We liked the Thiripysaya, but a renovation would make a big difference--I think it was in need! Very peaceful. We tried the free 10 min. massage and decided to get a full one, then ran out of time. I would definitely go back there.

Hi All,

I found this thread really interesting and useful. Thanks to all who wrote in.

I too would love to hear any impressions of visits to the Chin villages. The river excursion itself sounds really interseting and worthwhile but I've also read the posts the thorn tree on the lonely planet website expressing negative views on the visits to the villages themselves and would welcome any thoughts and opinions from anyone who has done the trip here so I can get a first hand view.

As long as I'm writing, here is the rest of the trip outline:

Quick visit to Rangoon (staying at the Strand; more expensive but I can't resist the location or history).

Bagan (planning on staying at the Hotel @ Tharabar Gate)

Inle Lake with side trips to Pindaya, Kakku as well as visits around the Lake (staying at the Princess)

Sittwe and Mrauk U (staying at the Shwe Thazin in Sittwe and the Princess in Mrauk U).

Oh, and any tips on good Burma souvenirs to look out for would also be great to hear about.

Cheers,
David

Hi David, you might find my trip report from Nov 2009 useful - we stayed at the Strand, the Tharbar Gate and Inle Lakeview. Click on my name and you'll find it under trip reports. I'll answer your Chin Village question under your post.

Are all of your hotels booked?

Hi Kathie and Shelleyk,
My sincere apologies for not responding sooner to your request of May 26...
Life and all its demands,you know...Anyways, the guide name for Bago (or anywhere else) is Kyaw Naing. [email protected]
Knowledgeable,easy going and reliable fellow.

Many thanks, cestgaston. It looks like we won't be able to go to Bago this trip - my attempt to add a day to Yangon was in vain. But I know we'll be back.

kyaw is fantastic...we used him during our trip...

we bought a couple of oil paintings in yangon... we found the work to be excellent and very well priced....

lacquareware is a bargain and of good quality...

wood and woven wood products are of a high quality as well... don't limit your shopping to the market, visit small shops and galleries as well around town.

Kathie: Just saw your request for info on Mandalay hotels. I visited the Sedona and while it has a nice pool area, colonized by wealthy expat kids with their nannies, the hotel itself is large and impersonal with little charm. Much nicer is the Inn at Red Canal which is in a residential area a quick truck/taxi ride from the Sedona. We stayed at the Inn and would recommend. The pool is small but you probably do not care about that. Rooms are lovely with local flair. I believe hotel is privately owned. More in my trip report from early 2010.


http://www.hotelredcanal.com/hotel.htm

...also, the Red Canal has free internet which actually worked very well. I could not get a connection at the Sedona, within an hour of succeeding at the Red Canal.

eks, thanks for your review, the Red Canal looks very nice but is fully booked. Zaw recommended the Rupar Mandalar which is a new boutique hotel in Mandalay that looks lovely and gets good reviews. We'll report on it when we get back.

I will look forward very much to your report!

We are nearing our trip to Burma. With the flooding in Bangkok, we decided to heed Hanuman's advice and cut the amount of time we are spending in our favorite city. So we are flying to Burma a day earlier and staying two extra days at the end. This will give us an extra day in Mandalay.

I'm torn about what to do with that day. On one hand, Mingin sounds great. On the other hand, having a whole day to "play it by ear" is very appealing. Any thoughts from my fellow Burma travelers?

We will have two extra days in Yangon, but at this point, I want to keep those days open.

Just wanted to say "have a wonderful time" Kathie -- know you will!

From what I've read, most people enjoy the boat ride to Mingun, as much as seeing the sites in Mingun. I too have extra time in Mandalay because our flight to Bagan is late afternoon, so I an curious as to what Fodorites recommend. As far as your extra days in Yangon, you could go to Bago for one of them. Whaytever you decide to do, I hope you have a wonderful trip. I'll be looking forward to your TR.

Bon Voyage! I will be following your report!

Kathie - Have wonderful trip to Burma! Have you been receiving emails from your travel agent recently? Travel agents, nor hotels we emailed directly have gotten back to us in weeks, with the exception of one who said there had been a major internet problem impacting the whole country the last weeks. We are thinking of using fax as a back-up, but not certain whether or not this will be effective for communication. Any advice? Bon Voyage!

Thanks everyone for your good wishes. I'm sure we will have a wonderful time.

Flylight, I've been in regular email contact with my travel agent in Yangon - no problems. Yangon tends to have more reliable internet than other part of the country.

It's reasonable to try fax. Burma exists in a different time zone (by decades) than the rest of the world.

Have a fantastic time Kathie! Looking forwrd to hearing of you experiences.

Heya from Athens: bon voyage you two - slightly early I know. Alas, I'm out of E-mail contact a lot of the time, but I'll be checking in when I can. I wish you safe and enriching travels... I have the distinct feeling you'll get a lot more out of this trip, now the basics are out of the way.

BTW, Athens is <i>extraordinary</i> right now.
And now, with a click and a sigh, I'm the Ancient Mariner again.

Thanks, dogster for your good wishes. Having revised our itinerary because of the flooding in Bangkok, we actually feel like we have a better itinerary now. We will have more time to explore, more unscheduled time which we both love. I hope we will feel like we can "peel another layer, find out what's inside" on this second trip.

Enjoy Athens, dogster.