyaung Shwe, gateway town of Inle Lake, visit Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, old wooden monastery with the oval-shape windows where novices sit and study and pose for the photographs. Besides the monastery, the whitewashed brick and cement temple in a separate compound is a unique to Myanmar and you couldn’t find an identical architecture in all of Myanmar.
In the afternoon, drive to the Red Mountain Estate vineyard and winery. Located near the Inle Lake, the Red Mountain Estate produces the best wines of the country. You will bike up to the vineyard and sat down for wine tasting. Lunch at Red Mountain Restaurant. The small outdoor tasting room provides a commanding view over the terraced vineyard as well as a wonderful breeze. Beyond the rolling green hills you can see glistening Inle Lake and on a clear day you can also enjoy the surrounding mountain landscape. Rest of the afternoon, time to stroll around the charming village of Nyaung Shwe or enjoy bicycle tour on the edge of the lake. Dinner at Viewpoint Restaurant, one of the best restaurants in Inle region serving Western & Shan fusion.

Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in Nyaung Shwe.

Day 6: Shan Cooking Class – Inle Lake – Intha fishermen – Traditional Floating Craft Villages (B/L/D)

Stop At: Inle Lake, Nyaungshwe Myanmar
After breakfast, you will by picked up by tuk tuk by either Mr. Min or his lovely wife, your chef for the cooking class this morning. First, you will visit the Mingalar market or 5-day rotating market. The chef explains how to shop, traditional bargaining and explains the ingredients being purchased.Then, you will drive for about 15-20 minutes to a beautiful “hidden” place on the lake.
After a cup of tea, you will start with the cooking class and learn how to prepare 8-10 special Shan dishes. At the end, you will sit down to enjoy what you have created for lunch.You will also get a very nice recipe book of all the dishes to take home to impress your family and friends about your cooking. After lunch, you can go on a short canoe trip around the area to see some of the floating gardens and villages.
Then, enjoy boat trip on Inle Lake - a photographer's dream. Its calm waters are dotted with floating vegetation and fishing canoes, to which scenic hills provide the perfect backdrop. See the lake's unique 'leg rowers' - Intha fishermen who row standing up with one leg wrapped around a single oar, leaving their hands free to manipulate the conical fishing net. Stop at Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the holiest religious site in southern Shan State.
Continue to Nampan village, meeting with residents to witness traditional Ikat weaving techniques firsthand. Continue to Inpawkhon village, where you interact with locals, immersing yourself in village life. Visit a boat builder’s workshop, blacksmith shop and cheroot making factory, where you can try your hand at making the fabled Burmese cigar

Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 7: Inle Lake – Heho to Yangon by flight – Departure (B

Stop At: Yangon (Rangoon), Yangon (Rangoon), Yangon Region
After breakfast, transfer by boat to Nyaung Shwe and overland to Heho Airport (32 km – 1 hour) for a domestic flight back to Yangon and with connecting flight to next destination
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.