Myanmar Culinary Delights

Upon arrival, guests will be greeted by the guide and transferred to their hotel.
After check-in (early check-in available depending on room availability), guests will embark on a tour of the city center, stopping for a while to take photos near the Sule Pagoda. Walk around Mahabandoola Park to see the colonial courthouse and the city hall. From here, the walking tour continues around the colonial area which features various historical buildings.
Lunch will be taken at a local teashop where guests will be able to enjoy Burmese tea and the city’s traditional culture. The tradition of drinking strong tea with condensed milk and sugar was brought to Myanmar by the British more than a century ago. However, people still drink green tea, which is complimentary in most of the local tea shops, to wash away the sweet flavour. The tea shop visited today is popular with locals and serves a variety of traditional Burmese snacks and noodles, all of which can be sampled. Some of the famous dishes are mont pyar tha let (rice pancake), mont leit pyar (wanton-like parcels of bean and jaggery), shwe htamin (golden sticky rice), mohingar (rice noodles with fish soup - Myanmar’s national dish) and own noe khauk swe (yellow noodles with chicken and coconut soup).

After lunch, guests will visit Mawtin Jetty to see the bustling activity on the banks of the Yangon River. There is a daily market here selling fruits, sweets and other foodstuffs, and afterwards the tour will continue to a late afternoon market in Chinatown, which sells everything from flowers to seafood, spices to fresh tofu, and offers another chance to try some local and Chinese delicacies.

Dinner this evening will be served at 19th Street, a popular place to enjoy meat and vegetable satays, washed down with draught Myanmar Beer.

After breakfast at the hotel, guests will transfer to Yangon Airport for the flight to Bagan (Nyaung Oo).
Bagan’s collection of thousands of ancient stupas and temples make it one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in Asia. From the 11th to the 13th Century, when Bagan was the capital of Myanmar, the rulers constructed huge stupas and temples on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, many of which are still standing today.
Today guests will be able to explore Bagan’s most important pagodas, starting with the Shwezigon Pagoda, which was the prototype of Burmese stupas. The journey of discovery then continues to Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi, a cave temple with exquisite jataka mural paintings, and the elegant Htilominlo Temple, which is noted for its fine plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decorations. Lunch is served at a local village where guests will be greeted by their hosts and treated to authentic local cuisine in a traditional home.  

In the afternoon, visit Ananda, an architectural masterpiece built in Bagan’s early-style, and Ananda Okkyaung, one of the few surviving brick monasteries from the early Bagan period. After a visit to Thatbyinnyu, the highest temple in Bagan at 61 meters, guests will take a charming horse and carriage tour through this temple-studded landscape, passing the traditional village of Taungbi, Sulamani Temple and the massive Dhammayangyi Temple, which is noted for its remarkable brickwork. Enjoy the sunset over Bagan from one of the upper terraces of a temple.

After breakfast at the hotel, visit the colorful Nyaung Oo Market. The guide will point out the different varieties of herbs and vegetables which are used in Burmese cooking.

Spend time exploring the stalls where fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and meats are sold, as well as chilis, pastes and other sauces used in local cuisine. Again, the guide will explain the various ingredients and help guests pick out the plumpest chicken, freshest fish and finest vegetables to use in the cooking class, which comes next.

Guests will then be transferrred to a local restaurant to meet the chef who will host the cooking class. Helped by the chef, guests will prepare the ingredients using traditional techniques (such pestle and mortar) and cook several Burmese favorites. This class will also allow guests to learn more about the cuisine of Myanmar, its influences and the typical eating habits of the local people.

And having prepared the dishes, it’s time to sit down and enjoy a feast of freshly prepared delights.

After lunch, guests will pay a visit to another cottage industry where pe chaung, another local famous snack, is made from gram beans.

Then the tour heads out of town to a palm garden, paying a visit to the family of toddy palm climber. This provides a good opportunity to experience the simple way of life of toddy climbers and observe their daily routines. Watch as they collect the juice from the toddy fruit and process it into molasses, alcohol and other items. From August to February there are also other plants (such as beans, peanuts, sesame and cotton) grown in the toddy garden. Enjoy a local lunch prepared by the family.

In the afternoon, drive back to Bagan to visit to a lacquer ware house, and witness the skills of artists who draw decorative figures and intricate patterns by hand. And as the day comes to an end, guests will be taken to the Irrawaddy River for boat ride along this famous river, offering magnificent views of the temples and riverside villages as the sun begins to set.

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Nyaung Oo Airport for the flight to Mandalay, Myanmar’s cultural capital.
On arrival, a sightseeing tour starts with a visit to the Mahamuni Pagoda, famous for its venerable statue of Buddha covered with gold leaf. Mandalay has  long been known as a center of skilled craftsmanship and in former times the city supplied the royal courts. Guests will be offered an insight into this heritage on a  tour of traditional workshops, including such  crafts as marble masonry, Kalaga tapestry and gold leaf making.
Take a break from sightseeing to discover another uniquely Burmese culinary treat: le phet thoke. Eaten as snack, dessert, or even as a meal with rice, le phet thoke is a local salad made from fermented tea leaves. The tea is first pounded together with garlic, green chilli, salt and lime juice for a sour and spicy taste. It is then sealed in a glass bottle and left to preserve for several months. The tea is then added to beans (like gram and luk luk), roasted small peanuts and sesame to create the salad. Occasionally, other ingredients such as dried shrimp, sliced cabbage, tomatoes, green chilli and garlic are added, and this style is called a phoe gyi thoke, or ‘Grandpa’s Delight’.
For lunch, guests will stop at a popular tea house in Mandalay that serves two of the city’s most famous dishes: Mandalay monte and khotaung monte. Tea houses in Mandalay are always full of local people, serving not only as a place for having tea, but also as a hub for socializing and doing business. For example, a car or real estate broker may sit at a tea shop for an entire day in the hope of finding potential new customers. Guests can enjoy this typical Mandalay atmosphere while they are having lunch. 

In the afternoon, visit the Kuthodaw Pagoda with its 729 marble stone slabs containing Buddhist scriptures (known as the world’s biggest book) and Shwenandaw Monastery, noted for its exquisite woodcarving.
Enjoy the sunset from Mandalay Hill to end the day.

This morning, transfer to the airport for the flight to Heho.
From Heho, a one-hour scenic drive leads to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway to Inle Lake. Start with a visit to the Nyaung Shwe morning market where locals gather to buy and sell fresh produce from the lake and its surroundings. Continue by local trishaw down to the bustling canal, which is a hive of activity in the morning as boats from the lake come to unload tomatoes and other vegetables for distribution to the markets around the country. Watch as baskets laden with produce are transferred from boats to trucks and bikes.
Then hop back on the trishaw and wind through quiet streets. Make a stop at the ‘tomato house’, a warehouse-like structure where tomatoes are sorted and priced for sale. Then continue past some of the town’s many monasteries and nunneries, stopping for photos along the way.

Lunch is served at View Point, which specializes in creative Shan tapas and is considered one of the best dining venues the in Inle region. Proceed to Nyaung Shwe and visit Red Mountain Estate Vineyards and Winery, which is located at the northeastern part of Inle Lake. Here, guests can enjoy magnificent views of Inle Lake and its stilted villages while tasting the local wines and observing the grape varieties grown in the estate.
Continue to the jetty and board a private motorboat for a cruise on Inle Lake. Pass villages built on stilts over the lake, inhabited by the local Intha people. Observe the leg-rowing fishermen and see their floating gardens built up from strips of water hyacinth and mud and anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles.

After breakfast, visit the daily market on the lake, which rotates every five days between  villages surrounding the lake.
Arrive at Inthar Heritage House, which serves as a restaurant, vocational training center, organic garden and even a home for Burmese cats. This beautiful center is regarded as Inle’s most progressive enterprise with a focus on preserving the past, cherishing the present and preparing for the future.
The host and chef will lead guests  to the classroom where they will be presented with an apron and recipe book (both are for guests to keep).  After a short briefing, guests will be able to forage through three different organic gardens, picking fresh vegetables and herbs. Back in the classroom, it’s time to begin preparing a series of traditional Inthar and Burmese dishes. The head chef will explain each step while students from the vocational training center assist with the cooking. Typical dishes include mint fish soup, long bean salad, fried spring onion and Burmese chicken and potato curry. Once the dishes are prepared and the aprons dirtied, guests head to the adjoining dining room to taste their creations. (Coffee/tea and one free soft drink, juice or beer are included).
Proceed to the village of Inpawkhone to observe the traditional silk weaving techniques of the Inthar people. Inpawkhone is also known for its technique of weaving the stems of the lotus flowers - a time consuming process that results in high quality materials that have become famous throughout the country.
Guests then visit a cheroot factory where local Burmese cigars are rolled by hand, before continuing by boat to Khaung Daing village on the northwest coast of the lake. This village is famous for its traditional Shan tofu - fried tofu crackers and folded, triangular tofu treats. Guests will be able to watch, and even participate, in the process of sifting the soy beans, boiling them, mashing them into balls and then forming tofu cakes to dry in the sun. This is a fabulous taste of local life on Inle Lake.

This morning, transfer to Heho airport for the flight back to Yangon.
Upon arrival, guests will transfer to Insein train station to catch the circular train. This slow train offers a unique opportunity to observe the lively and colorful life of the rural Burmese people.
Alight at Hledan Market and transfer to Thiri Mingalar, a sprawling wholesale market just outside central Yangon. Produce from all corners of Myanmar lands here where it is then bought and sold at the dozens of smaller markets throughout the city. Lunch at  Khaing Khaing Kyaw Restaurant.
Afternoon at lesiure
Late this afternoon guests will visit the Shwedagon Pagoda - the most revered Buddhist temple in Myanmar. Although the origins of the pagoda are unclear, local legend states that the original structure was built 2,500 years ago then renovated several times before taking its current shape in the 15th Century. The octagonal central stupa is 99 meters tall and gilded with gold leaf, and is surrounded by 64 smaller stupas. The guide will show guests around this massive complex, explaining why this temple is so revered. Enjoy breathtaking views of the golden stupa from this vantage point.
From Shwedagon, guests continue to Kandawgyi Park, which is busy in the evening with locals who come to enjoy the fresh air and dine at the park’s many restaurants. At the weekends, there are often local bands playing and there are always good opportunities to take photos of the illuminated Karaweik Royal Barge, Shwedagon Pagoda and the lake. 

Today is free at leisure, allowing guests to explore Yangon on their own. They will then be transferred to the airport for their departure flight.