I'd never looked into Pyin Oo Lwin so thanks for the recommendation Lancaster Lad. I'll definitely look into more and bear all the above in mind.

And thanks again Kathie for your input. It's reassuring to hear that about the accomodation. Also, from what you say,
Bagan does seem like somewhere id like to stay longer at.

Regards getting from Bagan to Inle Lake, what would you recommend doing - flying in instead; or changing my route; or even missing it out? I guess probably not the latter, but would be good to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks to you all again : )

Silverswimmer, that video is hilarious - I have seen that previously. My gosh, is the whole journey really likely to be that rocky?!! Holy moly, I could laugh for a while at it but maybe not for 9 hours from Taungoo to Mandalay! ; )

I do like train travel a lot, but another reason it appeals to me over bus is because I will be travelling with my guitar in a soft case and am slightly concerned about putting into the hold of a bus. Id rather keep it beside me, if possible. Anyway, again, I'll have to weigh things up and make a call on it some point soon.

Btw, I meant to say, I'm enjoying your photographs, Kathie!

Pyin OO Lwin was not a highlight of our trip. Further on is Hsipaw which we did enjoy. Lots of trekking from there if that is interesting to you.
I had planned on taking a train, but passed after seeing several videos of train travel in Myanmar. Anthony Bourdain did a show on Myanmar and his train trip looked awful. That said I did talk with people who did take the train from Pyin OO to Hsipaw and said it was fine.

You are quite right, silent way, I don't recommend skipping Inle. It is a unique place. I'd recommend flying there. Note that most flights are what we used to call "milk runs" - they stop at each city. For some reason, I'm not remembering exactly the route - Yangon - Inle - Mandalay-Bagan - Yangon, I think. In which case it would make sense for you to go to Inle first from Yangon. I'd save the train trips for shorter segments. (SS, correct me on the flight routes if I've mis-remembered, please)

Also, I think it makes sense to start off your trip with a place that is stunning - and Mandalay is not. As number of people have said, Mandalay is a hard city to love. There are some interesting places to see, but it isn't a "wow" experience like Inle, Bagan sort Mrauk U.

Glad you are enjoying our photos.

Ok, my head is slightly melting, but I feel like I'm getting there - thank you for all your advice so far!

I'm looking at 2 different possible itineraries now for my initial 2/3 weeks in Myanmar. I'm waiting to hear back from the agents I've contacted regards travel before deciding which, but they are:

Itinerary Option 1

Days 1-2 > Yangon
Day 3 > Fly to Heho/bus to Taunggyi for Inle Lake
Day 4-6 > Inle Lake
Day 7-9 > 3 day hike to Kalaw
Day 10 > Kalaw
Day 11 > Train/Bus/Mini-bus to Mandalay
Day 12-14 > Mandalay + possibly Saigang, Monywa or alternative
Day 15 > Shwekeinnery express ferry to Bagan
Day 16-18 > Bagan + maybe Mount Popa
Day 19 > Train/Bus from Nyaung U
Day 20 > Yangon


One question I'd like to ask about this itinerary is:
- is it recommended that I book hike in advance from Inle Lake to Kalaw? And similarly, should I worry about accommodation booked in Kalaw in advance, too?


Itinerary Option 2

Day 1-3 > Yangon
Day 4 > Train to Taungoo (stay overnight)
Day 5 > Train to Mandalay
Day 6-8 > Mandalay + possibly Saigang, Monywa or alternative
Day 9 > Shwekeinnery express ferry to Bagan
Day 10-12 > Bagan + Mt Popa
Day 13 > Bus to Inle Lake
Day 14-17 > Inle Lake
Day 18 > Fly/bus to Yangon

Regards travelling from Bagan to Inle Lake, I found this interesting blog from earlier this year which seems to suggest a bus route is possible (see Day 4): http://www.pommietravels.com/2014/04...ek-in-myanmar/

Would be great again to hear any further thoughts from you guys about this?!! I have contacted several website agencies now, as I've mentioned, to check on what they can help organise with trains/flights. Once I have reassurance on that, I feel I can finally go ahead and book my accommodation and stop worrying!!

Once I've finished this leg of the trip, I will still have some time left so will consider one or more of the following:

Days 19/21 + > Options range from Ngwe Saung, Pyay, Pathein, Mawlamyine, Golden Rock, Hpa An and Mrauk U

Look forward to hearing your thoughts and thanks again : )

Ps Yestravel, I've just seen the Bourdain clip on YouTube - once again, yikes! Although he does say it is 'awesome' and an 'adventure'- maybe he is just being polite, though! ; )

<<<Day 3 > Fly to Heho/bus to Taunggyi for Inle Lake
Day 4-6 > Inle Lake
Day 7-9 > 3 day hike to Kalaw
Day 10 > Kalaw
Day 11 > Train/Bus/Mini-bus to Mandalay>>>

Fly to Heho, and then go to Kalaw first. It's not that far by road, and the road is quite good.

Do your hike downhill from Kalaw to the Inle area.

By road to Mandalay from Inle will take a full, and long day. There's a train option, haven't got a clue what it's like, but it'll be fun...

http://www.seat61.com/Burma.htm#Yangon or Mandalay to Inle Lake

When you're in Kalaw have a meal at Sam's Restaurant, and if the old man's there have a chat with Sam. His english is perfect and he's a wealth of trekking knowledge.

Note that you don't go to Taunggyi for Inle Lake. It's a city "near" Inle, but from HeHo, you'll just get a taxi to your hotel near the Lake.

If you want to trek, decide what it is you want to get out of your trek. Kalaw to Inle is a very well-trodden path. And if you want to trek that route, do it downhill, Kalaw to Inle rather than Inle to Kalaw. Fly to HeHo, then catch a minibus to Kalaw then trek to Inle. There are plenty of other trekking options, Hsipaw, as yestravel mentioned is another trekking center.

For the last part of your trip, I recommend Mrauk U if you can arrange it.

The hard part right now may be just waiting to hear back from agents....

That's grand, thanks for the advice guys. Ok, so I've got my first 2 nights accomodation booked in Yangon!

Now Id like to book a flight to Heho for day 3. I've seen these flights on Skyscanner - do you think it's ok to book myself or would it be safer to trust an agent? I looked up the airline in question KBZ online and they seem to get good feedback as being reliable?

Once in Heho, I will take a taxi to Kalaw - great advice to hike downhill, thanks!

About Kalaw, I imagine I'll book accomodation there for one night in advance, but in terms of the hike is this something you book before or when you're there? Do you have any recommendations with this? And do they usually last 3 days or does it depend on the route and guide?

Once I've got that sorted, I can book my Inle Lake accomodation and that will be a weight off my mind!

Thanks again for your help, guys, and please if you can let me know your thoughts : )

I would book flights with a local agent.

Treks are all different lengths. depending on where you want to go. The "standard" trek from Kalaw to Inle is three days, but you could choose longer or shorter. And Kalaw isn't the only place to trek... if you are really into trekking, you might prefer to trek somewhere else. Do you have the Lonely Planet guide book? While the info on prices was out of date before it was printed, the other info is excellent.

Skip Mt. Popa while you are in Bagan. It will chew up a whole day driving there and back. I was there a month ago and I wish we had just stayed in Bagan that day. It was a rainy day, so we couldn't see anything from the top. The wetness also made the walkways filthy dirty to walk on in barefeet. Even if it had not been raining, the temple and area is overrun with souvenir sellers, and the temple itself on the top is very tacky. All the shrines are lit with the neon lights. It's very very crowded and full of screaming children. This day was one of the least favorite out of the 11 days we spent in Myanmar.

Just to give a different perspective on Mt Popa -- Mt. Popa was certainly not a highlight of Bagan, but I enjoyed it. We left in the morning and were back shortly after lunch time. We made a couple stops on the way out. Perhaps what made it more interesting for us was that we had an excellent guide who talked about the areas we drove thru to get there as well as talking about Myanmar in general. I didn't find the area more overrun with vendors then other places we visited -- not the temples in Bagan, but throughout Myanmar. It was not crowded and certainly no kids screaming.
Hope you get everything pulled togethr and have a great trip!

The alternative to booking with an Agent (although more expensive) is to book airtickets online with your CC and get etickets.These, amongst others, are bookable online and their time schedules will help you plan.
http://www.airkbz.com/
http://www.airbagan.com/
http://asianwingsair.com/
There are reviews/comments on the TA forum which indicate the new system is working well
SS

Air KBZ was perfectly fine. For most of the flights, you cannot get your seat assignments. They load from the rear of the plane, so most people grab seats toward the back. We booked our flights through Santa Maria.

I'll be posting more detailed information on my trip soon, but I agree with yestravel. We enjoyed our trip to Mt. Popa, but it's one of those places that it's the journey, not the destination, so it depends on how much time you have. Due to the heat and health issues, we did not walk up to the top but we had great views from the bottom, as well as from the beautiful Mt. Popa resort.

Thank you all again for your input, I'm making really good progress thanks to all your help!

Kathie, I got LP now and the hiking info was very informative, thanks!

Internet wiz, Susie San and Yes Travel, really useful to hear the range of thoughts on Mount Popa! To be honest, I haven't done much research yet on it but am still open to going while in Bagan - I think I'll play it by ear for the time being ; )

And really, really useful to hear about the plane situation, thanks Silverswimmer. Can you tell me what CC stands for?

The thing that's holding me back from booking my accomodation in Kalaw, and afterwards, Inle Lake is paranoia that my plane might be cancelled and I can't get up the country as planned. I don't quite see how agent improves the situation - if the plane is cancelled last minute, surely I'm in the same boat as id be had I booked it myself? I know I'm probably missing something...

I'm wondering whether I should just plan to take the bus instead towards Kalaw, rather than plane to Heho. I know I'll miss the comfort and speed factor, but I'm thinking going the bus route might allow me to plan ahead easier than the ambiguity of the plane situation. I don't know if anyone has any thoughts on this? I have done research on google, but I'm still wavering!

Once again, I appreciate all your continued input and look forward to hearing from you! Thanks : )

I'm not sure what you think the ambiguity of the plane situation is. As SS says, you can book yourself on any of these airlines with your credit card (CC). It will cost a bit more than booking via an agent. One of the advantages of booking with an agent is that is there is a cancellation, the agent will automatically re-book you and notify you of the change. If you book directly with the airline, you would have to rebook yourself, and likely deal with getting a refund from the airline. An agent can take care of all of that.

Let me say that it sin't often that flights get cancelled, so I wouldn't refrain from making firm arrangements for fear of a flight cancellation.

You can certainly take a bus if you prefer. But buses are subject to the same problems as any other form of transport. I've read many accounts of people being on a bus that breaks down, waiting for the driver to fix the vehicle or waiting for a part to arrive. Travel is always subject to various glitches. Because of the poor infrastructure, travel in Burma is subject to more glitches.

Ahh by ambiguity I meant the potential for flights to be cancelled/postponed/redirected up until the last moment that I read about somewhere online earlier. I just wondered, without good internet connection and phone reception, how you'd even get notification of this - but I guess an agent would telephone the guesthouse you're staying at, right?

That's interesting to hear about the buses, thanks. I'm still waiting to get replies back from several agents so I'll wait and see what they say before making my decision on what mode of transport to take. Bus would seem easier to arrange quickly and while over there, but plane would be preferable for comfort and speed of transit. We'll see anyway - keep u posted if anything more comes up!

Thanks : )

Yes, your agent knows where you are and can phone your hotel/guesthouse.

A recent poster from the US reported that all flights from Yangon to Heho/Bagan were fully booked from 26th Dec through 6th Jan and was scrambling to get an overnight bus so pull your finger out and get booking!
I did a check on the 4 eticket/online booking sites and can confirm this.
SS

Thank you all again for your replies - things are coming together slowly but surely : )

Glad to hear it.