After having breakfast at the hotel, we take you on an off-beat adventure on this interactive half-day tour, not just to see Yangon’s spiritual Shwedagon Pagoda, but to experience the daily lives of people living in the community around this impressive monument. Learn about the history of Shwedagon and come out with a deeper insight into Myanmar’s Buddhism and how animist beliefs in spirits still play a part in Buddhist rituals and ceremonies. We begin this intriguing tour at the bottom of the hill and wend our way to the top through bustling streets, passing local businesses, workshops, markets and temples – all of which play an essential role in the upkeep and worship of Shwedagon Pagoda. The tour includes a traditional Burmese breakfast, offerings to the monks and the pagoda, a visit to a traditional fortune-teller, and a Burmese lunch. This tour includes a contribution to local charity initiatives. Discover a more mysterious side of Yangon with this walking tour that takes you to discover animist worship and ceremonial practices in the form of spirits called nats that even today still exist alongside Myanmar’s Theravada Buddhist beliefs. The tour begins with a traditional marionette puppet show that tells you the story of the uniquely-Burmese nat spirits and their place in local mythology. Called locally yoke thé, meaning literally ‘miniature’, traditional marionette puppets have been popular since the 17th century. At the end of this skillful display of puppetry, you will also be invited to have a go at working the puppets yourself – not as easy as it looks! After the show, enjoy dinner at LinkAge Restaurant & Art Gallery. You will continue to a local pagoda in downtown where a number of nat spirit statues can be seen. Your guide will explain the story behind them. Overnight at your accommodation.

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Cloud 10 Hotel

We pick you up at your hotel in Yangon around 06:30 for a transfer to the train station – we have reserved upper class seats for you at the train leaving at 07:15. Your journey starts over the track that also is used for Yangon’s famous circular train, and slowly you will see the scenery changing from the downtown Yangon to scenery of paddy fields. Travelling by train through Mon State towards Mawlamyine we pass the area which supposed to be the seat of the last capital of the Mon kingdom: the city called Suvannabhumi. Burmese archaeologists have recently started the search again for the exact location of this ancient city. We also pass the ancient city Thaton which is famous for its durian and betel nut (as is the whole of Mon state). Just before reaching Mawlamyine the train will cross a long bridge over the Thanlwin River. We suggest you to bring water, snacks and a good book on the train. Pictures of your home country are also always a good ice-breaker to meet other passengers on the train. Expected arrival time at Thaton is around 14:00 and upon arrival at Thaton train station, meet your guide for a private transfer to Mawlamyine. On arrival in the colonial city Mawlamyine we walk around the area with impressive buildings from the colonial times when writers like Orwell and Kipling were living in this city, visit the first Baptist church and the Seindon Mibaya Monastery. The last king of Myanmar, at the palace in Mandalay, came to power by killing many of the rival heirs to the throne at the end of the 19th century. Queen Seindon escaped and moved to what was called Moulmein in that period and became a Buddhist nun till her death (her tomb is in the compound in one of the nunneries). Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Cinderella Hotel

At 07:30 a tuk-tuk will pick you up to go to the jetty from where we take a private motorboat for a cruise over the Thanlwin (Salween) River – one of the longest rivers in Myanmar ending in Mon State. After about an hour we arrive at a small jetty in U Na Auk village from where you take a tuk-tuk to visit the amazing carvings and decorations or the temples and ordination hall donated to the village by Mr Na Auk. Mr Na Auk was a Mon trader, living in this area in the British period, and he was famous for his intelligence to trade and win from the big British companies and has been a symbol of being patriotic, have a good trading sense and be kind to his fellow country man. In modern schoolbooks his story is taught and everybody in the country knows his name and stories how he offered free transportation for the local people in his area, offered food and managed to compete with the British traders. The temple committee does not ask entrance fees, but a donation is greatly appreciated – we suggest a donation of 5,000 Kyats per person as the community really needs the money to keep the buildings in such a good shape. We continue the boat trip over the Thanlwin River with spectacular sights of Zwekabin and other limestone mountains rising from the rice fields. A highlight of the trip through this part of Myanmar. A simple lunch is served on board. Arrive around 14:00 in Hpa An – on arrival at the jetty you have to arrange a local motor taxi or tuk-tuk on your own to the hotel in the center of the town. Overnight at your accommodation

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Hotel Gabbana

Meet your guide for a tuk-tuk transfer to the starting point where we start the kayaking. Be prepared for a soft adventure day with a lot of activities and impression to experience real Kayin lifestyle. We start the day by small kayaks to go for a leisurely trip through the paddy fields for half an hour or so. If you don’t feel like paddling yourself, let us know, and we arrange a local Kayin man to paddle for you. We leave the kayaks behind and continue on foot through the forest visiting Kayin villages for a leisurely walk of about an hour. The Kayin community we visit, wears traditional clothes and are all vegetarian. A home cooked lunch is being served by the local host. We walk back and kayak to the starting point where we meet with the driver for a private transfer to the hotel. A great trip to get a feel for the real Kayin life in the nature. Attention: as the creeks in this rural part are quite shallow we use small kayaks to travel around which means that you could get wet – slippers, shorts and a t-shirt are recommended. It’s possible to shorten the village walk. After the tour, return to the hotel by tuk-tuk. Free at leisure in the afternoon. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Hotel Gabbana

In the morning, meet your bike guide at Hotel Gabbana. After a safety briefing and personalized bike fitting, cycling start to local villages and beautiful rice fields. Pass by Kyauk Ka Latt Pagoda and continue to the Kayin villages passing the paddy fields overlooking Mt. Zwekabin which is the landmark of Hpa an. You will have a chance to take the photos with the stunning views along the way. You will then have a break at the traditional Kayin village and have a tea and chit-chat with local people while your guide will assist you in interaction with local people. We continue the bike back to the hotel. Tour start and end at Hotel Gabbana (08:30-11:30). At 12:00, check out from hotel and own transfer to bus station. We have reserved a seat for you at the 13:00 A/C bus to Yangon. Expected arrival in Yangon at Aung Mingalar Bus station around 20:00. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Cloud 10 Hotel

Your guide and car will pick up at your hotel to transfer airport for your flight to Nyaung U (RGN-NYU AM flight). Upon arrival at Nyaung U airport, meet with your guide and car for sightseeing. This is Bagan: A Journey through the Centuries - Full day Your guide will meet you with a private car and driver for an activity-packed day that will take you to experience the wonders of Bagan, visiting some best-known temple ruins in the area. You begin by first climbing a hill to see a pagoda for an impressive view and orientation of Old Bagan. From the top, you will see the ancient ruins rising up from the rice plains in every direction. From here, your guide will plan a route in the car to some of the most famous temple ruins that have been here for centuries. Places like the Ananda, Dhammayangyi, Sulamani, and Thatbyinnyu, will leave you in awe of the skills of ancient craftsmen. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant and in the late afternoon you continue by horse and cart to a location where you can catch the setting sun as it slides below the horizon, lighting up gold the prangs and spires of this age-old kingdom. As you contemplate the sinking sun and a bygone age, you will be served a refreshingly cool drink. This tour includes a contribution to local charity initiatives. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Ananta Bagan

Leave around 08:00 from your hotel in Bagan and visit with the guide a temple in Bagan where the guide explains the history of Pakannge. We continue by private car and guide to Pakannge (about 2 hours’ drive) and stop on the way in a small factory where the delicious dry zone tamarind flakes are produced. After this short and tasty stop continue to one of the ancient temples and discover the history of this unknown archaeological site with some hidden temples and monasteries. Lunch is served at a local wooden monastery, and we have time to walk through the rural riverside village where time stood still. We end the afternoon with a visit to the fantastic monastery complex with the long teak wooden walk way in the nearby village and continue to Salay town where we stay overnight at the small boutique inn recently opened in the town located at the bank of Ayeyarwaddy River. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Salay River View Inn

From Kalaw (or from Heho airport if you arrive around 10:00) we bring you by car to Pinlaung (about 3 hours’ drive) where you are being welcomed by a local family, for a traditional home-cooked Shan lunch. Go for a short walk around town and pass by the ruins of the former old wooden palace from the last Sawbwa (prince) of the Pinlaung principality. Drive to the newly-discovered maze cave with buddha statues about 3 km away from Pinlaung. Use the flashlight provided and stick with your guide in case you get lost! After that, continue to Loikaw where you say goodbye to our Shan guide, and you will be greeted by Kayah guide. Overnight at your accommodation

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Loikaw Lodge Hotel and Cafe

The Dutch organization CBI has set up a program in Kayah state to ensure that communities benefit from tourism and organize excursions sustainably. 2 of their projects will be visited during the stay in Loikaw. We start the morning with a visit to the always bustling morning market in Loikaw and the former palace of the Kayah prince. Continue by car to Pemsong village where we start a trekking: Trail of the Ancestors. During about 2 hours a local community guide will walk along with you and the translator guide and tell the story of their ancestors including all beliefs in spirits, the importance of the totem pole and herbal medicines. The first 30 min is uphill followed by mainly flat parts, the views are always stunning and a delicious picnic lunch is served half way. From here we continue to Kasae Kum village where we will see some local handicrafts like bracelet making, bamboo cups, weaving and sculptures. An excellent opportunity to learn about the legends of the long neck women. Your last stop is an of the Kayah villages where you will meet more long neck women. We drive towards Loikaw. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Loikaw Lodge Hotel and Cafe

In the morning we visit by car the Hta Nee La Leh and meet some of the community members who explain (translation by your guide) their shrines where animist traditions are practiced. An easy stroll through the community. Continue by oxcart for a 30-min scenic ride before heading by car to a local family house where a Kayah Barbecue lunch has been set up for you. Shortly after lunch we drive to Pekon where you say farewell to Kayah State and continue by private boat over the wide Pekon Lake in about 2 hours to Phaya Taung village. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: The Inle Sanctuary Resort

We continue by private boat and drive northwards to Nyaung Shwe (or your hotel on the lake). On the way we visit Hmawbi temple ruins and other sights the lake is famous for. Inle Lake in southern Shan State is a vast natural lake surrounded by traditional Shan villages. On the lake itself the Intha people have been living for many centuries in a village built entirely on stilts on the lake. Today we will take you by private motorboat around the lake to discover the natural beauty of the lake, visit the floating gardens, see some famous leg rowers and have some tea at a local family’s house. We will certainly also visit a local cheroot factory (where the Burmese cigars are made), floating tomato gardens, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, an Intha house where a traditional Intha lunch is served and if wanted we visit a weaving factory. We suggest you to spend 2 or 3 nights in Nyaung Shwe or Inle Lake area for further trekking, biking, kayaking or other visits on the lake by boat. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Ananta Inlay

This half-day tour begins with a visit to Indein Pagoda, a temple with an impressive collection of stupas in the village of Indein, southwest of Inle Lake. Surrounded by wild terrain, hills and mountains, the site seems almost to have grown out of the landscape. You then continue with a walk around Inle Lake, enjoying the fantastic views of this large expanse of water and the rural countryside and farms around. For lunch, you will enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal served at the house of an ethnic Intha family, whose people have been living on the lake for many centuries in wooden houses built entirely on stilts. After lunch, you continue toward Nam Pan village for a unique boat trip on the lake in a traditional canoe, paddled by the canoe’s owner. After the tour, you return by motorboat to your hotel. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Ananta Inlay

One of the most distinctive hill tribes of Shan State is the ethnic Pa'O people, who are skilled farmers and tradesmen, known for wearing black or navy blue dress with colorful turbans. During this full-day trek, you will learn about the lifestyle of the Pa'O people, visit their villages, try their food and even get a chance to try on their traditional dress, which can be fun for photos! You begin the tour with a boat ride to the starting point, if your hotel is situated on the lake. You then begin the trek, a 2.5-hour walk up a gradual ascent to the first Pa'O village. Here you will have the chance to talk with monks at a local monastery and try on the traditional Pa'O dress. You then continue on for a short time to another village where a traditional vegetarian Pa'O lunch will be served with dishes like ginger soup, and pumpkin- and zucchini-leaf salads. After the delicious home-cooked meal, there’s some time to relax, before continuing the trek into the rural highlands, passing through colorful fields of ginger, garlic and turmeric, with spectacular views of the lake below. On the way back, you make one last stop at a viewpoint overlooking the lake, before climbing aboard the motorboat for the trip back to your hotel. Overnight at your accommodation

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range: 3* hotels: Ananta Inlay