itinerary--what to omit

i only have 1 week and have read about Yangoon, bagan, Inle Lake and Mandalay. I think i need to omit one of these places so that we are not running all over the place in a week. we are 3 adults and 3 kids ages 7,5 and 2. What%26#39;s your opinion?

thanks,

babo

itinerary--what to omit

I%26#39;ve been to Myanmar only once (early this year). Mandalay is by far the best to omit. I%26#39;ve also heard this from another friend who has been there.

Not that it%26#39;s not interesting, but we preferred Inle Lake #1, and Bagan #2 and you have to go thru Yangon anyway.

Don%26#39;t get me wrong, we enjoyed Mandalay, just preferred the others.

steve

itinerary--what to omit

Hi Babo-

Many people omit Mandalay from their itineraries. IMO, it is a mistake. In many ways Mandalay is the quintessential Bamar (Burmese) city.

Just a short trip outside Mandalay is Sagaing which is the spiritual center of the country. You children (at least the 7 and 5 year old) will have an amazing time with novice monks and nuns. There is also perhaps the finest traditional Burmese dance theater in the country - http://minthatheater.com . The city of Mandalay itself is not all that exciting. But the daytrips are all pretty easy (even with little ones in tow) and are sooo worth doing. And in the evening, go up Mandalay Hill for an incredible sunset and some stunning scenery. Also, there are often music videos and soap operas being shot up there. I have seen this on several visits. Not exactly Hollywood...or even Bollywood, but very fun to watch.

Inle is beautiful, but has become overrun with tourists all seeking to avoid other tourists - the result - too many tourists. Beautiful place, but I can think of a half dozen other places in the country which are equally magnificent and without the throngs.

Don%26#39;t miss Bagan.

Many will disagree with me about Inle, but it has become really over touristed to the point where much of what you will see is there only for the benefit of tourists. Not that it isn%26#39;t a beautiful place, It is.

tomboynyc---i%26#39;m not sure that my last message went through---so here it is again. Having said what you did about Mandalay--how would you plan our 7 night trip. do you have any favorite hotels, centrally located, and will the weather be warm in January?

thanks,

babo

babo-

I have to go to sleep...

but it will be beautiful!

January and February are the best months of the year!

I%26#39;ll write more tomorrow.

tombonyc----so whar will be the temperature in january in yangon, bagan and Inle lake?

Also, i understand that there are few placed to use credit cards---how do we handle the money---hate to carry so much cash.

anything special that you like to buy there--and where?

thanks,

babo

Hi Babo-

Inle can actually get quite cool during the evenings and early mornings. The sight of locals wearing hats, heavy coats, mittens and earmuffs for 55 degree F (12 C) is kind of funny. They look like they are preparing for a trip to the summit of Everest.

During the day you can expect very warm weather in all 3 places, and rain at that time of year will be an exception to the rule, especially in Bagan which has a dry climate all yea around. When I say warm, I mean between 90 and 95 F (32-35 C).

I am fairly well traveled, and I REALLY DO NOT like to carry cash at all. But there is one country in the world where I feel safe toting around my money - that is Myanmar. Keep it on yourself so that you do not lose it, but the likelihood of having your money pilfered is extremely remote. If you were to drop a $100 US bill on the street, the strong likelihood is that a atrenger would go out of his/her way to make sure you got it back, and then be almost insulted that you would even THINK to reward normal behavior, if you thought to do that,

Purchases

Inle - Beautiful as it is, I am not a huge fan. The whole place has become a tourist machine, and anything you think to buy there will be overpriced. Bargain VERY, VERY hard. And give off the air that you really do not care whether or not your price is met, even if you love something. If the seller sees that you really, really want it, you%26#39;ll lose out.

Bagan- Same bargaining applies. Other than junk, the only things I would buy would be lacquerware, for which Bagan is justifiably well known. Burmese lacquerware should be strong and made with traditional materials. Some of it really is quite extraordinary. Definitely plan to get some of this here.

Yangon - Bogyoke is great fun, and you will be able to get woodcarvings, mother of pearl boxes and flatware, longyiis, etc. Everything you wanted to buy during your trip. But they come at a price. Bargain VERY, VERY hard here. And again, be prepared to walk away. Bogyoke is primarily for foreigners, and the prices reflect that.

Gems - they%26#39;re beautiful and they%26#39;re cheap, but when you buy, the money goes to the government. The tragic thing is that when you buy them in neighboring Thailand or elsewhere in the world, the money also goes to the government, so just buy carefully. I do not buy gems at all.

Most of all, have fun! The Myanmar are really the loveliest people you could ever hope to meet. And your children will feel like rock stars!

Myanmar is full of talented artists and craftsmen, and some of the stuff is really quite nice. Just be careful that you buy the real stuff.

hi tombonyc, thanks for the information. if you don%26#39;t like inle lake---where else do you suggest? my daughter lives overseas and will be traveling with us---she had some friends recommend inle lake, but since i am making the itinerary---i am open to suggestions. in addition, if we do go to inle lake, the princess resort is full--where else do you suggest. i think we are at the govenor%26#39;s residence in Yangon, and the theogate in bagon. is the govenor residence too far from the center and things we will be doing--if so, what about the traders hotel or savoy? what restaurants do you like in all of our stops. any %26#39;must do or must not do%26#39; that you can think about. the kids have lived in singapore for 2 years and have become great travellers. we only have 5 nights,but will arrive on an early am flight. do you suggest overnight in yangoon or just seeing the sights and then making same day connections. then, maybe we could put back mandalay. what do you think---5 nights is really too short, but it%26#39;s what we have.

thanks,

babo

It%26#39;s not that I do not like Inle...it%26#39;s just become a little too much a part of every package vacation to Myanmar. As is Bagan. But Bagan is a place that exists nowhere else on earth, and Inle, nice though it is, is overshadowed by other big lakes in Myanmar alone.

Five days? Ouch!

Well, immediately you%26#39;re going to run into a few issues with that timetable. You can forget Inle right off the bat as It will take you a long time to get there. After you arrive in Heho you have a pretty long (although beautiful) drive in front of you just to get to the lake.

In Mandalay you also have a solid hour of driving just to get from the airport to the city.

By the way, Governor%26#39;s Residence is STUNNING. It is owned by Orient Express (Cipriani Hotel in Venice among others.) The hotel you mentioned in Bagan is maybe Tharabar Gate? Very nice place. It is one of 2 %26#39;luxury%26#39; hotels in Bagan (although it will not really compare to the place you%26#39;re staying in Yangon.) Don%26#39;t worry about location in Yangon - it%26#39;s really not a big city, and taxis are museum pieces in and of themselves.

Inle Hotel - try this:

http://www.myanmar-tourism.com/inleResort.htm

Try to relax as much as you can on the trip. If you%26#39;re going from site to site you may just miss what makes the country and the people so unique.

With such a short time to spend in Myanmar I would also suggest skipping Mandalay. I actually enjoy the city and the surrounding area, but in my opinion it%26#39;s a mistake to do a ';rush visit'; there and not have enough time to enjoy all the sights. If you DO decide to go to Mandalay, I%26#39;d put priority on seeing U-Bein%26#39;s Bridge in Amarapura and the river trip (one-hour) to Mingun. Most of the temples, as well as the fort/palace, in Mandalay itself are not that memorable.

With just 7 days, I would do a quick Yangon-Bagan-Inle-Yagon swing, flying each route. Even that%26#39;s too quick, but it will give you a good overview of the basics. Myanmar is an amazing country. I%26#39;ve been 3 times and am due for another trip later in December. This time I have budgeted 3 weeks - and I still won%26#39;t have enough time to see everything I want.

I think you can skip Mandalay if you only have 1 week. Nothing much for children 7,5 and 2 and pls tell them in advance so that they won%26#39;t be disappointed.