Fodors friends, I need some input as I plan my November trip to Burma.

I've done lots of research, but am now down to trying to decide what I can fit in as I plan a too-short trip to Burma. I will arrive in Bangkok from Seattle about midnight, spend the night at the Novotel at the airport, then take the first flight in the morning to Burma. I'll have 10 days /9 nights in Burma. My current plans call for:

Flying from Bangkok to Yangon to HeHo on Day 1. Stay at Lake View Resort for three nights.

On day 4, fly from HeHo to Bagan, stay at Aureum Palace for 3 nights.

On day 7, fly from Bagan to Yangon, stay at the Governor's Residence or the Strand for three nights.

Here are some of my questions:

I love Buddhist pilgrimage sites so I'd like to visit the Pandaya Caves. As I understand it, if we want to do this, it would be best to do this before driving to Inle Lake. Has anyone been there recently? The LP says that someone decided to "spiff up" the site and painted all the Buddha images in red and black - is this true? Any info would be much appreciated.

Are three days in Bagan enough for me? I've wanted to visit Bagan since I was a child. Remember, I'm the peson who spent a week at Angkor and could have enjoyed more time there. We will plan to take the very early morning flight from HeHo, to give us much of a day in Bagan when we arrive. We could try to take an afternoon flight into Yangon to give us an extra morning or I could cut a day from Rangoon and add it to Bagan. Those are the only options I have to add time to Bagan. Thoughts?

I currently plan for 3 nights in Yangon. I can take an afternoon flight from Yangon back to Bangkok so I have another morning there if I need to cut a day from Yangon to spend in Bagan.

As many of you know, I am very interested in Buddhism. Any tips on less-visited Buddhist sites near any of my three stops would be appreciated.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?

Many thanks.

Kathie - given how much you like Angkor, I would be inclined to plan for three days rather than three nights in Bagan! And take the time from Yangon, you don't want to short-change Inle either. I'll have to dig out my journal to answer the other question.

yea---you are going to do it!!!

i have a driver for you if you need one...

strand is too sterile...

I found the journal. My notes say that the temples on the south side of Inle lake were rather touristy. (I didn't like the cat show!) We went by canoe, not the usual power boats, to a quiet monastery with just one elderly monk at the northern end, but unfortunately I didn't write the name down. The monk was an ex-policeman, and there was a well outside.

We visited Mt. Popa on the way to Bagan from Mandalay, which was the place I was trying to remember. The site is dramatic, but I'm not sure the temple is worth a detour. I'd recommend visiting one of the Nat shrines as well as the Buddhist temples. And take a boat out on the river for the sunset one of your evenings.

My totally unedited pix are at kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/287618 - Myanmar - password myanmar - the best Mt. Popa photo is 353.

Kathie, please keep this thread active. Some of us, the lord willing, would like to follow in your foot steps. What are your primary planning sources/references?

Some friends went to Burma recently and brought back a long string of colorful prayer flags. Some they put on the roof of their house (they live in a rural area so no neighbors to complain) and it looks really cool.

They enjoyed the trip, but said the food was pretty bad. So maybe bring some snack bars and candy just in case.

I only had two nights in Bagan at the AP hotel and could've stayed longer. I too enjoy learning about Buddhism and my guide there, once a monk himself for quite a lengthy time, took me to 3 small monasteries to meet the head monks at each and have a chat. It was one of my more memorable events and one monk was even interrupted by a villager from his meditation in one of the caves to come and meet the solo American woman-I was quite the curiosity! Bagan was a mystical place and if you enjoyed Angkor temples for a week, I think you would love the have more time there.

I really enjoyed the food and had the best mulligatawny(sp?) soup ever in one of the restaurants at lunch. There was an Indian/Chinese flavor to a lot of dishes.

Kathie - congratulations, I am so glad that you are finally taking the plunge.

To answer your questions and offer some of my own thoughts:

While I thought the Pindaya Caves were somewhat tacky (or kitschy, as LP would say), I can't imagine anyone defacing the golden Buddhas in the caves. Did you see this on Thorntree? This is what the Buddhas looked like when we were there:
http://craigandjeane.smugmug.com/gal...151_NJd8h-A-LB
If you do choose to go to the caves, know that we were on an earlier flight than you and did not arrive at the resort until the late afternoon.

While you probably have good reason for doing Inle Lake first and Yangon last, I would suggest doing your trip in the reverse order so that Yangon is not the big letdown it was for us at the end - or at least consider splitting your time in Yangon.

Flights usually do not leave Heho much earlier than 9 AM, whereas you can fly out of Yangon at 7 AM to get to Bagan at 8 AM. This could buy you some additional time there. Two days was enough for us to see the temples but as you know we are not really temple people. While Mt. Popa is dramatic from a distance, the trip will kill a whole day and will not be worth your while. Are you going to do the balloon ride?

The "less visited" Buddhist site that I would recommend is the stupas at Kakku. If you go (from Inle Lake), you will have the place almost to yourselves. The town of Taunggyi which is on the way has an interesting central market. There is also a small winery(!) nearby that offers tastings for a small fee. This would be a full day away from Inle Lake though.

As for Inle Lake, try to do one day visiting the major sites that are close by (yes, even the jumping cats) and then another off the beaten track to the far south of the lake, preferably on a market day at Samka (LP calls it "Sankar").

We didn't think the food was that bad, but then we snack rather than eating lunch. We ate dinner out at restaurants in Yangon and Bagan but had our dinners in at Inle Lake Resort. Someone on this board wrote of having dinner at a restaurant in the small village next to the resort, but I don't think I'd risk it, if I were you.

We were told that for safety reasons, we could not go out on a boat at sunset.

Happy planning!

I ate in the village at Inle Lake (I was staying in the village), but I was told to avoid the Indian restaurant there because they used lake water.

Craig - was it at Bagan you were told you couldn't go on a boat at sunset? We had no problems doing that (early '05), and it was beautiful and very peaceful.

Many thanks to all of your for your input.

Thursdays, thanks for your suggestions. I am inclined to cut a day from Yangon so I can have more time in Bagan. I'll put the Nat shrines on my list. I plan to ask specifically to visit less touristed Buddhist sites at Inle, but sometimes that works, sometimes not. I want to spend some time with your photos.

Bob, opinion on the Strand seems to be divided. The final decision will depend on many factors. Thanks for the offer of the info on the driver.

degas, I'll be glad to post more about my planning references. I have a whole shelf of books on Burma, as I started planning this trip in the early 1990s.

Jaya, prayer flags? I associate those with Tibet and Nepal. Do you also see them in Burma?

moremiles, thanks for your comments, especially about the monasteries at Bagan. I've read your report thoroughly.

Craig, the comment about repainting the Buddhas at Pindaya was in the LP guidebook. I can also ask on Thorntree. Thanks for your photo. I don't want to split my time in Yangon. I haven't yet submitted my itinerary to the travel agency, so I'm not sure baout reversing the order, but I'll expore that. Thanks for your comments on Inle, I have a lot more research to do on that area. In Bagan, we do plan to do the balloon ride.

More info is welcomed!

Kathie - must be in the 10th LP edition just out as I have the 9th - usually I can bring it up on Amazon and take a look inside but they don't seem to have the latest...

thursdaysd - it was Inle Lake where we couldn't go out at sunset

"I started planning this trip in the early 1990s" - lol! Sounds like me and Central Asia. So glad you're finally getting to go!

Three days in Bagan is long.
Tourist can hire horse drawn carts as cab to get around.
Used to cost US2 or 3 for half an hour.

Actually, now that you mention it the script on the flags was very likely Tibetan, not Nepali because their script is the same as Hindi. Burmese script is very round and rolly-polly looking. So, now that I know they are Tibetan, I'm not sure where they picked them up. If I find out that they DID get them in Burma, I'll let you know.

Apply some thanaka (yellowish white substance organic medication} on your face.
Tourist can use it as suntan lotion.
Get a longyi (Burmese Sarong) with Huyat phanat (Burmest slipper and mingle yourself in downtown Yangon.

Kathie,

Just wanted to add a personal tip on walking around in Myanmar. Bring lots of socks or wipes as you will have to walk barefoot through the temples. It can be dusty(dirty) or muddy so bring those really inexpensive socks and through them away after you leave the temples.

Don't forget the balloon over Bagan experience!

Cat12345 - we only paid $15 per day(8 - 9 hours) for the horse drawn cart. A few years earlier it was $10 a day so when did you go to Bagan?

Craig, I just checked the edition of my LP and - oops - it's the 8th. I'll have to pick up the latest edition! GIven that the "fact" I was worried about wasn't in the 9th edition makes me think it may not have been fact.

thursdays, I first planned this trip back when you had to go on a group tour and the maximum number of days you could stay was 7. ASSK asked that tourists not visit just before I did the final booking, so I cancelled. I've made a couple more aborted attempts since then. So - when are you going to central Asia?

Cat: "Get a longyi (Burmese Sarong) with Huyat phanat (Burmest slipper and mingle yourself in downtown Yangon" LOL as a blue-eyed blonde, I stand out no matter what I'm wearing.

Hanuman, thanks for the tip on socks.

Hanuman, I remember you booked your Balloon over Bagan in-country. Craig, how did you book yours?

Kathie - provided I don't break any more bones, and the dollar doesn't tank, I'm hoping for next spring for Central Asia. I think it will work better starting in the spring, as I'd like to spend some time in the Himalayas at the end. I'm starting to work on E. Turkey, Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan for this fall, with Iran if I can get a visa.

I didn't go to Myanmar the first time I went to SEA because of the boycott, but a woman I met in Vietnam went, and virtually adopted her driver. So I used him (he's the local in my photos), and stayed in guesthouse type places.

Re: ASSK - I just saw this: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009...o.html?_r=1&hp - looks bad....

Kathie,

You might find this dining guide for Myanmar interesting: http://www.airmandalay.com/pdf/GF0405_06.pdf