planningtravel

I usually plan the land portion of a trip and then book flights, however, things are being done a little differently for an upcoming trip to SE Asia. I have a ticket to arrive in Burma in Jan, 2017 using FF miles. As I'm using FF miles I'd like to book my outbound ticket from the region asap.

I can fly into Rangoon and fly out from Rangoon using FF miles. My other option is to fly from Singapore (or Bangkok) using FF miles on my outbound trip from Asia. In which case, I'd travel from Rangoon - Mandalay and fly out from Mandalay to Singapore. (Much prefer Singapore as I was in Bangkok more recently).

My questions:-

I really don't have an itinerary organized as yet, Is 10 days Rangoon - (Bagan/Mandalay/Inle Lake) - Rangoon feasible to do? I'm not including international flights in those 10 days, my flight arrives early in the morning on day 1, so I can hit the ground running once I've checked in to my hotel in Rangoon and freshened up. I'm not certain I have enough time to cover each place in 10 days with the need to return to Rangoon.

Am I better off flying working out an itinerary from Rangoon - (Bagan/Inle Lake) - Mandalay and avoiding the need to return to Rangoon.

I'd still spend 10 days in Burma whether I fly in/out of Rangoon or book open jaw flights to arrive in Rangoon and depart from Mandalay.

Any advice on how to construct a 10 days itinerary will be appreciated. At this time, my main goal is to finalize my outbound flights from SE Asia.

Thanks in advance.

Kathie

This is tight, but probably do-able. Where are you flying from that you expect to be able to hit the streets running once you arrive in Yangon? And what time of year are you traveling? And how many nights do you have in Burma? I have drawn up itineraries assuming 10 nights, but it you have more, that is always better.

Of the four places you plan to visit, Bagan and Inle are the most compelling. I even skipped Mandalay our first trip.

Here is a first trip itinerary arriving and leaving from Yangon:

Arrive Yangon, get on the next flight out to either Inle or Bagan,
4 nights (three full days) at your first stop
4 nights (three full days) at your second stop
Fly back to Yangon for 2 nights.

If you opt to visit Mandalay as well, then you will have less time in each place:

Arrive Yangon, spend the day exploring, making sure to visit Shwedagon in the evening.
The next morning fly to Bagan or Inle; spend three nights at one, four at the other depending on your interests.
Fly to Mandalay for two nights.

There are certainly flights from Yangon to Singapore non-stop. I was unaware of a Mandalay to Singapore non-stop.

planningtravel

Thank you, Kathie.

I'll be flying from Hong Kong, so no issues with jet lag. This is for travel in January. I doubt I'll return to Burma anytime soon, so I'd like to include Mandalay.

There are no non stops from Mandalay to Singapore that I'm aware of. If I depart from Mandalay, I'll need to buy a one way ticket to Singapore and would probably connect in Bangkok using Air Asia. If I end the Burma portion of the trip in Rangoon I have more flight options when I depart.

Kathie

I'd suggest you take a good look at what is in each area you plan to visit in Burma.

"I doubt I'll return to Burma anytime soon, so I'd like to include Mandalay." For me, that doesn't necessarily follow. I'd prefer to see fewer places in more depth than more places in less depth.

MmePerdu

I concur. Mandalay's name evokes far more romance than it delivers. I found it quite dull, except for the puppet theatre, compared to the other 3. With such a short visit, add the time to the other locations.

CaliforniaLady

I am the dissenting vote about Mandalay. Yes, it's a big city with not much charm, however, one of the highlights of our trip was walking along the U Bien Bridge. It's supposedly the longest wooden bridge in the world, and people seem to be stolling along it, back and forth, and back and forth. Anyway, I don't know if my young adult son was the attraction, but people kept stopping and wanting to chat with us, and take pictures with us. We had an amazing time, and we went back and forth twice. We also took a boat ride under the bridge at sunset, which our taxi driver arranged for us.

Certainly, if you can depart from Mandalay, rather than backtracking to Yangon, then you are better off. We had to stay in Yangon at the beginning of the trip, and at the end, and I found it a bit annoying.

yestravel

I join the group who didnt love Mandalay. It was our least favorite place on our trip to Myanmar. That said, if you can fly out of there, I'd do that rather than return to Yangon. But would not want to cut back on otherportions of the trip.

LancasterLad

People who dissent on whatever the destination probably haven't allowed enough time to settle in or scratch at the surface. Slow down!

MmePerdu

"...probably haven't allowed enough time to settle in or scratch at the surface. Slow down!"

Or, being a slow traveler myself, went slow and, in particular instances, wish we hadn't.

yestravel

LL -- why would you say such a thing? You assume staying some predetermined amount of time makes one like a place more? Silly really. I fall into the MmePerdu category.

Kathie

I like slow travel. I have spent way too much time (for me) in Mandalay. Yes, I saw some interesting things, got way off the tourist track, etc and still wouldn't name Mandalay as one of the top 5 destinations in Burma. But to each one's own.

Kathie

That said, we spent three full days in Mandalay on our second trip to Burma and spent 2 full days there on our third trip. Our favorite area was Sagaing. We enjoyed the U Bien Bridge and we enjoyed Kyaukse, an area rarely visited by foreigners (or even locals) that we saw on our third trip. So if you opt to go, do your research on what you might enjoy in the Mandalay area.

CaliforniaLady

I agree about the slow travel--I am the slowest of the slow. When others are rushing from museum to museum, I just like to stroll. On my trip to Malaysia last September, I was in Kuching, and I was headed to one of the museums. I noticed a cultural fair with singing and dancing, so I stopped there for a couple of hours. I was not only watching the performance, but I was able to chat with people watching. I never did get to the museum.

So yes, I agree that less is more, particularly in Burma, where flight delays are common. We had two major flight delays during our trip.

planningtravel

Thank you all. I appreciate the suggestions. I will read more about Burma, for now, I'm thinking of giving Mandalay a miss.

If I don't like a place, I'd prefer to leave as opposed to linger and 'try' to like the place. Slow travel is not for everybody, I like to travel independently but definitely need structure and my T's crossed and I's dotted before I leave home.

Silverswimmer

There was a Singapore/Mandalay/Singapore flight via Yangon this winter,operated by Silkair (sometimes using Singapore metal)
SS

Kathie

I wondered if singer/Silk would start flying that route. Glad to hear they will!

planningtravel

Thanks for the information on SQ/Silkair flights, unfortunately, I'd require a one way flight and this will be super expensive unless it's booked with an LCC.

sartoric

Golden Myanmar Airlines had a flight MDL - SIN a couple of years ago, maybe they still do. The flight did stop in Yangon, but we didn't deplane, it took 30 minutes. I can't recall the price, but it wasn't excessive.