Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Meal is not included on this day.

After breakfast at the hotel, we will start our trip from Chiang Mai (Thailand) to Tachileik (Myanmar) with sightseeing stops on this golden triangle route.

The highlights of this trip are Mae Kajan Hot Spring, Long Neck Village, Golden Triangle area, Chiang San (including a visit to Wat Pa Sak) and Mai Sai area.

In the afternoon around 4:30pm, we will cross the border into Myanmar by passing immigration gate with our Thailand guide. Once we arrive at Tachileik (the border town of Myanmar’s side), we will meet up with our Burmese guide, who will welcome you to the country. We’ll then bid our Thailand guide farewell before we drive to the hotel for check-in. The remainder of the evening is at leisure.

Being a border town you can expect to see a fascinating mixture of people, Burmese and Thai population including all the Hill tribes of Northern Thailand/ Burma. 

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Suggestions for your free time:

Inle Lake has everything you could want – long bike rides in the countryside, the perfect place to chill out or get active. Hire bicycles and ride through the villages and winery gardens. You will pass by buffalo in the water, farmers working in the fields, children playing and trucks full of young monks. It’s a beautiful place with lots to do.

Looking down over the lake from the Taunggyi road, Inle lies in an enormous carpet of greenery. Dotted around the lake are the stilt-house villages and floating gardens of the Intha tribe. The Intha technique of leg rowing – where one leg is wrapped around the paddle to drive the blade through the water in a snake-like motion – is unique.

With our Inle Lake boat tour, you will experience a unique way of life that has lived on through generations, whilst exploring the culturally significant surrounds that form part of this beautiful region of Myanmar.  You will be provided with a life jacket and easy seat for each person on the boat.

Inle lake sightseeing will be filled with visit to:

• PHAUNG-DAW-OO PAGODA, the most important symbol of religion of Shan State
• NGA-PHE-CHAUNG MONASTERY, attractive wooden monastery
• FLOATING VILLAGES (INNPAW KHONE, POUK PAR, YWA MA, KHAR TAW)

A visit to these sights provides deep insight into how the people on the lake make their livings, you can enjoy Unique One Leg rowing fisherman, Lotus and silk weaving, boat making and cheroot making.

• After lunch proceed to Indein. And take a short trek to Indein Pagoda. On the way, you can enjoy the serene atmosphere as you wander through artfully scattered 8th century Pagodas in ruins covered by trees and bushes.
• Then observe Intha tribes Village lives and enjoy the local market along the shore.

Finally, we will return to the hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast

Enjoy at leisure for your whole morning. In the afternoon, take a short flight (flight time is approximately 30 minutes) to Mandalay. Once at Mandalay airport, you will be transferred to the hotel. The remainder of the evening is at leisure.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast

Suggestion for your free time:

Walking distance to a Night Market. This market has become the modern Chinatown of Mandalay. They sell mostly fruits and vegetables, but there are many street food stalls, that sell almost all types of Chinese cuisine. To taste great Chinese food at unbeatable prices, you have to come to this market. It is very lively and busy. In the opposite direction is the Mandalay Fort and Moat. The walk around the fort is beautiful and a nice way to see this part of Mandalay.

After breakfast at the hotel, we will set off to explore Mandalay city. This city is famous for being the old royal capital of Myanmar.

The highlights of the tour are:

• Shwenandaw Monastery, an ornate building made completely out of teak, and learn about Buddhist myths from your guide as admire the delicate and ornate carvings on its walls and roofs;
• Kuthodaw Pagoda, with 729 shrines that each has a single marble slab containing a Buddhist teaching;
• Royal Palace, filled with ancient artifacts and life-sized statues of King Mindon Min and King Thibaw Min;
• a “must visit in Mandalay” Mahamuni Buddha Temple, famous for its life like Buddha image;
• Tatkyi village; where the economy of the whole village is based on making clay potteries such as teapots, tea cups, platters, flower vases and much more. You can learn, experience and partake in the process of potteries such as wheel throwing, handbuilding, trimming, decorating and more;
• Finally, drive to promenade U Bein teak bridge, the world’s longest teak structure at 1.2 km / 3.4 miles long, for a magical sunset view before you get dropped off back at your hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast at the hotel, you will take a private minibus or car to drive to Bagan. Along the way, you can witness the true local life of Myanmar. The driving time is around 4 hours. On arrival, we’ll check-in the hotel. After having a short relaxing time, we’ll drive to a local restaurant for lunch.

After lunch, we will drive to the place to watch the time consuming and intricate production of quality lacquer ware. Some of the finest are flexible, and made around bamboo and twisted horse hair.

Next, we’ll set off to explore a village of Taungbe where we can meet with local family and learn local businesses.  While not the home of any great monuments or temples, our walk through this peaceful village really is a nice change of pace from the hectic pace of cities. We’ll also visit a 150-year-old wooden monastery that’s in the village.

In time for the sunset, we’ll drive to the jetty to spend the whole evening enjoying a sunset boat ride along the mighty Irrawaddy River. We’ll return to the hotel at the end of the tour.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals: Breakfast