MYA - T
02: PEARLS OF MYANMAR, 5 days (L)
Yangon – Bagan - Mandalay
Day
1 Yangon
Arrival
at Yangon airport, meet on arrival and transfer to the hotel. Rest of the day
at leisure, free time for walking around the city or shopping
Overnight
in Yangon
Day
2 Yangon
After breakfast, your journey begins with sightseeing
in Yangon: visit Shwedagon Pagoda, Botataung Pagoda, Ngadatkyi Paya, Sule
Pagoda, Ngadatkyi Paya, National Museum, Buddhist Art Museum and Maha
Wizaya Pagoda.
Overnight in Yangon
YANGON lies in the fertile delta of
southern Myanmar, on the wide Yangon River. The city is filled with tree-shaded
boulevards, while shimmering stupas float above the treetops. The city became
the capital only in 1885, when the British completed the conquest of Upper
Myanmar and Mandalay's brief period as capital of the last Burmese kingdom
ended.
SHWEDAGON PAGODA: the highlight of
any visit to Yangon, this pagoda dates back about 2500 years and was built to
house eight sacred hairs of the Buddha. Its original shape has changed beyond
all recognition over the centuries. Its bell-shaped superstructure, resting on
a terraced base, is covered in about 60 tons of gold leaf, which is
continuously being replaced.
BOTATAUNG PAGODA: this paya was
named after the 1000 military leaders who escorted relics of the Buddha brought
from India over 2000 years ago. This ancient monument was completely destroyed
during WWII. It was then rebuilt in a very similar style to its predecessor,
but the zedi is hollow and one can walk through it.
NGADATKYI PAYA: located in the
Ashay Tawya monastery, this paya contains the huge seated
"five-story" Buddha image.
NATIONAL MUSEUM:
a museum with several interesting exhibits, especially the 8-meter high
Sihasana Lion Throne, used by King Thibaw Min, the last Burmese king, and
returned to Burma in 1908 by Lord Mountbatten. The main floor contains jewelry,
old black and white photos of Mandalay Palace and Yangon, royal relics, Hintha
opium weights and inscribed tablets.
BUDDHIST ART MUSEUM: housed in a 1952
Art Deco-style building. The dominant lotus window depicts all the attitudes of
the Buddha. The museum's contents were collected by the archaeology department:
begging bowls, palm leaf scriptures and 18th-20th century wooden Buddha images.
MAHA WIZAYA PAGODA: built by General Ne Win in the 1980s. The pagoda is hollow with a
ceiling depicting Burmese constellations and a permanent display of pagoda
styles through the ages.
SULE PAGODA:
this 48 meter high golden dome was used by the British as the nucleus of their
grid pattern for the city when it was rebuilt in the 1880s. The pagoda's
peculiarity is its octagonal-shaped stupa, which retains its shape as it tapers
to the spire.
Day 3 Yangon – Bagan
After early breakfast, transfer to the
airport for domestic flight from Yangon to Bagan
Upon arrival,
transfer to your hotel, continue the day with sightseeing in the major temple
and lacquer ware factory in Bagan: Shwezigon Paya, Gubyaukhyi Temple, Ananda
Pahto, Manuha Temple, Gubyaukgyi Temple, visit one of Myanmar’s most
treasured handicrafts - a lacquer ware craftsmen’s workshop be for proceed to Shwesandaw
Paya to watch the sunset over the famous Irrawaddy River.
Overnight in Bagan
BAGAN is a spectacular plain stretching
away from the Irrawaddy River, dotted with thousands of 800-year old temple
ruins. Although human habitation at Bagan dates back almost to the beginning of
the Christian era, Bagan only entered its golden period with the conquest of
Thaton in 1057 AD.
SHWEZIGON PAYA: King Anawrahta
started the construction of the Schwezigon Pagoda to enshrine some relicts of
Buddha. The construction was finished by his successor, King Kyansittha between
1086 and1090. Originally the Shwezigon Pagoda marked the northern end of the
city of Bagan. The stupa's graceful bell shape became a prototype for virtually
all-later stupas over Myanmar.
GUBYAUKHYI TEMPLE at Wetkyi-Inn: this Temple was
built in the early 13th Century and repaired in 1468. The great colorful
painting about the previous life of Buddha and the distinguished architecture
make this temple an interesting site for a visit. This temple is not to be
confounded with the Gubyaukgyi Temple in Myinkabe.
ANANDA PAHTO: one of the
finest, largest, best preserved and most revered of the Bagan temples. Thought
to have been built around 1105 by King Kyanzittha, this perfectly proportioned
temple heralds the stylistic end of the Early Bagan period and the beginning of
the Middle period.
MANUHA TEMPLE: The Manuha Temple
was built in 1059 by King Manuha, the King of Thaton, who was brought captive
to Bagan by King Anawrahta. It enshrines the unusual combination of 3 seated
and one reclining image Buddha. It is said that this temple was built by Manuha
to express his displeasure about his captivity in Bagan.
GUBYAUKGYI TEMPLE at Myinkaba: Built in 1113 by
Kyanzittha's son Rajakumar, this temple is famous for its well-preserved
Stuccos from the 12th century on the outside walls. The magnificent paintings
date from the original construction of the temple and are considered to be the
oldest original paintings in Bagan.
SHWESANDAW PAYA: In 1057 King
Anawrahta built this Pagoda following his conquest of Thaton. This is the first
monument in Bagan, which features stairways leading up from the square bottom
terraces to the round base of the Stupa. This Pagoda is ideal to watch Bagan's
magnificent sunsets.
Day
4 Bagan - Mandalay
After breakfast at
the hotel, transfer to airport for domestic flight from Bagan to Mandalay. Upon
arrival, transfer to Amanrapura to visit Mahagandayon Monastery where more than
a thousand monks live and study, if time permitting you will have an
opportunity to observe how the monks live and having their last meal of the
day. Visit Monastery Bagaya Kyaung and continue to 200-year-old U Bein -
the longest teak bridge in Myanmar and visit Bagaya Monastery before
transfer to hotel in Mandalay. After refreshment, sightseeing in Mandalay:
visit Mahamuni Paya, Kuthodaw Paya, Shwenandaw Monastery, Silk Weaving
Factory and proceeding to Mandalay Hill for sunset
Overnight in
Mandalay
MONASTERY BAGAYA KYAUNG: Monastery has
ornate woodcarvings and is built of 267 teak posts. The main hall stands on raised
platform, separate from the monk's quarters, and is designed so that the space
between the walls and roof allows air to circulate. It is set in the middle of
the Le Daw Gyeethe royal rice fields.
MAHAMUNI PAYA: originally built
by King Bodawpaya in 1784 when a road paved with bricks was constructed from
his palace to the paya's eastern gate. The centerpiece of the shrine is the
highly venerated Mahamuni image that was transported to Myanmar from Mrauk U in
Rakhaing in 1784.
MANDALAY was the last capital
of Myanmar before the British took over so it still has great importance as a
cultural center and historically it's the most Burmese of the country's large
cities. Mandalay' s Buddhist monasteries are among the most important in the
country - about 60% of all the monks in Myanmar reside in the Mandalay area.
The city takes its name from Mandalay Hill, the 236m-high bluff that rises just
to the northeast of Mandalay Fort and its royal palace.
KUTHODAW PAYA: the central stupa
here was modeled on the Shwezigon Paya at Nyaung U near Bagan. Building
commenced in 1857, at the same time as the royal palace. The paya has been
dubbed 'the world's biggest book', for standing around the central stupa are
729 marble slabs on which are inscribed the entire Tripitaka.
SHWENANDAW:
monastery of great interest, not only as a fine example of a traditional
Burmese wooden monastery, but also as a fragile reminder of the old Mandalay
Fort. At one time this building was part of the palace complex, and was used as
an apartment by King Mindon and his chief queen, and it was here that he died.
After Mindon's death King Thibaw Min had the building dismantled and
reassembled on its present site in 1880 as a monastery.
MANDALAY HILL: an easy climb up the sheltered steps bring
one to a panoramic view over the palace, Mandalay and the paya-studded
countryside. The famous hermit monk, U Khanti, is credited with inspiring the
construction of many of the buildings on and around the hill in the years after
the founding of the city.
Day
5 Mandalay
After breakfast at the hotel and rest of
the day at your leisure until transfer to the airport for domestic flight from
Mandalay to Yangon. Upon arrival Yangon, assistance with terminal change to
international airport (Domestic / International)
End
of Services **Note: Itinerary subject to change due to
flight schedules.