welltraveledbrit

I think you are right that the guide can make the experience, in particular by choosing which villages to go to. I suppose the caution is that you don't know what type of experience you'll have till you get there but it helps when the guide can explain why they think it's worth going and what the villagers gain from the tourists.

elfiesharabi

I am planning a 3 week trip to Myanmar with my daughter end of January. I am doing all the planning since she is in India, with almost no wifi, and will be meeting me in Yangon. Your info has cleared up a lot of questions I have reagrding time needed in each place, how to aviod tourists, how to avoid paying too much for sleep accomodations. Can we organize local guides upon arrival at different destinations? Is it possible to have group tours(other tourists travelling day by day)organized and booked with local tour companies like we took in Vietnam? Appreciate any and all info.

welltraveledbrit

Elfie, glad you found this useful. Because we arranged everything through an agent I didn't look into organizing group tour on a day by day basis. You can arrange for local guides and taxis through hotels good luck on your trip.

yestravel

We also planned out trip through a travel agent who provided some of the guides we used. One I got off this board and contacted him directly. As wtb said, your hotel can get you drivers and/or guides once you have arrived. We did that in several cases. Have a great trip!

Silverswimmer

It is easy to pick up a guide,through your hotel, but many places such as Inle/Bagan (even Yangon) can be done by yourself with a map/guidebook and perhaps a hired taxi for Yangon.
The chance of picking up a day group tour (isn't it called "seat in coach" in the US) are fairly slim.
SS

welltraveledbrit

I agree , we loved walking around Yangon seeing the heritage buildings with a guidebook we picked up locally and the Approach Guide to the Temples at Bagan (which we downloaded) was a great way to see the site on your own but still get enough specialized historical/architectural information.

Kathie

In Yangon, make a stop at The Strand Hotel. In addition to seeing the Grande old dame, pick up one of their walking tour guides to historic buildings in the area.

BostonHarbor

welltraveledbrit, thank you so much for the great effort you put into your report. It's fabulous.

I'm doing almost your exact itinerary (minus the beach time) in late February with six photographers. I am savoring the opportunities in advance.

I am spending an extra day at the beginning and end if my trip in Yangon and I'm happy you found it so interesting. I'm going to get a copy of the "heritage sites" from the library and study it before I go.

I'm also so glad you had such a great time in Egypt. I was there just before the revolution and loved every minute. The Cataract hotel was closed for renovation when I was there. I only saw it from the water. However, I have seen it in the Agatha Cristies "Death on the Nile" How wonderful your stayed there!

welltraveledbrit

Boston Harbour,
Thanks for your kind words.
I'm so glad you found the report useful, it took me long enough!

Enjoy Yangon, I'm not sure why it's not of interest to some visitors, perhaps the city doesn't conform to people's expectations of exoticism. We enjoyed walking around and would have been happy to have another day for the circle line or the museums.The government has banned motorcycles and scooters so it's quieter (relatively speaking) and much less polluted than other large cities in Burma.

We certainly loved the Old Cataract which has to be the most glamorous and atmospheric hotel in Egypt.

If you can't get hold of the heritage book from the library I'd be happy to lend you our copy by post.