Bay of Bengal

10 days visiting

• Yangon
• Sittwe
• Mrauk U
• Ngapali

From $2364 AUD pp (2 pax)

Day 1 Yangon
Arrival in Yangon
Upon clearing Customs and Immigration, your guide will present you with a welcome packet including all necessary documentation and vouchers and all contact information of your guide and local offices.
Transfer
– Overnight in Yangon

Day 2 Yangon (Breakfast: Hotel )
Sightseeing in Yangon
Visit colonial heart of Yangon
Start the day in the heart of Yangon which features an interesting selection of monuments and colonial buildings. Among others, you will see the Independent Monument, the High Court, the City Hall and the Sule Pagoda (view from the outside only).
Visit Botataung Pagoda
The Botataung Pagoda 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, however this particular iteration is hollow and one can walk through it.
Visit Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda
The reclining Buddha at Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda in Yangon which is almost as large as the enormous figure of Shwethalyaung Buddha in Bago. It’s housed in a large metal-roofed shed on Shwegondaing Lan, only a short distance north-east beyond the Shwedagon Paya. Surprisingly, this huge figure is little known and hardly publicised at all- if the chance to go to Bago to see the Shwethalyaung was missed, then don’t pass on this opportunity to witness this colossal image.
Visit National Museum
The National Museum hosts several interesting exhibits, especially the 8 metre 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 jewellery, old black and white photos of Mandalay Palace and Yangon, royal relics, Hintha opium weights and inscribed tablets.
Visit Bogyoke Aung San Park
Visit Shwedagon Pagoda at sunset
The highlight of any trip to Yangon is a visit to the spectacular Shwedagon Pagoda, which dates back about 2500 years and was built to house eight sacred hairs of the Buddha. Its bell-shaped superstructure, resting on a terraced base, is covered in about 60 tonnes of gold-leaf, which is constantly being replaced – Overnight in Yangon

Day 3 Yangon – Sittwe (Breakfast: Hotel )
Transfer
Flight from Yangon to Sittwe
Transfer
Sightseeing in Sittwe
We’ll learn all about the historic town of Sittwe with visits to the Rakhine State Cultural Museum and the Mahakuthala Buddha Museum, housed in a grand, century-old British colonial mansion. Today’s Highlights: Mahakuthala Buddha Museum, Rakhine State Cultural Museu – Overnight in Sittwe

Day 4 Sittwe – Mrauk U (Breakfast: Hotel )
Transfer
By boat from Sittwe to Mrauk U
Sightseeing in Mrauk U
From powerful kingdom to forgotten ghost town. At Mrauk U, hundreds of stone temples lie abandoned in a glorious landscape of rural villages, rice paddies and small hills. We’ll visit ancient temples – empty except for a few local worshippers and novice monks. The immense Shittaung Temple with its 80,000 Buddha images will leave us spellbound. We’ll then carry on to Shakama Thet Village, where many of the older women still wear their distinctive oversized earrings and chat while smoking traditional pipes. Today’s Highlights: Shittaung Temple, Andaw Thein Paya, Lay Myatnar Paya, Shakama Thet Villag – Overnight in Mrauk U

Day 5 Mrauk U (Breakfast: Hotel )
Excursion to Chin villages
According to legend, mothers in the Chin tribe would tattoo their daughters’ faces in order to hide their beauty. Sounds drastic, but they did it so that the young girls wouldn’t be taken as concubines for the king. The practice has now been banned so it is only the elderly women that still sport these elaborate tattoos. We’ll travel by boat to visit some Chin villages and capture a chapter of history before it dies out. Today’s Highlights: Boat to Chin villages
Visit a pagoda for sunset
– Overnight in Mrauk U

Day 6 Mrauk U (Breakfast: Hotel )
Visit Mrauk U market
Excursion to Wethali (Vesali) and Mahamuni
Once an ancient city, the crumbling city walls and ruined pagodas of Wethali are scattered along the rice paddies. From Wethali, a bumpy road brings us to the Mahamuni Paya, the alleged first home of the Buddha image now housed in the temple of the same name in Mandalay. Today’s Highlights: Wethali, Mahamuni Paya
Sightseeing in Mrauk U
In the afternoon we’ll visit Sakyarman Aung Pagoda, one of the five most revered pagodas in Mrauk U. We particularly like the two large kneeling ogres by the western gate. Today’s Highlights: Sakyarman Aung Pagod – Overnight in Mrauk U

Day 7 Mrauk U – Sittwe – Thandwe – Ngapali (Breakfast: Hotel )
By boat from Mrauk U to Sittwe
Transfer
Flight from Sittwe to Thandwe
Transfer from Thandwe airport to Ngapali * No local guide *
– Overnight in Ngapali

Day 8 Ngapali (Breakfast: Hotel )
All day at leisure
– Overnight in Ngapali

Day 9 Ngapali – Thandwe – Yangon (Breakfast: Hotel )
Morning at leisure
Transfer from Ngapali to Thandwe airport * No local guide *
Flight from Thandwe to Yangon
Transfer
– Overnight in Yangon

Day 10 Yangon (Breakfast: Hotel )
Transfer