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[align=left]This Tour was made up of 23 travellers of ages ranging from 40s to 90s.  For once there were more men than women!  Branwen Edwards was our Tour Manager and Naing Naing Htun our local Guide throughout the Tour.

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[align=left]Monday 12 – Tuesday 13 November 2018  

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[align=left]Most of us met Branwen either at Check-in or in the lounge where she handed out a ‘Welcome’ information sheet.   Our flight was delayed by almost an hour leaving LHR.  Not sure about the real reason as the weather was perfect – calm and sunny.  There was a little bit of anxiety as to whether or not we will be able to make our connecting flight from Singapore to Yangon.  Most of us were relaxed and decided to go with the flow.  After all it is what it is!  Luckily we made the connecting flight and arrived a bit late in hot and humid Yangon.  Our local guide Naing was there to greet us.  Once the luggage was loaded and everyone was settled on the coach, we set off for the included sightseeing.  First stop was Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda to see the 4th largest reclining Buddha in Myanmar.  Buddha was covered in Bamboo scaffolding due to repair work being carried out, but you could still see the magnificent face and eyes.  Being a temple you had to remove the shoes, socks and tights.  Initially I thought I will have to forego entering the temple since I was wearing compression tights and was not sure how I could get them off.  Naing requested a couple of ladies manning a shop to let me remove my tights in the shop behind the curtain, which they kindly did.  It was a relief to get them off as I was feeling very hot! ;) After the Pagoda we went to the Kandawgyi Park for a walk under the shady trees and had a glimpse of the ornate replica of the Karaweik Royal Barge.  We also had a lovely view of the Majestic Shwedagon Pagoda.  We then checked into the Sule Shangri-La Hotel where we had a few hours to rest before meeting up for dinner and welcome drinks in the hotel.  The heavens opened just before dinner and there was quite a bit of heavy rainfall.  None of us were out during this time.  Dinner was a Buffet and the choice was immense.  It was an early night for me since we had a 07:30 flight to Mandalay to catch the next day.

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[align=left]One suggestion for when Just You offers the Tour again – it would be much better to spend 2 nights in Yangon on arrival instead of one.  One cannot appreciate sightseeing straight from the airport on arrival after a very long flight plus it was uncomfortable as most of us were wearing winter gear.  :(

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[align=left]Wednesday 14 November

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[align=left]Left hotel very early in the morning with a breakfast box to catch the flight to Mandalay.  On arrival in Mandalay the first stop was at the Mahamuni Pagoda.  The image of Buddha is covered in a thick layer of gold leaf and there were men adding more – all these gold leaves have made the image deformed.  Only men are allowed in.  On the way to the hotel we first visited Aung Nan craft workshop where we saw craftsmen carving statues and ladies working on beautiful tapestries.  Next we stopped at a gold leaf making workshop where we learnt how gold leaves were produced by hand – a very long and laborious process.  These leaves would be used by worshippers to guilt pagodas and Buddha statues.  After a brief stop for a delicious lunch at the Royal Mandalay Restaurant we checked in at the Yadanabon Mandalay Hotel.  There was not much time for relaxing for those who were going on the optional Trishaw ride.  First stop was at the Shwenandaw Kyaung (Golden Palace) Monastery.  This is the only building from Mandalay Palace which remains intact and it was truly amazing and beautiful.  The next stop was the Kuthodaw Pagoda, which is famous as the biggest book in the world.  There was a lovely surprise at the end of the Trishaw ride.  We ended at Pan Thakhin Tea House to sample local tea and sweet and savoury delicacies.  Believe me, there was no need for any dinner after this as this was not sampling, it was dinner in itself!

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[align=left]Thursday 15 November

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[align=left]The first stop today was at a local market in Sagaing.  The market was extra busy due to the Kathina festival season.  A few of us who wanted to shop for donation to the nuns did struggle a bit but eventually found a shop where we were able to purchase soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste etc.  We then stopped at the Meggin Chaung Nunnery where Naing offered the offerings in a traditional way on behalf of the Group and we were blessed by the Nuns.  We then had time to ask questions and enjoy the refreshments provided by the Nuns.  I loved the home made fresh coconut Jelly!  After the visit to the Nunnery, we went to U-Min Thonese where there are 30 cave like entrances and 45 Buddha images.  Another beautiful location!  We then went to Swan Oo Ponya Shin Pagoda from where we were able to see the scenery of Ayeyawaddy River (Irrawaddy River).  Following this we had a lunch stop at Sagaing Hill Restaurant.  Following lunch, we visited Ohbo Village where we saw how a clay pot was produced using century old technique and then were invited to visit Naing’s family home.  We then travelled on to Amarapura and made a stop at the Kandaw Village.  This is also known as the longyi village as this is where the local families produce the textiles and the traditional Burmese garment, the longyi.  Refreshments were enjoyed in a family home whilst Naing demonstrated various ways to wear a longyi and he also demonstrated other things you can do with one.  Amazing!  We then made our way to the Mahagandayon Monastery where we walked through the grounds and saw monks and novices sweeping them and going about their business in a calm and serene way.  We then embarked the boats (2 in each boat) where refreshments and rum sour cocktails were laid on a small table covered in a yellow tablecloth at the legendary U Bein Bridge.  We felt a bit like celebrities as we sailed on the Taungthamen Lake with the rum sour cocktail in one hand and sampling the refreshments!  After witnessing the images of daily life and the beautiful sunset, it was time to disembark and head for dinner at Unique Myanmar Restaurant – it was food and more food all day long! :P

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[align=left]Friday 16 November

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[align=left]Today we set off early for the long journey to Bagan.  First stop for refreshments was at the Tree Jade Café and Restaurant.  It was situated in the middle of nowhere and the most amazing thing about this place was that the owner was a collector of ‘petrified’ wood which was then made into amazing Tree Jade jewellery and sculptures.  I have never witnessed anything like this before and had never heard of Tree Jade either.  I persuaded myself to buy a lovely necklace – not cheap but worth every $ since this is a unique piece of jewellery.  En route to Bagan, we passed many fields of corn, cottonseed, peanuts etc and stopped at a small peanut plantation where the farmer and his family (wife and young daughter) had been busy harvesting peanuts since 06:00 in the morning.  You could see how hard the work was – everything was done manually.  There were no machines.  They were very welcoming and I also got to taste the fresh tender peanuts.  After checking into Hotel Shwe Yee Pwint late afternoon, we had a couple of hours of leisure before making our way to the Jetty to embark in a boat to go to the sandbank for dinner.  It was an adventure in itself getting down the sandy slope on to the boat and then climbing the sand bank once we landed.  We enjoyed cocktails and delicious vegetable tempuras whilst watching the sun set.  During this time the dinner tables were being set up and the performers were getting ready for the traditional dance and music performance, which they did whilst we had dinner under the stars.  Another unique experience to add to my memories.

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[align=left]Saturday 17 November

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[align=left]A few of us had a very early start to the day as we were going to witness the sunrise over Bagan from the Green Tower.  Naing had helped us to book the Trishaws.  It was a bit of a chilly ride of about 15-20 minutes to get to the Green Tower from the hotel.  We had to pay $5 to go up to the top of the Tower.  The views were fantastic and 20 hot air balloons in the sky was a sight to see.  The sunrise too was not disappointing.  Another amazing experience.  The Trishaw drivers were waiting for us when we came down the Tower.  Our driver was happy to stop for us to take some photos on the way back to the hotel.  After a quick breakfast those of us who wanted to go were on our way to the Ananda Temple – some of the fellow travelers had decided to have a break from the sightseeing.  The temple was constructed in the 10th or 11th century by Indian Architects and is truly an amazing sight.  Those who had decided not to come really missed out.  There are standing Buddha images and the facial expressions change according to the place of beholder!  We then went to see the 13th Century colourful murals at Gubyaukgyi Temple.  The next stop was at the Kyan Sittha Oo Min Monastery where we offered snacks to about 70 Monks and Novices.  After this we went around Phwa Saw village to see the daily life of local villagers before getting on a horse cart (2 people to a cart), which took us off the beaten track to see the Temple complex at a close distance.  We ended up at Nyaun Let Phet Kan Hillock to enjoy the sunset after which we had dinner at The Art Bagan Restaurant.  Another busy day came to an end.

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[align=left]Sunday 18 November

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[align=left]Today we had an early morning flight from Bagan to Heho.  We checked in at the Pine Hill Resort Hotel in Kalaw around 11:25 and left for a walk around Myinka Village and had lunch cooked by the residents of a local house.  The village felt like an Alpine village.  It was so clean.  We were back at the hotel at around 14:00 and at 16:30 Naing took a few of us to view the Shwe Oo Min Cave.  This is a natural lime stone cave where there are more than 500 Buddha images from different periods.  I was not feeling too well by this time (had managed to catch a cold and a cough :( ) and nearly missed the outing as I had fallen asleep and did not hear the alarm.  Luckily I had a call from Diane and Naing then came knocking on the door.  This was really kind of them as I would have been upset to miss the Cave through my own fault of falling asleep!

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[align=left]Monday 19 November

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[align=left]Naing had offered to take those who wanted to go for a wander around the local market in the morning before we made our way to Inle Lake.  I decided not to go as was having a bit of difficulty walking without getting out of breath due to my cold and cough.  Those who went saw some PaO ethnics in their costumes.  Soon after checking out of the hotel, we came across a lively Kathina procession formed of many villages.  It was really good to have had a chance to witness this though we had seen smaller Kathina processions in Mandalay.  We stopped for a very early lunch of North Indian food at Yadana Talki Indian Restaurant before making our way to Kalaw Train Station for the train ride only to find that the train was delayed about an hour.  So we abandoned the train ride and carried on by coach.  On the way to the Jetty we stopped at Mulberry paper cottage industry where we saw a demonstration of producing paper out of mulberry bark by a local family.  Before reaching the Jetty we had a brief stop at Nyaun Shwe to see Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery which is a monastery with oval windows and is typical architecture of Shan Royal family donation.  We embarked the boat at Inle Lake Jerry at around 16:15 for an hour’s ride to Amata Garden Hotel.  I was glad to unpack and had an early night.

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[align=left]Tuesday 20 November

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[align=left]Most of today was spent on Inle Lake on boats.  First stop was at a pottery village where a local lady demonstrated a different way of making pots and other small items.  We then had a leisurely wander around the village witnessing daily life and saw the underground kilns fired by wood all chopped by hand.  The next stop was Thakaun Pagoda Complex in Sagar (I opted out of this excursion and waited in the boat).  Those who went walked through the Complex and Thayagone Village where they visited Rice Liquor distillery and sampled some.  We all had lunch at the Little Lodge Samkar before going to view the sunken Stupas.  Only a few of them were under the water this month.  On our way back to the hotel, we made a stop in Inn Paw Kone Village to watch a lady extract lotus fiber out of lotus stems to weave fabric.  We also saw a few weavers weaving colourful fabrics and had a browse around the shop before boarding our boats.  Before reaching the hotel, we entered the floating orchard to have a closer look at the floating islands and tomato plantations.

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[align=left]Wednesday 21 November

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[align=left]We flew back to Yangon from Heho on a delayed flight in the morning.  To make up for missing the train ride in Kalaw, Naing had arranged for us to have a ride on a train at Yangon Circular Train Station.  After the train ride, at around 14:00 most people chose to go to Shangri-La Hotel to check in whilst a few of us went with Naing to Bogyoke Market (Scotts Market) for some shopping.  We only had an hour so it was a rush but I was glad of the opportunity to get some presents and souvenirs.  Then it was a rush to have a quick shower and get ready for the visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Farewell Dinner at the House of Memory Restaurant.  The Pagoda was very crowded due to the festivities.  Some local people had come ready to spend the night there!  We walked around for nearly an hour before heading to our farewell dinner.

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[align=left]Thursday 22 November

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[align=left]Naing had offered to take those who wanted to for a walk to see some of the colonial buildings at 08:30.  The walk was for an hour.  Again, I had to miss this because of not feeling too good.  I decided on a late breakfast.  Those who were doing the add on left at 08:30 and the rest of us left for the Airport at 11:30 where we said our Good Byes to Naing.   Flight from Singapore to LHR was on time.

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[align=left]In short, I cannot fault Naing who went out of his way to make sure we all had a good time.  He is a wealth of knowledge and is a very kind person.  None of us had to deal with any of our checked bags till the day we left Yangon for home.  Naing took care of everything, making sure all the bags were collected, loaded on to the coach, unloaded at Airports, checked in, picked up from the baggage carousel and loaded on to the coach without us having to lift a finger.  Who would do this?  Branwen too was very good and ready and willing to be available to all of us 24 hours a day.  They both ensured that a Special Tour was made even more special by them.  We celebrated 2 birthdays – Bill who turned 98 (he looks so much younger than his age – not sure what he is on, but I too would like some whatever it is! J and Mavis’s birthday a day early at the Farewell Dinner.  Naing kindly gave them both a personal present from him and they also had presents on behalf of all of us from Branwen.  We all enjoyed the birthday cakes.  Bill gave us lots of laughter too.  He was full of beans throughout the Tour.

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[align=left]The review is not all my work as I had not made a lot of notes.  All names of places we visited have been provided by Naign.

I would like to start with a few comments before commencing the detailed review.  It is beyond my understanding as to why Just You and Travel Sphere both have discontinued this Tour citing political reasons.  Burma is the most wonderful country with lovely, gentle people and the best time to visit this beautiful country is NOW whilst it is still not too commercialised.  Commercialisation loses the real authenticity of a place.  Burma (Myanmar) is a very secure place to visit and none of us felt any threat from anyone at all.  Ordinary Burmese people have nothing to do with what is going on in a very small part of the country plus most media stories, no matter from where, are always one sided.  It is a real shame that politics have started affecting travel and the lives of ordinary people who have got nothing to do with politics!  The above is my personal feelings and I have not been influenced by anyone.

 

This Tour was made up of 23 travellers of ages ranging from 40s to 90s.  For once there were more men than women!  Branwen Edwards was our Tour Manager and Naing Naing Htun our local Guide throughout the Tour.

 

Monday 12 – Tuesday 13 November 2018  

 

Most of us met Branwen either at Check-in or in the lounge where she handed out a ‘Welcome’ information sheet.   Our flight was delayed by almost an hour leaving LHR.  Not sure about the real reason as the weather was perfect – calm and sunny.  There was a little bit of anxiety as to whether or not we will be able to make our connecting flight from Singapore to Yangon.  Most of us were relaxed and decided to go with the flow.  After all it is what it is!  Luckily we made the connecting flight and arrived a bit late in hot and humid Yangon.  Our local guide Naing was there to greet us.  Once the luggage was loaded and everyone was settled on the coach, we set off for the included sightseeing.  First stop was Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda to see the 4th largest reclining Buddha in Myanmar.  Buddha was covered in Bamboo scaffolding due to repair work being carried out, but you could still see the magnificent face and eyes.  Being a temple you had to remove the shoes, socks and tights.  Initially I thought I will have to forego entering the temple since I was wearing compression tights and was not sure how I could get them off.  Naing requested a couple of ladies manning a shop to let me remove my tights in the shop behind the curtain, which they kindly did.  It was a relief to get them off as I was feeling very hot! ;)  After the Pagoda we went to the Kandawgyi Park for a walk under the shady trees and had a glimpse of the ornate replica of the Karaweik Royal Barge.  We also had a lovely view of the Majestic Shwedagon Pagoda.  We then checked into the Sule Shangri-La Hotel where we had a few hours to rest before meeting up for dinner and welcome drinks in the hotel.  The heavens opened just before dinner and there was quite a bit of heavy rainfall.  None of us were out during this time.  Dinner was a Buffet and the choice was immense.  It was an early night for me since we had a 07:30 flight to Mandalay to catch the next day.

 

One suggestion for when Just You offers the Tour again – it would be much better to spend 2 nights in Yangon on arrival instead of one.  One cannot appreciate sightseeing straight from the airport on arrival after a very long flight plus it was uncomfortable as most of us were wearing winter gear.  :(  

 

Wednesday 14 November

 

Left hotel very early in the morning with a breakfast box to catch the flight to Mandalay.  On arrival in Mandalay the first stop was at the Mahamuni Pagoda.  The image of Buddha is covered in a thick layer of gold leaf and there were men adding more – all these gold leaves have made the image deformed.  Only men are allowed in.  On the way to the hotel we first visited Aung Nan craft workshop where we saw craftsmen carving statues and ladies working on beautiful tapestries.  Next we stopped at a gold leaf making workshop where we learnt how gold leaves were produced by hand – a very long and laborious process.  These leaves would be used by worshippers to guilt pagodas and Buddha statues.  After a brief stop for a delicious lunch at the Royal Mandalay Restaurant we checked in at the Yadanabon Mandalay Hotel.  There was not much time for relaxing for those who were going on the optional Trishaw ride.  First stop was at the Shwenandaw Kyaung (Golden Palace) Monastery.  This is the only building from Mandalay Palace which remains intact and it was truly amazing and beautiful.  The next stop was the Kuthodaw Pagoda, which is famous as the biggest book in the world.  There was a lovely surprise at the end of the Trishaw ride.  We ended at Pan Thakhin Tea House to sample local tea and sweet and savoury delicacies.  Believe me, there was no need for any dinner after this as this was not sampling, it was dinner in itself!

 

Thursday 15 November

 

The first stop today was at a local market in Sagaing.  The market was extra busy due to the Kathina festival season.  A few of us who wanted to shop for donation to the nuns did struggle a bit but eventually found a shop where we were able to purchase soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste etc.  We then stopped at the Meggin Chaung Nunnery where Naing offered the offerings in a traditional way on behalf of the Group and we were blessed by the Nuns.  We then had time to ask questions and enjoy the refreshments provided by the Nuns.  I loved the home made fresh coconut Jelly!  After the visit to the Nunnery, we went to U-Min Thonese where there are 30 cave like entrances and 45 Buddha images.  Another beautiful location!  We then went to Swan Oo Ponya Shin Pagoda from where we were able to see the scenery of Ayeyawaddy River (Irrawaddy River).  Following this we had a lunch stop at Sagaing Hill Restaurant.  Following lunch, we visited Ohbo Village where we saw how a clay pot was produced using century old technique and then were invited to visit Naing’s family home.  We then travelled on to Amarapura and made a stop at the Kandaw Village.  This is also known as the longyi village as this is where the local families produce the textiles and the traditional Burmese garment, the longyi.  Refreshments were enjoyed in a family home whilst Naing demonstrated various ways to wear a longyi and he also demonstrated other things you can do with one.  Amazing!  We then made our way to the Mahagandayon Monastery where we walked through the grounds and saw monks and novices sweeping them and going about their business in a calm and serene way.  We then embarked the boats (2 in each boat) where refreshments and rum sour cocktails were laid on a small table covered in a yellow tablecloth at the legendary U Bein Bridge.  We felt a bit like celebrities as we sailed on the Taungthamen Lake with the rum sour cocktail in one hand and sampling the refreshments!  After witnessing the images of daily life and the beautiful sunset, it was time to disembark and head for dinner at Unique Myanmar Restaurant – it was food and more food all day long! :P

 

Friday 16 November

 

Today we set off early for the long journey to Bagan.  First stop for refreshments was at the Tree Jade Café and Restaurant.  It was situated in the middle of nowhere and the most amazing thing about this place was that the owner was a collector of ‘petrified’ wood which was then made into amazing Tree Jade jewellery and sculptures.  I have never witnessed anything like this before and had never heard of Tree Jade either.  I persuaded myself to buy a lovely necklace – not cheap but worth every $ since this is a unique piece of jewellery.  En route to Bagan, we passed many fields of corn, cottonseed, peanuts etc and stopped at a small peanut plantation where the farmer and his family (wife and young daughter) had been busy harvesting peanuts since 06:00 in the morning.  You could see how hard the work was – everything was done manually.  There were no machines.  They were very welcoming and I also got to taste the fresh tender peanuts.  After checking into Hotel Shwe Yee Pwint late afternoon, we had a couple of hours of leisure before making our way to the Jetty to embark in a boat to go to the sandbank for dinner.  It was an adventure in itself getting down the sandy slope on to the boat and then climbing the sand bank once we landed.  We enjoyed cocktails and delicious vegetable tempuras whilst watching the sun set.  During this time the dinner tables were being set up and the performers were getting ready for the traditional dance and music performance, which they did whilst we had dinner under the stars.  Another unique experience to add to my memories.

 

Saturday 17 November

 

A few of us had a very early start to the day as we were going to witness the sunrise over Bagan from the Green Tower.  Naing had helped us to book the Trishaws.  It was a bit of a chilly ride of about 15-20 minutes to get to the Green Tower from the hotel.  We had to pay $5 to go up to the top of the Tower.  The views were fantastic and 20 hot air balloons in the sky was a sight to see.  The sunrise too was not disappointing.  Another amazing experience.  The Trishaw drivers were waiting for us when we came down the Tower.  Our driver was happy to stop for us to take some photos on the way back to the hotel.  After a quick breakfast those of us who wanted to go were on our way to the Ananda Temple – some of the fellow travelers had decided to have a break from the sightseeing.  The temple was constructed in the 10th or 11th century by Indian Architects and is truly an amazing sight.  Those who had decided not to come really missed out.  There are standing Buddha images and the facial expressions change according to the place of beholder!  We then went to see the 13th Century colourful murals at Gubyaukgyi Temple.  The next stop was at the Kyan Sittha Oo Min Monastery where we offered snacks to about 70 Monks and Novices.  After this we went around Phwa Saw village to see the daily life of local villagers before getting on a horse cart (2 people to a cart), which took us off the beaten track to see the Temple complex at a close distance.  We ended up at Nyaun Let Phet Kan Hillock to enjoy the sunset after which we had dinner at The Art Bagan Restaurant.  Another busy day came to an end.

 

Sunday 18 November

 

Today we had an early morning flight from Bagan to Heho.  We checked in at the Pine Hill Resort Hotel in Kalaw around 11:25 and left for a walk around Myinka Village and had lunch cooked by the residents of a local house.  The village felt like an Alpine village.  It was so clean.  We were back at the hotel at around 14:00 and at 16:30 Naing took a few of us to view the Shwe Oo Min Cave.  This is a natural lime stone cave where there are more than 500 Buddha images from different periods.  I was not feeling too well by this time (had managed to catch a cold and a cough :( ) and nearly missed the outing as I had fallen asleep and did not hear the alarm.  Luckily I had a call from Diane and Naing then came knocking on the door.  This was really kind of them as I would have been upset to miss the Cave through my own fault of falling asleep!

 

Monday 19 November

 

Naing had offered to take those who wanted to go for a wander around the local market in the morning before we made our way to Inle Lake.  I decided not to go as was having a bit of difficulty walking without getting out of breath due to my cold and cough.  Those who went saw some PaO ethnics in their costumes.  Soon after checking out of the hotel, we came across a lively Kathina procession formed of many villages.  It was really good to have had a chance to witness this though we had seen smaller Kathina processions in Mandalay.  We stopped for a very early lunch of North Indian food at Yadana Talki Indian Restaurant before making our way to Kalaw Train Station for the train ride only to find that the train was delayed about an hour.  So we abandoned the train ride and carried on by coach.  On the way to the Jetty we stopped at Mulberry paper cottage industry where we saw a demonstration of producing paper out of mulberry bark by a local family.  Before reaching the Jetty we had a brief stop at Nyaun Shwe to see Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery which is a monastery with oval windows and is typical architecture of Shan Royal family donation.  We embarked the boat at Inle Lake Jerry at around 16:15 for an hour’s ride to Amata Garden Hotel.  I was glad to unpack and had an early night.

 

Tuesday 20 November

 

Most of today was spent on Inle Lake on boats.  First stop was at a pottery village where a local lady demonstrated a different way of making pots and other small items.  We then had a leisurely wander around the village witnessing daily life and saw the underground kilns fired by wood all chopped by hand.  The next stop was Thakaun Pagoda Complex in Sagar (I opted out of this excursion and waited in the boat).  Those who went walked through the Complex and Thayagone Village where they visited Rice Liquor distillery and sampled some.  We all had lunch at the Little Lodge Samkar before going to view the sunken Stupas.  Only a few of them were under the water this month.  On our way back to the hotel, we made a stop in Inn Paw Kone Village to watch a lady extract lotus fiber out of lotus stems to weave fabric.  We also saw a few weavers weaving colourful fabrics and had a browse around the shop before boarding our boats.  Before reaching the hotel, we entered the floating orchard to have a closer look at the floating islands and tomato plantations.

 

Wednesday 21 November

 

We flew back to Yangon from Heho on a delayed flight in the morning.  To make up for missing the train ride in Kalaw, Naing had arranged for us to have a ride on a train at Yangon Circular Train Station.  After the train ride, at around 14:00 most people chose to go to Shangri-La Hotel to check in whilst a few of us went with Naing to Bogyoke Market (Scotts Market) for some shopping.  We only had an hour so it was a rush but I was glad of the opportunity to get some presents and souvenirs.  Then it was a rush to have a quick shower and get ready for the visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Farewell Dinner at the House of Memory Restaurant.  The Pagoda was very crowded due to the festivities.  Some local people had come ready to spend the night there!  We walked around for nearly an hour before heading to our farewell dinner.

 

Thursday 22 November

 

Naing had offered to take those who wanted to for a walk to see some of the colonial buildings at 08:30.  The walk was for an hour.  Again, I had to miss this because of not feeling too good.  I decided on a late breakfast.  Those who were doing the add on left at 08:30 and the rest of us left for the Airport at 11:30 where we said our Good Byes to Naing.   Flight from Singapore to LHR was on time.

 

In short, I cannot fault Naing who went out of his way to make sure we all had a good time.  He is a wealth of knowledge and is a very kind person.  None of us had to deal with any of our checked bags till the day we left Yangon for home.  Naing took care of everything, making sure all the bags were collected, loaded on to the coach, unloaded at Airports, checked in, picked up from the baggage carousel and loaded on to the coach without us having to lift a finger.  Who would do this?  Branwen too was very good and ready and willing to be available to all of us 24 hours a day.  They both ensured that a Special Tour was made even more special by them.  We celebrated 2 birthdays – Bill who turned 98 (he looks so much younger than his age – not sure what he is on, but I too would like some whatever it is! J and Mavis’s birthday a day early at the Farewell Dinner.  Naing kindly gave them both a personal present from him and they also had presents on behalf of all of us from Branwen.  We all enjoyed the birthday cakes.  Bill gave us lots of laughter too.  He was full of beans throughout the Tour.

 

The review is not all my work as I had not made a lot of notes.  All names of places we visited have been provided by Naign.

 

I had booked this tour a couple of years ago but had to cancel due to personal problems.  Would love to do this in the future, just hope Just You will include this tour again.

Sue

Dave

Regards,

Roger.

what a fantastic review, i wish i was half as talented as you, Thank you, i shall copy and paste to keep with my holiday memorabilia, just one thing i think you'll find that Bill was 88 not 98, what a bundle of fun he was though, am so sorry you weren't well for most of the tour

This was a wonderful tour which goes without exaggeration and we really mean how wonderful both Naing and Branwen were as guide and TM

Regards

Dave

Thank you for doing this brilliant review, considering that you have been somewhat off colour during the holiday I am amazed at this epic review.

Before I make any more comments I know I have your permission to alter one thing  in the review, Bill had his 88th birthday whilst we were in Burma, not 98th. He was the life and soul of the group and as you said he did make us laugh a lot.

The holiday was amazing, certainly full on. So much sightseeing and so many activities.The dinner on the sandbank in the Irrawaddy was surreal!

I went with an open mind because of the political situation, half expecting to see loads of soldiers and police.

However, the areas we travelled through were rural, quiet and peaceful. The only time I personally saw soldiers was near Kalaw Cave as it was in  a military area.

I felt safe when wandering around alone, the Burmese people are lovely. I wandered around Mandalay market just after sunrise the day we were due to leave and wandered into a residential area-shanty type dwellings, trying to converse with the locals by sign language and a couple of Burmese words. This brought great rewards of smiley people and even an invitation to have breakfast with one family.

As you said, Jaya, both Branwen and Naing were brilliant, we could not have had a better TM or local guide.

I endorse your comments about visiting this country now. It is such a pity that both JY and TS have dropped this tour, for what ever reasons political or economical (low numbers on the tours and the government putting up prices in I think the hotels, some of which they run).

I hope that this fantastic tour after just a small "rest" will be offered again, with loads of publicity to promote it.

kind regards

Di

Cindy

Great review Jaya, thanks. Glad you had a fantastic time. As you are aware I have looked at this trip but never got round to doing it, perhaps I've missed the boat. Will keep my fingers crossed that it is reinstated at sometime in the future.

Regards,

Roger.

Roger you certainly missed the boat.  I am so glad I booked it when I did as I would have been very disappointed to miss it.  Initially my plan was to go later but so glad I was able to fit it in this year.

Regards

Jaya

Jaya