i'm not the best review writer  so i shall just give you a brief insight of this wonderful tour and leave the main writing to superior writers than myself

I would just like to add that this 'Burma and the Road to Mandalay' was a wonderful wonderful tour and is right up there with all my other JY tours i have done,  such a wide variety of sights from sunset at U - Bain Bridge to the quite amazing Shwedagon Pagoda,  some stunning sun sets/sun rises,  every day had something special, horse & cart rides to the thrilling optional Tri-Shaw ride in Mandalay,  each hotel we stayed in was pure fantasy, all of a very high standard with friendly staff and wifi in all, the included food was really good and the weather throughout was sunshine all the way,  it is such a shame this tour is no longer due to the political situation at the moment of which didn't affect our tour anyway so please please please JY do all in your powers to bring this tour back it's truly wonderful and the people of burma are so very very sweet they need the tourists

finally i cannot leave without mentioning our wonderful Tour Manager, Branwen Edwards, this was the second time i had Branwen as TM, Vietnam in 2015, and my thoughts on both times are that she is of the very highest standard and Treats her pupils ( ho ho ) as part of her family, honestly she is truly wonderful and whatever tour she does you are in really safe hands,  the same goes for Naing our guide,  he was brilliant, looked after us ever so well and his knowledge of his country is second to none, he works tiredlessly behind the scenes and goes that extra mile to ensure the tours runs smoothly, please JY give him plenty of work,  a final mention goes to all the coach drivers and their helpers who also did a wonderful job as well as those boatmen helping us on and off boats,  i have no hesitation recommending this tour and Myanmar to anybody looking for a new and special destination 

Regards

Dave

A truly wonderful country and very sad that more travellers will not get to see it for the time being.

Thank you for doing a lovely review which complements Jaya's.

The tour/adventure has also shot high up in my holiday ratings. It was so interesting and it certainly was "Barefoot in Burma" (quote).

Here are a couple of my thoughts!

I think that mid November is probably the best time of the year to do this tour, the rains have stopped and although it is hot it isn't unbearable and it  certainly wasn't as humid as I personally expected. There were many festivals taking place,too, because it was the full moon.

At this time of the year certain areas of Inle Lake are carpeted by stunningly beautiful lotus flowers. The flowers are cut as offerings in temples, whilst the stems yield a fibre which is woven and then can be made into extremely expensive suits, worth thousands of pounds, by western designers.

As both you and Jaya say Branwen and Naing, our TM and local guide were great. I hope that JY give Branwen plenty more tours to lead  now that Burma is redundant.

But let's have Burma back!! I would recommend this holiday to anyone.

Kind regards

Di

Totally agree with your comments. I enjoyed every minute of the Tour despite not being 100%. Bill was a joy to be with and I wonder where he gets his energy from! We had a lovely Group and great TM and local guide plus all the drivers had excellent driving skills and their assistants were polite and so helpful. One of the best Tours so far.

Regards

Jaya