planningtravel

I have two choices due to flight schedules:-

1.5 days in Rangoon and 2 days at Lake Inle or 1 day in Rangoon and 2.5 days in Lake Inle.

Which is the better choice? I will fly to Lake Inle and arrive in the morning, stay two nights and sightsee around the area.

I have a choice of a morning flight or afternoon flight to Rangoon and will stay for two nights, I can have a half day of sightseeing there if I take the morning flight from Lake Inle. If I take the afternoon flight I only have one full day in Rangoon for sightseeing.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks.

MmePerdu

I don't think it matters as neither option is good, shortchanging both locations either way. Too bad and I hope you can find a way to add appreciably to the number of days you have to spend there.

Kathie

I'd say a minimum of 2.5 days at Inle. Inle is unique. But if you arrive in the morning and stay 2 nights, you really only have one full day plus some hours on two other days. It takes three nights to make two days. If you arrive in the morning at Inle, you can visit Kakku between your airport arrival and getting to your hotel. But on your last day, even flying out in the afternoon, I question how much time you will have on the Lake. I suppose if you got out at dawn (which I recommend in any case) you could visit InDien and maybe one other place on the main part of the lake. On your full day, you should visit Sankar. It's at least an hour to the airport at HeHo from the Lake.

No matter what you do, you will short-change both places. But with even a half a day in Yangon, you can visit Schwedagon in the evening and maybe make a stop at Scotts Market earlier in the day.

CaliforniaLady

I vote for the afternoon flight, and here is the reason. The flights around Burma operate like buses. They go in a circle from one stop to another, and they get delayed alot. If you take the afternoon flight, and there is a delay, you can grab some dinner at or near the airport, people watch, and maybe take a little stroll. Yangon stays lively late, so you can have a nice walk when you get there.

We had a similar situation when I went to Burma with my son. We were trying to decide whether to take the morning or afternoon flight from Bagan to Yangon, and we opted for the morning flight. Well, we had a delay of several hours, and pretty much wasted the day. We also had a delay of several hours from Inle lake to Bagan. Well, you get the idea, take the later flight.

sartoric

From what I read the OP will be at Heho for the flight to Yangon. I don't recall any food at this small airport. Anecdotally, I have taken many domestic flights in Myanmar, all on time and trouble free!
I'd take the morning flight to Yangon, get your half day (walking tour of colonial architecture perhaps) Shwedagon at night.
Scotts market is iconic, and closed on Mondays.
There's lots to do in Yangon, what are your interests ?

CaliforniaLady

Oh my, sartoric, I was just remembering that our flight from Mandalay to Kengtung also got delayed, so I guess we were extremely unlucky, or you were very lucky. I remember that most of the delays were caused by weather problems.

There is a restaurant near the Heho airport called White Garden.

I do agree with you, however, that Yangon is extremely fascinating. We took a modified version of the circle train, and boy was it fun. A young local college student sat next to me, and asked if he could practice his English with me. Also, ladies kept coming on the train selling watermelon slices, which they carried on their heads. Then we walked around the "housing tract" near the train station, and met all kinds of fun people. My son and I like chatting with locals, and Burma is the perfect place for that.

planningtravel

Thank you for the replies, my entire Burma itinerary is as like this:-

Day 1, arrive RGN fly onwards to Bagan on a morning flight.

Day 2, Bagan

Day 3, Bagan

Day 4, Bagan - Mandalay, morning flight

Day 5, Mandalay

Day 6, Mandalay to Heho, morning flight

Day 7, Lake Inle

Day 8, flight to Rangoon (not sure which flight to book)

Day 9, Rangoon

Day 10, depart Burma.

My interests are cultural and historic sights, natural sights less so but I definitely want to include Lake Inle on the trip.

Obviously, if my morning flight are delayed I'll have less time in the places I plan on visiting.

MmePerdu

I found the Inle area infinitely more interesting than Mandalay, although I did like the puppet theatre. In any case, I strongly suggest taking one of the Mandalay days and giving it to Inle. Even better, skip Mandalay and go directly from Bagan to Inle if you can. That would give you 3 full days there and, though more would be better, I think an improvement overall.

I also liked Rangoon very much and I fear for its future, of it getting too posh. I suppose that's inevitable though.

Kathie

If I remember correctly, you have a special interest in Buddhism. If I have remembered correctly, you will want more time at Inle. Buddhist sites at Inle have a unique Buddhist iconography I have seen no where else in my travels.

Any chance you could add one more day? You itinerary allows only one full day at Inle. While you can visit Kakku on the day you arrive, Inle requires early morning out on the lake for the places you will want to visit. So on the day you arrive, you won't be out on the Lake at all. And the day you depart, you'll have to see if you have the time to get out to InDien, even if you take the afternoon flight out.

MmePerdu's suggestion is a reasonable one. Our first trip to Burma, we didn't have time for everything, so we cut Mandalay. That gave us a goodly amount of time in the other three places. Mandalay, IMO, is the least compelling of the "big 4." Our second trip, we did visit Mandalay (and Mrauk U). Our third trip, we spent time in Mandalay before our cruise up the Chindwin and time in Yangon after the cruise. I would assume you will get back to this amazing country..

CaliforniaLady

Or maybe take one night away from Mandalay, and add it to Inle? That would give you three nights in Inle, and two in Mandalay, which is basically the reverse of what you have now.

I've said it before here, but walking on the U Bein Bridge in Mandalay was one of the highlights of our trip. I also thought the city itself was fun and interesting.

We drove our Inle boat man crazy by insisting we do sunrise and sunsets both days, thus we had more time to see sites in between. You might want to consider doing the same. The floating market is quite interesting. Real people, not tourists actually shop at the market in native dress. We even saw them load up their ox carts with their purchases.

Kathie

As I count, he has just two nights in Mandalay, so if he took one night away, he'd just stay overnight in Mandalay and likely not see much of anything.

Smeagol

We had one night in Mandalay and managed to squeeze in quite a bit ( 2 would have been better) but I would much prefer the extra time at lovely Inke lake

CaliforniaLady

Oh, Kathie, you are right. The OP did indeed show only one night in Mandalay. I typically post my itineraries as follows so that there is no confusion:

"Date - Activity - Sleeping in City X "

In that case, I am going to be the minority opinion here. I suggest to the OP that he either add a night in Inle Lake, or keep the itinerary as is. Perhaps on the last day in Inle, he could have the boat man pick him up for sunrise, and IF he takes the afternoon flight to Yangon, there is plenty of time to see sites that last day. Of course, I would insist on paying the boat man extra money for gas and his time.

I like the Chinese influence in Mandalay and the variety of sites.

CaliforniaLady

Oops, Kathy, I meant the current itinerary does indeed show two nights in Mandalay. I would leave that as is, and add a night in Inle if at all possible, but if not, I would leave the itinerary as is.

planningtravel

Thank you for the helpful replies.

I notice everybody is suggesting adding extra time in Inle. I'm a little reluctant to sightsee on the lake (on a boat) and need to get to the airport in Heho which is about an hour's drive away for a flight. That means everything must go off as clockwork.

What are the must see villages/temples in Inle? I'm not interested in workshops and have been to many water cities in Asia. Having said that, people describe Inle as unique, what makes it unique and which sights are not to be missed?

Thanks

planningtravel

I'd also like to add that I do not have a special interest in Buddhism. I would be interested in seeing some Buddhist sights but Buddhism won't be the focus of my trip.

CaliforniaLady

As I said, the morning markets are the best part, as real local people, in native dress actually shop there. They load up their ox carts with their purchases. We actually spoke to some of them, and they were very friendly. Some of the ladies were smiling at me, and I pointed to my son, and did a "cradle" motion, and they seemed to get that he was my son. It was a cute moment. You have to get there right after sunrise, as the local people shop very early in the morning, at least at the one we visited.

The sunsets are quite special, as my son was able to get pictures of the fisherman, who use their feet to paddle, with the setting sun in the background. Even if you are not a photographer, it is quite a sight to see.

I do agree with you somewhat, that Inle is just one of many nice places in Burma. I have seen stilt houses all over southeast Asia, so the area didn't thrill me as much as some other people. And avoid the workshops, they are big tourist traps. We also visited the monastery, and the pagodas. For some of these sites, your boat man docks and waits for you while you climb around, so no, you are not on the boat every minute.

Your itinerary looks fine as is, and no, I personally did not suggest adding extra time at Inle.

Kathie

Thans for clarifying that, planningtravel.

As we all know, everyone's must-sees are different. For me, going to Sankar, the southern part of the lake would be a must-see, as well as InDien. For me, the 5-day markets were not as compelling as they were for CaliforniaLady. And definitely avoid the floating market which is an absolute zoo even when the 5-day market is not there.

In any case. get out on the lake at dawn. You might be able to make it to both Sankar and to InDien in one day if you are out very early.

CaliforniaLady

We wanted to get to Sankar also, but the lake water was too low, so we couldn't. Make sure you have a plan B in place, just in case.

planningtravel

Thank you for the helpful replies.

I'm inclined to fly to Heho on a morning flight, make my way to the hotel (in Nyaung Shwe) and head out to the Pindaya Caves for half a day. Is this possible? How can I get a boat/tour to the caves on arrival?

The following day I'd have a full day on the lake, will go to Sankar if the tide/weather permit.

I've little interest in the markets but will take a brief look. I do not want to visit any workshops and tourist traps.

I'd rather fly to Rangoon in the morning and not have to worry about heading from the boat after sightseeing and heading to the airport for an afternoon flight when I leave Heho for Rangoon.