If you are wondering which city to visit in Burma, Yangon is always a good idea. To make most of Yangon sightseeing tours, you had better arrive there in the middle of April. Thingyan Water Festival in Yangon will make you happier than ever.
If you want to express “Happy New Year!” in the Burmese way, why don’t enjoy the Thingyan Water Festival from 13 to 18th April in the city of Yangon? Taking one of Yangon sightseeing tours around the city of beautiful colonial buildings and appealing pagodas, you will have a deep insight to one of the biggest festivals in Burma. Here is an ideal daily routine:
DAY 1 (13 APRIL): YANGON
Welcome to Yangon on Thingyan Akyo Day – the eve of Thingyan. On the first day, you should quickly head for your hotel and have lunch before a visit to the main sites in this city. Taking a round-the-city tour to the magnificent Sule Pagoda, the incredible mix of faded colonial buildings and many other places of interests is among ideal tours in Yangon.
However, thing that will capture your attention right away is probably merit making and religious activities. And at nightfall, you can probably not stop falling in love with this city due to celebrations. All of streets and villages at that time will be full of small wooden stages and the atmosphere will be filled with excitement and happiness from singing and dancing performances, making this become of the most memorable Yangon sightseeing tours. Like other Burmese all over the country, the Yangon people throw water on each other during the Thingyan Water Festival. They are in the belief that bad things will be washed away and the new year is coming with health, wealth and luck.
It is a good idea to take some photos of the festival, but remember to prepare plastics bags to keep your camera as well as important belongings dry and safe. It is not exaggerating to say that taking part in this festival requires much careful preparation. Make sure to wear water-proof clothes and shoes. And it can be unpleasant that most markets, offices, and restaurants in Burma are closed during the Thingyan Festival, so you had better finish all stuff related to business, transaction or shopping before its start.
To call it a day, you should treat yourselves with dinner of delicious Burmese cuisine.
DAY 2 (14 APRIL): YANGON
Today is expected to be the most memorable in your Yangon sightseeing tours, called Thingyan Akya Nei (the day of Thingyan)! Right after a symbolic cannon fire, people come out with pots of water that they playfully throw onto each other. You can imagine the whole city has just turned into a big fight, not mention a riot.
You can rent an open-air truck to enjoy the Thingyan Water Festival like Burma locals, one of things to do in Burma. It might be difficult to move because everyone is travelling from this place to another to splash and to be splash, just like you. Another striking feature in Yangon streets is platforms and stages erecting along the roads. They are equipped with a lot of water hoses, ready to soak anyone pass by. They are also places where singing and dancing performances will take place later. You are really encouraged to join the locals!
DAY 3 (15 APRIL): YANGON – NGWE SAUNGE
Your wonderful tour are still going on today – Thingyan Akyat Nei. However, insteading of enjoying Burma’s lively water festival in Yangon, you can head for the peaceful and tranquil beach Ngwe Saung and celebrate the water fight at a different pace.
Approximately 190 kilometers from Yangon (a 4- or 5-hour drive), Ngwe Saung Beach is located on the Bay of Bengal. This is home to clear blue waters, white-crested waves, and unspoiled natural surroundings. Here, Mother Nature offers you a chance to admire its beautiful natural scenery and world-class hotels.
DAYS 4 (16 APRIL): NGWE SAUNG
The festival has turned its fourth day called Thingyan Akyat Nei. There are still celebrations of the festival here but on a much smaller scale. All you desire to is keep relaxing on the beach at Ngwe Saung. You can either swim in the ocean or lie in the sun at your seaside hotel. For dinner, there are plenty of food for you to choose, especially delicious fresh-caught seafood. You can find the beach busier because there are more and more people including locals and foreigners coming to enjoy a holiday away from the Yangon city center.
DAYS 5 (17 APRIL): NGWE SAUNG – YANGON
The festival day today is called Thingyan A Tat Nei and the celebrations continue. It’s time to say goodbye to leisure time in Ngwe Sauing and come back to Yangon for the last day of the festival.
DAY 6 (18 APRIL): YANGON
Burma’s Thingyan Water Festival has seen its last day – Hnit Hsan Ta Yet Nei, the actual New Year’s Day. After days of chaotics, peace are now everywhere in Yangon and Burma. All Buddhists throughout the country show respect to elders, cleanse Buddha images, and clean the pagodas. That is the way to follow the peaceful path of Buddha.
Shwedagon Pagoda is one of the ideal destinations for your to observe the Buddhist way of life and meritorious deeds of the Burmese. Here, merit seekers release birds from cages or release fish into nearby lakes and ponds so that they can “earn merit,” an important aspect of their religion.
Also, Buddhists spend time looking after their elder friends and family members by washing and bathing them with special soap made from acacia fruit and the bark of the linden tree. Observing Buddhist New Year’s Day at Shwedagon Pagoda is such an enriching and enlightening experience that your Yangon sightseeing tours can be completed.
