You will arrive at the Yangon airport in Burma on the morning flight from Bangkok. At the airport you will be met by your photographer guide (that is myself - Gene Tewksbury) and our local guide. Once everyone has arrived we will make our way to our hotel.
After a short rest and lunch at a restaurant, we will begin exploring the city of Yangon. We will have plenty to photograph as this city is vibrant with culture blended in a mix of the modern and the very old.
Finally, before we go back to the hotel we will take a walk along a section of Yangon river under the shadows of old colonial buildings.
Day 2
After breakfast we will go to a small town (either Thanlyin or Dala) for an opportunity to photograph traditional village life. The old architecture, hand built wooden homes, small shops and markets all make amazing cultural photos and will give you an idea how most people in Burma live.
We have a long trip to Bagan on the overnight bus, so we will be returning to Yangon by mid afternoon for a quick rest stop and food. Then we board an air-con bus for a ten hour ride. You'll have to do your sleeping on the bus as we'll have a very active day starting early in the morning. There will be at least one stop before mid-night for dinner and toilet.
meals - (B, L)
Day 3
We will arrive in Bagan at 2 or 3 am (yes I understand that's not the best travel hours, but we must make due with the limited availability of transport in this country). We will be able to rest in the hotel lobby until it's time for us to go take sunrise photos from the Ayeyarwaddy river bank.
After getting the sunrise photos, we will board a fishing boat to ride into the middle of the river where we get a peak into the life of fishermen of the area. The minimalist homes and lifestyle of the people here is humbling. We will likely purchase some fish form them which we can have cooked locally.
Return to the hotel after 10am when we can check into our rooms. If you managed to get enough rest on the bus you can go out and explore during the day. Otherwise, just enjoy a nice long nap and hide from the heat.
That evening we will make our way to a couple of Bagan's most famous monuments and temples for sunset photos.
meals - (B, L)
Day 4
The next morning we will enjoy a tour of Bagan temples, monasteries, and capture the life of local peoples as they work their small farms and shops.
If time allows we might visit a primary school as well.
At about 10am we shall head to Popa mountain village for more wonderful photography opportunities.
For lunch we will have a local cook fry up the fish we bought yesterday from the fisherman.
After lunch we will split into two groups (your choice).
- One group will hike up the 1500 meter Popa mountain through the exploded crater.
- The second group will continue to photograph the farms in the Popa mountain village. Then a truck will take them to higher elevations not very far from the 1500 m top.
These two groups will meet at the 1500 meter top.
If the weather is cooperative we will stay on the mountain top to capture sunset over the tropical landscape below us.
meals - (B, L, D)
Day 5
Free day at Bagan. Those who wish to explore on their own can do so. If you are not cofortable with that, then you can join me. But basically we will be "winging it" this day. Just exploring and photographing the daily life. Personally this is my favorite thing to do when I'm traveling. The best stuff is always unplanned and unscheduled.
meals - (B)
Day 6
Breakfast and car to Nyaung U airport where we will catch a flight to Heho. From there we take a car transfer to our hotel at Inle lake.
That evening we shall enjoy an amazing boat trip on the lake. This is going to be a wonderous opportunity for sunset waterscapes with sublime backdrops of the local culture.
meals - (B, L)
Day 7
Big day today! We're taking a full day tour of the Inle Lake area. We will be exploring the local markets and floating villages on the lake.
meals - (B, L)
Day 8
We will be staying in the area of lake Inle and exploring some of the surrounding areas including Taunggyi - the capital of Shan state.
meals - (B, L)
Day 9
Time to start making our way back. We'll have a car taking us from our hotel to the Heho airport for our flight back to Yangon.
The remainder of the day will be spent exploring Yangon further and enjoying some of the wonderful Burmese foods. That evening we will make use of our last night to capture more cultural shots near the river.
meals - (B)
Day 10
It's been a great trip, but now we must take car back to the airport. Hope you enjoyed it!
The country of Myanmar is an amazing place, lost in time. There are few places in the world today left to travel where you can fully escape "Westernization" of a culture. Due to an isolated past Burma has been able to hold onto it's culture longer than most of SE Asia. But now, as the country's military regime has started to open its borders and expand its citizen's human right, Burma is going to move quickly into the modern era as its neighbors already have. But we still have time to explore this exotic country before too much change occurs.