Upon arrival at Yangon International Airport, you’ll be met by your guide and you’ll be transferred to the hotel for check-in. Enjoy your time at leisure until late afternoon.

Then, we’ll set off to begin your culinary holiday in Myanmar with an evening street foods tour.

As the sun sets, the glowing embers of the street food vendors illuminate the delicious delicacies surrounding Maha Bandula Park, where we begin our exploration into Yangon’s evening street food scene. Winding our way through the side alleys of downtown’s historic and ethnically rich neighbor hoods including Little India and China Town, we’ll drop by some of our favourite stalls and family owned eateries. Introducing you to a fascinating produce market, we’ll finish up at our favourite 19th St BBQ joint where fish and cold beer perfectly compliment the people watching opportunities.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

• Illuminated by candles and make shift lighting we’ll pass through a very atmospheric street market selling all manner of food produce not on any tourist route radar.
• “Mote Lin Ma Yar”, or couple’s snack, because the two halves are grilled separately to golden-brown perfection and then combined into a single piece
• “Yay Mote”, or Myanmar pancake, one of the most popular street foods in Myanmar
• “Mote Hin Gar”, Myanmar’s unofficial national dish, a fish based broth with rice noodles and lots of condiments that make Southeast Asian cuisine so delicious
• Pickled tea leaf “La Phat Thote” covered in crunchy beans and seed with local peanut oil has anti-oxidants and gives you a little caffeine buzz
• Sometimes side by side you’ll pass ancient Buddhist pagodas, churches, mosques, Hindu temples and Chinese Buddhist temples reflecting the diversity of Yangon’s population and culinary heritage
• No one’s forcing you but the deep fried bugs are the perfect beer snack and rich in protein
• Chinatown used to be famous for its opium dens but nowadays BBQ fresh water fish stuffed with lime, chilli, garlic and coriander accompanied by Myanmar beer is the new craze

We’ll return to the hotel at the end of the tour.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Dinner

Today after breakfast, we’ll catch a flight to Bagan from Yangon Airport.

Bagan is a deeply historical city that’s home to a veritable forest of stupas and temples. Serving as the capital of Myanmar from the 11th to 13th centuries, Bagan still retains many of the religious structures built by the kingdom’s devout rulers.

Today you’ll explore Bagan’s most iconic pagodas. You’ll start at Shwezigon Pagoda, the prototype of Burmese stupas, then continue on to the enigmatic cave temple of Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi, which houses exquisite jataka murals. You’ll also visit Htilominlo Temple, renowned for its plaster carvings and glazed sandstone flourishes.

For lunch, you’ll be treated to a meal of authentic local dishes at a local restaurant.

After lunch, we’ll visit Ananda Temple, an early Bagan masterpiece built in the 12th century. You’ll also visit Ananda Ok Kyaung, a rare brick monastery that still survives from the early Bagan period, and Thatbyinnyu, the tallest temple in Bagan. Next, enjoy a tour through the stupa-studded landscape in a horse-drawn carriage. En route, you’ll pass Taungbi village, Sulamani Temple and Dhammayangyi Temple, famed for its brickwork.

Finally, watch the sunset over Bagan from an atmospheric vantage point before return to the hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, go on a guided exploration of Nyaung Oo Market. Your guide will point out and explain the different varieties of herbs, produce, chilis, pastes and local sauces used in Burmese cuisine.

We’ll continue our tour to see a local cottage industry in action: you’ll visit a shop that makes pe chaung, a popular local snack made from chickpeas.

Next, your Myanmar culinary tour heads outside city limits to a palm garden, where you’ll visit the family of a toddy palm climber. Observe the climbers’ simple way of life, and see their skill as they collect juice from the fruit and process it into alcohol, molasses and other items.

In the afternoon, we’ll drive back to Bagan. For lunch, we’ll sit down at a local restaurant to enjoy a traditional lunch.

After lunch, we’ll set off to visit a workshop that creates lacquerware. You’ll see local artisans at work, drawing intricate patterns and decorative figures by hand.

As the sun begins to set, we’ll head to the Irrawaddy River and enjoy a river cruise, drinking in twilight views of the surrounding villages and temples.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast at the hotel, you will take a private car to go to Mandalay.  Along the way, you can witness the true local life of Myanmar.  This drive will take around 4 hours.

On arrival, we’ll check-in the hotel. For lunch, we’ll head to a local teahouse to indulge in two of Mandalay’s most famous dishes: Mandalay monte and khotaung monte. Teahouses in Mandalay serve as places to socialize and do business as much as they are places to eat. Over lunch, you’ll see many locals gather here to chat and eat, and you may even see a car salesman or real estate broker spend the entire day at the shop in the hope of finding new customers.

After lunch, you’ll jump into the local culture with a visit to Mahamuni Pagoda, which is famed for its gold-leaf-covered Buddha statue. Continue on an insightful tour of traditional artisan workshops, discovering why Mandalay is considered Myanmar’s center of skilled craftsmanship. You’ll witness artisans creating Kalaga tapestry, gold leaf and marble masonry.

Next, we’ll visit Kuthodaw Pagoda and see the world’s biggest book—729 marble slabs engraved with Buddhist scriptures—and Shwenandaw Monastery to see its famous woodcarving.

To end the day, we’ll drive to the famous U Bein Bridge for a stunning sunset view.  This U Bein Bridge is1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) and built around 1850 and is believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world.  Really nice to walk on the bridge under sunset.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for a flight to Heho, where a scenic one-hour drive leads to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway village to Inle Lake, to check-in the hotel.

After taking a short relaxing time at the hotel, we’ll jump in a tuk-tuk to the bustling canal which is a hive of activity in the morning as boats from the lake come in to unload tomatoes and other vegetables for distribution to markets around the country. Watch as baskets laden with produce are transferred from boats to trucks and bikes.

Hop back on the tuk-tuk and wind through quiet peaceful streets. Make a stop at the ‘Tomato House’, a warehouse-like structure where tomatoes are sorted and priced for sale. Then, continue past some of the many monasteries and nunneries in the town, stopping for photos at will.

Continue our journey to View Point, a wonderful dining venue that specializes in creative Shan tapas, for lunch.

Then, board a private boat to head out onto Inle Lake, one of Myanmar’s most spectacular and iconic sights. Pass villages built on stilts over the lake, inhabited by the local Intha people. Observe the leg-rowing fishermen and see their floating gardens built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud, and anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles. Visit Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the lake’s main sanctuary, which contains five sacred Buddha images covered in gold leaf.

We’ll return to the hotel at the end of the tour.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, join the cooking class that starts with a market tour in which your chef will show you the whole market, explained lots of stuff and buy what you needed to cook. The chef will ask you if you like some type of food in particular.

Follow the chef to the classroom and be presented with an apron and recipe book.

It’s time to begin preparing a series of traditional Inthar and Burmese dishes.  The head chef will explain each step.  Typical dishes include mint fish soup, long bean salad, fried spring onion and Burmese chicken and potato curry. Once the dishes are prepared and the aprons dirtied, head to the adjoining dining room to taste the creations.

Your cooking class will be over around 1:00pm.

You’ll then be transferred back to the hotel to enjoy this afternoon at leisure.

In the late afternoon, we’ll take a tuk-tuk to Red Mountain for a wine tasting amidst magnificent views. At the Red Mountain Estate Vineyards and Winery, you’ll gaze out over the stilted villages of Inle Lake, sample local wines and learn about the grape varieties grown on the estate.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast at hotel, you will be transferred to the airport to take a short flight back to Yangon.  On your arrival, you will be met by your transfer team and you will then be transferred to the hotel.  The remainder of the day is at leisure in Yangon.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast

Breakfast and free time until time to go to the airport for departure flight.  Then, transfer you to the Yangon International Airport three hours prior according to your flight departure time.

Meals: Breakfast