Myanmar Great Cultural Tour

Place to visit :Yangon – Bagan – Mandalay
Tour Type : Classic Tours
Price From: 425$
Physical rating : Moderate
Duration: 4 days 3 nights
Tour Style: Private

Day by Day Tours

Day 01: Yangon Arrival – Sightseeing (D)
Day 02: Yangon – Bagan Temple Plain (B)
Day 03: Bagan – Mandalay – Mingun – Royal Palace
Day 04: Mandalay – Ancient Capitals – Departure

Tour Prices (US$/person)

From May to September
Group of 02 persons  : US$ 500
Group of 04 persons  : US$ 425
Single Supplement: US$ 75

From October to April
Group of 02 persons  : US$ 520
Group of 04 persons  : US$ 450
Single Supplement: US$ 99

Important notes:
Surcharge in Peak Times eg: Christmas, New Year Eve, and Water festival may be applicable.

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 01: Yangon Arrival – Sightseeing (D)

Welcome to golden land, 
Upon arrival, Myanmar tour guide will meet you at airport after your easy visa procedure. Spend about 45 minutes on car, we will reach to Yangon city Center.

Take the rest of the day for a visiting to Chautatkhgyi pagoda, famed for the biggest reclining Buddha statue in Myanmar. This pagoda is built in 1966 replacing the old image built in 1907 by Sir Hpo Thar. But it was suffered damage due to climate over the years. In 1957 it was demolished and rebuilt to this structure in 1966. It measures 65 meters and is housed in an iron structure with corrugated iron sheets roof of six layers. Followed by a pleasant walk in royal place where you will admire the magnificent gold Karaweik birds appear to float majestically on the serene Kandawgyi Lake, adjacent to serene parkland. The allure of it’s unique architectural beauty and representation of Myanmar culture has drawn curious and intrigued travellers and admirers from near and far for decades.

Late afternoon, visit the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda of Rudyard Kipling fame and one of Myanmar’s most sacred places. The massive bell shaped stupa is plated with gold and the tip of the stupa is set with diamonds and rubies, sapphires and topaz – a stunning sight as the sun sets and a most fitting place to begin our trip in this “Golden Land”.

Enjoy a very nice welcome dinner with Burmese cuisine at a local restaurant.

Meal: Welcome Dinner.  Accommodation: Hotel in Yangon

Day 02: Yangon – Bagan Temple Plain (B)

This morning, transfer to the airport for your flight to the ancient capital of Bagan, one of Asia’s most extraordinary destinations. Head into the vibrant Nyaung Oo Market, the economic center of Bagan. At this bustling market, locals meet daily to buy and sell a variety of goods, from fruit and vegetables to clothing, china, and lacquerware.

Continue to the gold-plated Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan’s greatest reliquary, built to house relics of the Buddha brought from abroad. At the entrance of the pagoda there are large statues of guardians of the temple. There are also four bronze standing statues of Buddha which are stated to be of the current age Buddha.  At the outer limits of the pagoda there are 37 nats deified along with an intricately carved wooden sculpture of Thagyamin a Burmese version of Hindu god Indra.

From here, drive to the small village of Wetkyi-inn to see the wonderful Gubyaukgyi Temple, renowned for its ancient murals. Your morning excursion also includes the Htilominlo Temple, which houses four Buddha figures on the ground floor and four more on the first floor. After your own lunch, continue your exploration of the city’s treasure trove of Buddhist art and architecture.
Take a visit to Ananda Temple, home to four great, gilded Buddha statues. Ananda Temple displays delicate stone-carved facades and an impressive pyramid-shape structure, with a magnificent gilted central tower that can be seen from far away.

Meal: Breakfast . Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan

Day 03: Bagan – Mandalay – Mingun – Royal Palace

Start your sightseeing today with a boat ride upstream to Mingun- home to Uncomplete Wall, Sandamuni pagoda and Mingun ringing bell. The boat trip takes 1 hour up-river and 40 minutes down-river. From the pier you can either walk to the pagoda.

The Mingun Pahtotawgyi makes for an impressive site on the banks of the Irrawaddy River. In front of the pagoda facing the river are the remains of two giant lions about 29 meters high for guarding the temples. You can climb to the top of the Pagoda using a stairway to the right side of the structure.

Then, we will visit Mingun Bell – the largest bell in the world with 3.7 meters long and 90 tons weight.
During the trip, our local expert will be pleased to introduce you the life of people who live on the banks of Irrawaddy River.

After lunch, we will discover the royal Mandalay vestiges and relics covering Imperial Palace, Golden Palace Monastery and Kuthodaw Pagoda also known as the world biggest book. The stupa itself, connected to the outside entry by means of a long corridor, is set in the middle of a thirteen acre field of 729 pitaka pagodas or shrines. Each shrine contains a marble slab, inscribed on both sides with the Pali script text of a portion the Tipitaka (Pali spelling, or Tripitaka, in Sanskrit), Theravada Buddhism’s sacred texts

The highlight of this day is the panoramic sunset from the peak of Mandalay Hill.

Meal: Breakfast. Accommodation: Hotel in Mandalay

Day 04: Mandalay – Ancient Capitals – Departure

Venture outside the city to the Buddha land of Sagaing. This religion hub presents the education for monks with different level. After visiting Sagaing University, we will proceed to visit Buddha cave and U Min Thonze Pagoda, Soon U Pon Nya Shin Pagoda, Tupayon temple where you can enjoy the great view of Mandalay.This afternoon, we will travel to Ava, Amarapura to discover the Maha Aungmye Bonzan – one of the few monasteries of its day that was built of brick instead of wood, but its style is that of the traditional wooden monastery; Gabaya Wooden Monastery which stands in the middle of wide paddy fields, with palms, banana trees and thorny green bushes clustered in profusion around its shady base.

Then, we will visit Leaning Nam Myint Tower and the nearby attractions.

Enjoy a walk over U Bein bridge, the longest teak wood bridge in Myanmar.

Transfer to the airport for your late flight back to your home.

End of services.

Meal: Breakfast.  Accommodation: N/A

TOUR ENDS

Tour Price

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Essential Notes

Passports and Visas

The first thing goes first. You definitely must obtain valid VISA in order to travel into any country and so is Myanmar (Burma). Unless your country is in VISA exemption list, it is your responsibility to get valid VISA before arrival. There are two ways to get Myanmar VISA:

• Go to Myanmar Embassies and Consulates in your home country and you will be guided procedure. You may want to check the list of countries where Myanmar has embassies and consulate offices by clicking here.
• Obtain VISA On Arrival (VOA). For tourists coming from countries has no Myanmar Diplomatic Rep offices, you can obtain VOA online via www.myanmarevisa.gov.mm – the official portal for VOA by Myanmar government. The portal launched in Sep 01, 2014 and took its pilot operation for a month. Providing you encounter any issue, please contact us for support.

Climate & Clothing

Generally speaking, Myanmar is a tropical country with rather hot weather. Sometimes in year or in some Northern places, temperature cools down but not that can be called cold. Roughly saying that the best time to travel Myanmar is from Oct to March due to dry and cool season. Other months, however, you may get very nice deals of promotion.For clothing: comfortable clothes, absolutely. We suggest you should take at least one long pan, a long skirt and a sleeve top because we will visit some religious site and many of them require proper code of dress.All of temples and pagodas require you enter with bare feet. A pair of sandals is highly recommended.

Cell Phones & Calling Cards

You may wish to carry a cell phone while traveling. Check with your cell phone provider if your phone will work in the destination(s) you are visiting. Myanmar service is dominated by the GMS technology standard, while some of the world such as U.S uses the incompatible CDMA standard. We suggest that you should check carefully or you may incur high international roaming fees.We said previously “the SIM card in Myanmar is not very popular and still quite expensive”. But now, forget it! SIM cards in Myanmar now are cheap and easy to buy in any main city as cheap as about US$ 02 each. Cell phones, even smart phones are available on sales widely.

Making Telephone Calls from One Country to Another

When dialing a number from one country to another, you should proceed as follows: dial your country’s Exit Code + destination Country Code + Phone Number. Country Code of Myanmar is 95.

Wireless Internet Access

Passengers traveling with WiFi enabled devices (such as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or digital audio player) may be able to connect to the internet via a wireless network access point (or hotspot). Wifi is now popular in most hotels from three stars up. Most of them are supplying Free Wifi but some may incur extra charges. We suggest you should ask the receptionist before.

Cards and Currency

Myanmar’s national currency, the KYAT (pronounced chat, abbreviated in MMK) is divided into the following banknotes: K1, K5, K10, K20, K50, K100, K200, K500 and K1000.We once said “ATMs are still very hard to come” but from my latest inspection of Myanmar, the country now starts using ATMs. Most three stars hotels up often have at least one AMT machine right at their lobbies. Main hotels now accepts credit cards payment.Anyway, we suggest you should bring with some cashes just in case. Local buying there accept Burmese and US dollars widely. However please pay at attention when bring US notes with you:

• The US$ notes must be new.
• The US$ notes torn, marked, folded will not be accepted.
• The US$ notes having series before 2003 backward may not accepted.

You are allowed to bring up to US$ 5000 in cash per person to enter Myanmar.

Trip Preparation

A little pre-planning can make your trip go a lot smoother. We suggest you should taking a checklist below:

• Several weeks before your trip, make a list of what you will need to take with you.
• Make sure your personal documents (passports, visas, driver’s license) are in order.
• We suggest that you make photocopies of passports, visas, personal ID and any other important travel documents and pack them separately from the originals. If you lose the originals while traveling, you’ll have copies for easier reporting and replacement.
• You may consider bringing a small supply of over the counter medications for headaches and/or anti-diarrhea pills. Pack a list of medications including dosage and generic names.
• We recommend that you pack a portable alarm clock.
• Avoid placing valuables such as cameras in your checked luggage.

Happy Travelling with CRYSTAL HOLIDAYS ASIA!

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