THE TRIP

ARRIVAL YANGON

Upon arrival at Yangon international airport, you will be met by the guide and driver for a private transfer to the hotel.
In the evening start your walking tour to china town, there will be local snacks to be tasted as well as a local draft beer or fresh lime juice. The tour includes drinks, a walk over the night market in downtown, tea and snacks as well as a tasty bowl of noodles shared with some locals.

YANGON

Spiritual Shwedagon Pagoda with guide & taxi – half day
So what’s behind the golden façade of the Shwedagon Pagoda? During this interactive half-day tour we take you through the back door and show you the full history of the pagoda, the daily life of all people living in the immediate surroundings of the pagoda, and a deeper insight in the Buddhist religion and how the spiritual belief is mixed with the belief in nats – the Myanmar spirits. An intriguing half-day tour starting from the bottom of the hill and passing the workshops, markets, and monasteries which will be useful or even essential to understand more of the country during the rest of your journey.

YANGON – HSIPAW BY PUBLIC BUS

Biking Tour: “Islands and Rivers”, YGN-021 – half-day (Join-in tour)
(07:30 am to 12:00 noon) joining biking tour operated by Uncharted Horizons Myanmar
We start the tour at 07:30 am (own transfer from hotel to the starting point) from the starting point at Uncharted Horizons Myanmar office. After a short 10 minutes cycling through downtown Yangon, we reach to the Pansodan jetty, where we board the big ferry to Dalah, across the Yangon River. We’ll be exploring the little-visited neighborhoods and backstreets of Dalah and also visit the famous golden monk. Leaving Dalah towards Twante, we follow the country road for 20 minutes, before we reach Pyawkalay village, where we have a stop at a local teashop and then cross the Twante canal on a small ferry to Kanaungto river-island, which is completely car-free and beautiful to explore by bike! We’ll spend 1 ½ hours of relaxed cycling there, before we reach the village of Seik Kyi, from where we board another boat, that will take us across the canal and Yangon river (great views!) back to the Yangon Jetty at Strand road. On the way back we visit the famous Khen Hock Kheong Chinese temple, before heading past Sule pagoda back to our office on 46th street, where a cold 100Plus isotonic drink waits for all finishers!

BAGAN

You will arrive at Bagan around 06:00, own transfer to the hotel. (Early check is subject to availability)

Free at leisure in the on your own until the evening tour.

Bagan temples & food by night -BGN-015
During this exhilarating excursion, we visit some of the classic as well as some of the hidden temples from Bagan after the sun has set. The private guided trip includes the extraordinary Ananda temple entered at a time very few others are around and a beautiful lesser-known temple lit by the moon. Experience how the Bagan temples feel like in the evening and wonder if the spirit of the past is still around. During the 3 hours excursion, we are tasting some typical snacks that are usually served at night during temple festivals and we have dinner at a nearby restaurant. The trip is done partly by car and partly on foot.

BAGAN

Morning helping Bagan Plastic Campaign and cleaning the site.
In the afternoon, start your following biking tour to the countryside.
Discover the Myanmar countryside by bike and boat (Join-in) – BGN-018 – Half day
One of the best ways to explore the Myanmar countryside is by crossing the Ayeyarwaddy River by boat and bike around the villages, farms and fields and see the rural side of daily life in Myanmar. During this leisurely 22 km trip, you have plenty of picture opportunities and we stop to explain to you more about agriculture and local crafts in the area. As you continue to explore local markets, you can observe local people’s normal routines, cultures and traditions. We finish the trip in a leisurely way on the river while watching the sunset while drinks and snacks are served.

BAGAN – KALAW BY PUBLIC BUS

Own transfer to the bus station and take the bus to Kalaw. The bus will leave from Kalaw around 08:30 and arrive around 16:00. Then 5 minute walk to the hotel.
The rest of the day is free at leisure at the hotel.

KALAW

Walking through Danu villages and joining daily activities of hill-tribes
Meet with the guide and transfer to the starting point walking through Danu hill-tribes villages. During this tour, you will be in touch with villagers via guide and they will explain about daily activities, lifestyle, a mix of forest and fields where products like sesame, tea, cauliflower, and rice are cultivated. Afterward, you will help the villagers by seeding in the fields, irrigation plantation, making fire or fetch water from the well.

KALAW – TREKKING (5 HRS – 20 KM)

Kalaw is a small former hill station surrounded by the Shan mountains. As the British already discovered the cool climate is not ideal for walks in the mountains with great sceneries and interesting hill tribe villages like Danu and Palaung.
We start in the early morning when your guide will pick you up from the hotel and arrange that your main luggage is sent directly to your hotel in Inle Lake.
The start of the trekking today takes about 2.5 hours passing Pin Nwe, Pawkiae and Kone Hla villages which are typical Danu and Pa O communities. We arrive around noon at the lunch place where we have typical noodles from this region.In the afternoon we continue for another 2.5 hours and arrive in Pattu Bauk village where we will stay for the night. On the way, we will see a mix of forest and fields where products like sesame, tea, cauliflower and rice are cultivated.
The chef who comes with us from Kalaw will cook a meal with local Palaung and Shan delicacies like sticky rice, eggplant and potato curry, tomato and chili chutney, a typical dish of boiled pumpkin leave or mustard leave with peanuts and sesame or anything else that grows organically in the region according to the season.

TREKKING (4HRS – 16KM) – INLE LAKE

Early morning wake up for breakfast of pancakes and fresh fruit served with coffee or tea.

We continue trekking for about 2 hours passing through Kyauk Su and Nan Yoke villages and we stop for a short refreshment. We continue to walk towards the jetty about 2 hours where a local home-cooked lunch will be served. From here, we walk to the jetty where we take a private boat ride about 1,5 hours to Inle.

INLE LAKE

Inle Bike, Boat & Kayak Tour (join-in tour) – INL-017 – full day (From 08:00 to 17:00)
A full day of exploration by bike, boat and kayak, with a fantastic traditional lunch in an exclusive Shan house on the lake. A somewhat challenging day, but filled with the rewards of outstanding scenery & genuine connections.

INLE LAKE – PA O VILLAGE

Community Service Construction Project: House Building / House Renovation / Toilet Building
This morning after breakfast, start your construction, you will get help from local villagers and house owners. Meet with the recipient family and the builder team. They will explain to you about the work before you start to build the house. The local villagers will also join to help you build this house too. In the local community, normally in they always help each other if any of the family needs to build a house, toilet, or well. You will be welcomed as part of their community and together help the poor family to have better conditions of living.Your main jobs will be sawing, measuring, chiseling, and hammering. Lunch will be at the project site.

Continue to Contraction

Construction projects normally take about 2 to 4 full days to finish the whole house or toilet but if you have just 2 days our carpenter and villagers will start some part first so you can help to finish the construction.

PA O VILLAGE – INLE LAKE

After your breakfast, pack up your bags, say goodbye to your host families. Then about 4 hours trekking to the jetty where your boat is waiting to transfer to Inle hotel. Stay a night in a hotel on stilts on the lake.

INLE LAKE – YANGON BY PUBLIC BUS

Free at leisure in the morning.

Own transfer to the bus station and take the night bus to Yangon. The bus will leave around 18:00.

YANGON DEPARTURE

You will arrive at Yangon around 05:00, then take the taxi from the hotel to Yangon international airport.