Kathie

Hello friends,

We’re headed back to Burma in Nov/Dec. We are primarily interested in visiting places we didn’t get to last time.

Our priorities are:
Mrauk U. We’d like to stay three nights to have two full days there to explore. Given what we’re read of others’ experiences of going to the Chin villages, we’ll skip that. We’d love to be able to fly into Sittwe, catch a boat and get to Mrauk U before dark. Does anyone know if that is possible? I’ll be asking Santa Maria, of course, but wondering if I’m only dreaming about being able to do that.

Mandalay. We want to visit mostly to see the ancient cities outside of town. I think we need to allocate two full days for that. We also want a daytrip to Pyin U Lwin, which is another full day. We thought about an overnight there like Robbie and Fred did, but I think a daytrip will be enough. So that means 4 nights in Mandalay. I’m hoping for a partial day at the beginning or the end to do some crafts shopping, but that will depend on the flight schedule.

*We need a recommendation for a hotel in Mandalay.*

In addition, we are hoping to make a quick stop in Bagan (2 nights) to see Min Thu and visit some more temples.

Then we want some time in Yangon and are hoping to squeeze in a daytrip to Bago. I am hoping to fit all of this into three nights. Crazy, I know. I think we’ll probably have to save Bago for next trip.

The logistics are what will determine what we can/can’t do. I’m afraid we may have to overnight in Yangon between the Mrauk U and Mandalay portions of the trip or else our first night in Burma.

Our hotel choices are :
The Princess Resort at Mrauk U
In Bagan, the Thiripysaya Sanctuary
In Rangoon, The Strand.
We need advice on a Mandalay hotel.

Thoughts? Ideas? Input?

Many thanks.

dogster

This will answer some of your Mrauk U questions. I suggest you peruse the site. There are options here you may not have seen. No, I'm not suggesting you use Diethelm or not, but their itineraries give you a clear idea of what's possible a bit off the well-beaten track.

http://www.diethelmtravel.com/myanma....aspx?pktid=99

Ever thought of Putau?

Kathie

Dogster, Thanks for the link. I have to admit that I don't relish the thought of spending a night in Sittwe. Jules reported on a trip to a monastery in Sittwe that sounded good, as well as a small museum, but the trips to the Chin villages as described by many travelers (mostly on Thorntree) sound truly grim - the villages are mostly vacant as the able-bodied are out in the fields and the tatooed elderly women are brought out for the inspection of the tourists - in the best tradition of "human zoos." And, of course, I want two full days in Mrauk U to look at temples.

I have not (yet) considered Putau, though a trip to the north of Burma is no doubt in our future. We'd like a trip of similar length entirely in northern Burma.

Right now (before retirement) we're doing snippets.

dogster

I know I'll never convince you - but a river trip in Burma is pretty damn fine. I think you're missing out on a whole new world by ignoring that option.

Hanuman

I thought Putao is an outdoor nature kind of place? A friend just spent sometime up there and all he did was to stay in a beautiful resort, hiking, rafting and those kind of activities. I don't know if you can "see" this link but here are some pictures form his trip in Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/...276.1309562409

Kathie

Well, just getting from Sittwe to Mrauk U is a river trip, and I'm looking forward to that. Right now I'd prefer that to an organized cruise. Maybe when time is not an issue, I'd do one of the Pandaw cruises. Do you feel that the trip to the Chin villages is unmissable?

What more do you know about Putau? When we were in Burma, I read about a resort up in the mountains. It sounded beautiful, but it also sounded tailor-made for the high end tourist who doesn't want to see more of Burma. While I plead guilty of being high-end traveler, I DO want to see more of the lives of the people.

I'd be interested in any more information you have, dogster.

Unfortunately, Hanuman, I can't access your friend's photos.

dogster

Just found this.

http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-b...ha-lodge-.html

might be a bit suss now. I wondered why their website had disappeared.

BTW, I haven't been to Mrauk U. That 6 hour boat ride ain't my idea of a good time.

Kathie

Thanks for the link. The Balloons over Bagan people are ok in my book. But I'd prefer not to do business with the Htoo folks. Close connections with the junta. I avoid all the Aureum resorts and the Treasure resorts.

My understanding is that the Princess Resort has its own boat that does the trip in less time. In any case, it's the only way to get to Mrauk U.

m_bran

Kathie,

While it’s not The Strand, I can recommend the Mandalay City Hotel. It’s a good 3* hotel. (Just request a room away from the Mosque next door to avoid the 5 am call to prayer – or embrace it as a built in alarm clock.) Gets mixed reviews on TA.

IMHO the drive to Pyin U Lin (aka Maymo) was more interesting than the town itself. Will be interested in your opinion.

Hope you have another wonderful trip & can’t wait to read all about it!

Mary

Kathie

Thanks, Mary. I'm interested in going to Pyin U Lwin not just for the town, which gets ok reviews, but also for the botanical garden. I'm an orchid grower, and they have an interesting collection. I also read The Weeping Goldsmith, the travels of a botanist in Burma and was fascinated.

shelleyk

Kathie-I don't know if you can squeeze in another 2 days, but if you can, take a look at Monywa as an overnight destination from Mandalay. The caves and other sites around Monywa sound really interesting, although the hotel choices in Monywa are limited to two hotels-both, not good, but hopefully acceptable for one night.

Kathie

Hi Shelly, I noted that you'll be going to Monywa and it looks great. I don't think we can eke out another two days this trip. I'll be very interested in seeing your itinerary when you get it firmed up.

pattyroth

Kathie, Again, it's not the Strand either, but we stayed at the Sedona in Mandalay and that worked out great for us. The breakfast was an excellent buffet that changed daily (the best we had in Myanmar). V comfy beds, etc.

Kathie

Patty, the Sedona is one on my list that I wanted more info about. How was the location? Anything close to walk to?

Kathie

I just checked my email and found I already had a response for Zaw at Santa Maria. His two recommendations for hotel sin Mandalay are the Rupar Mandalay and the Mandalay Hill Resort. Anyone know anything about either?

And as I feared, the logistics for Mrauk U are complicated. We will likely need a night in Yangon before flying to Sittwe and a night in SIttwe. The flights to SIttwe are apparently change from morning to evening on whim, making planning more difficult.

Also, Zaw thought we could visit all three of the ancient cities outside Mandalay in one day. What do you think?

Kathie

Oh, I love my typo above - "hotels in Mandalay" became "hotel sin Mandalay"

jules39

Kahtie. You can def do all 3 cities in one day. We kind of did! But...on our first day our flight arrived at 730 so we wandered around town in the morning & in the afternoon went out to Ubien for a few hours. Walked the bridge & wandered throught the village on the other side. We did go back to Ubien the next day & the day after so we got 3 sunsets out there & one early morning. But by the time we got to ancient city #3 (begins with S & my mind is blocking we did not spend a lot of time there. But we did take it very slowly around Ava. Which we loved.

I agree I wouls skip Sittwe if I could but....it does give you a look at a totally different place in Burma with a very different feel to anywhere else you would have visited. There was not much hotel choice when we were there. Our flight did not get in from Yangon until about 4 so no way yo get to MU that day. Yes we needed a night in Yangon before the flight to Sittwe. Even our little private boat was a 5 hour trip not 6 & it went by quickly. If you stay in Sittwe go the the fish market on the way to the boat the next morning. It was pretty amazing & we go to lots of markets when we travel.
Not long until you go!

Kathie

Thanks so much, Jules. That information is very helpful. I'm re-working the itinerary I'd outlined previously to take the logistics into account.

Since it sounds like we'll end up with an overnight in Sittwe, We'll try to take in the monastery and museum you mentioned as well. And we'll look forward to the fish market in the morning.

Did Santa Maria book the private boat for you?

jules39

Yes Santa Maria arranged the boat. Little & not lux by any stretch but fine. They did have photos that they emailed to me & they were accurate.

The monastery & museum will probably not be ahighlight of the the trip but worth a visit to fill in your Sittwe time. We got lucky & met a monk that loved to chat at the museum & at the monestary there were a group of teenage monks that were very excited to have visitors so that made the visit worth it.

Kathie

Thanks, Jules.