Luxury Myanmar Vacation – 13 Days

Take the short morning flight to Bagan, where your guide meets you on arrival. Begin in the countryside, calling in on a village household for a warm welcome and a glimpse of rural life that has changed little in generations.

Climb aboard a horse cart and clip slowly along dusty tracks between the temples, taking paths that cars rarely reach. Stop at the golden Shwezigon Pagoda, one of Bagan’s most important shrines, where your guide explains the beliefs and customs of Burmese Buddhism.

Continue to Ananda Temple, one of the finest, largest and best preserved temples of Old Bagan, its corridors watched over by four towering standing Buddhas.

End the day watching the sun sink over the temple plain from one of the tallest pagodas in Bagan.

Rise before dawn and sip coffee or tea at the launch site as the balloons fill. As the first light touches the horizon, you drift silently above the plain, with thousands of temples emerging from the morning mist and the shade of the trees below. The flight lasts about an hour, and on landing, sparkling wine and refreshments are waiting.

Return to your hotel to check out, then make your way to the quay, where the Anawrahta is moored. The crew welcome you aboard with refreshments and show you to your cabin, your home for the next four nights.

Enjoy lunch as the ship sails to Pakokku, an old trading town on the western bank of the river, known for its tobacco. Visit a cheroot-rolling workshop and a maker of traditional Burmese slippers, then the Shwegu Temple, famous for its intricate carvings in rare Yamanei wood.

As the sun bathes the river in gold, dress up for “A Toast to the Past” in Kipling’s Bar, a British club evening of cigars, gin and tonic and tales of colonial Burma. Dinner follows in the Hintha Hall, and afterwards there may be a classic film under the stars on the sun deck.

Early risers can join a yoga class on deck in the first light of the day.

Over breakfast, the ship passes the meeting point of the Irrawaddy and its greatest tributary, the Chindwin. Step ashore at Yandabo, a small village with a big place in history: the treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War was signed here. Today it is known for its earthenware pots, which keep water cool in the heat. Walk through the village with your guide and try your hand at the potter’s wheel.

After a lunch buffet on board, stretch out on the sun deck as the scenery drifts by, or book a treatment in the spa. Later, the crew show you how to tie a longyi, the traditional Burmese sarong, and apply thanaka, the natural cosmetic paste worn on the cheeks, followed by a talk on the history and culture of Myanmar.

Dinner is served in the Hintha Hall.

Start the day with a yoga session on deck, then breakfast as the ship sails on to Ava.

Go ashore at Ava, a former royal capital of Burma, and explore by horse cart. Visit Bagaya Kyaung, an ancient monastery built entirely of teak, the yellow stucco Maha Aung Mye Bonzan monastery and the leaning Nanmyint watchtower.

Back on board for lunch, the ship continues north towards Mandalay, past Sagaing Hill, its slopes dotted with hundreds of white and golden stupas, and drops anchor in the early afternoon.

Discover the craft traditions of Mandalay: watch the rhythmic beating of gold leaf, look inside a silk-weaving workshop and walk along streets lined with marble carvers. Then comes the highlight of the day, a sunset boat ride around U Bein Bridge, the world’s longest teak bridge, as locals and monks stroll across it silhouetted against the sky.

Dinner on board is followed by a traditional performance, and another classic film in the open-air cinema.

Start at Kuthodaw Pagoda, known as “the world’s largest book”: a gilded temple surrounded by 729 small white shrines, each holding a marble slab inscribed with the Buddha’s teachings. Continue to Mahamuni Pagoda, home to the most revered Buddha image in the country, layered in gold leaf by devotees, then to Shwenandaw Monastery, a masterpiece of carved teak and the only original part of the old Royal Palace still standing.

After lunch on board, the ship sails to Mingun. Here stands Mingun Pahtodawgyi, a colossal brick pagoda that was left unfinished when a prophecy warned the king that he would die if it were ever completed. Walk on to the Mingun Bell, one of the largest ringing bells in the world, then return to the ship for drinks and snacks as you sail back to Mandalay.

Enjoy your last dinner on board, followed by farewell entertainment from the crew.

After breakfast, say goodbye to the crew and fly to Heho, the gateway to Inle Lake. Your guide meets you and drives you to Nyaungshwe, where a boat carries you across the water to your hotel.

After a short break, head out by boat to explore the lake. Visit Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the holiest site in southern Shan State, which enshrines five ancient Buddha images so covered in gold leaf that they have become shapeless. Along the way, stop at stilt-house workshops to watch silk weavers and blacksmiths at work, then visit Nga Phe Chaung, a large old teak monastery standing on stilts above the water. End at Nampan village, where the Intha and Shan people roll cheroots and carve canoes by hand.

Begin at the local market, which moves between villages around the lake on a five-day cycle. Hill tribe people in colourful dress come down to trade, and you may see monks collecting their morning alms.

Take a boat along narrow canals through the floating gardens to Indein, a village known for its hillside complex of ancient stupas, some crumbling and covered in moss, others glittering with gold. Walk up the long covered walkway, lined with stalls selling crafts and curios.

Your guide then takes you to meet Kayan women, known for the brass coils they wear around their necks, who live in stilt houses and make their living from traditional weaving. On the way back across the lake, watch for the Intha fishermen, who row standing on one leg and wrap the other around the oar, and get your camera ready.

Check out and transfer to the airport for your flight to Thandwe. Your guide meets you on arrival and takes you to Ngapali Beach to check in to your resort.

Settle in, swim and stroll along the long stretch of white sand. If you feel like it, borrow a bicycle and ride to a nearby fishing village.

Find a spot on the sand and watch the sun go down over the sea.

Cycle to the fishing and pottery villages near the beach, where friendly locals are happy to stop for a chat and show you how they live and work. If you love the sea, spend a few hours snorkelling among the reef fish, or simply stay on the beach with a book.

Along with the simple pleasures of the beach, you can visit the local market to watch the day’s trading, then take a boat out to the small islets just off the shore.

Fly back to Yangon, where your driver takes you into the old downtown, past the faded grandeur of its colonial buildings, among them the Post Office, the Strand Hotel, Maha Bandula Garden and the Independence Monument.

Visit Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda, home to a 66-metre Reclining Buddha, one of the most revered images in the country, with traditional symbols carved on the soles of its feet. Then see Karaweik Palace, a golden replica of a royal barge floating on Kandawgyi Lake and one of the city’s favourite photo stops.

End at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the most famous landmark in Myanmar. Its great golden stupa rises about 99 metres and is crowned with thousands of diamonds, rubies and sapphires. Take your time walking barefoot around the terrace among the pilgrims as the gold glows in the setting sun, then return to your hotel in the evening.

Enjoy a final breakfast and a last morning at leisure.

At the agreed time, transfer to the airport for your international flight home.