A Short Escape In Vietnam – Myanmar 7 Days

Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City arrival
Welcome to Vietnam’s financial hub – Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Arrive in the late morning and enjoy an orientation tour through Ho Chi Minh City’s bustling streets en route to the hotel. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure to recover from jet lag and explore the city on your own.
Meals: N/A
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon
Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnels – City tour
Today you travel outside of Ho Chi Minh City to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi Tunnels are an underground labyrinth of passageways, used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (or “American War” as it’s referred to here) as protection against American air raids. Those inclined are invited to crawl through selections of the tunnels to better understand what life was like for the Vietnamese soldiers during wartime. Next you come back to city, visit Chinese town with Binh Tay Market and Thien Hau Pagoda, continue to the nearby neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral and the City’s Centre Post Office before passing by the ornate Opera Theatre and the City Hall.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon
Day 3: Ben Tre day trip
Today you spend a day away from the busy city of Saigon and drive to Ben Tre Province. Visit Vinh Trang Pagoda, an ancient southern architectural gem in Tien Giang en route. On arrival at Hung Vuong Pier, board on your private boat for a glimpse at the delta scenery while enjoying coconut juice. Experience the unique lifestyle of the Mekong Delta as you visit fruit orchards, coconut groves, brick workshops, and home-made products such as coconut candies, rice cakes, handicrafts etc. After a short walk to visit a local family to learn how they make sedge mat and enjoy tea, tropical fruits, take “Xe Loi”, a kind of motorized rickshaw or you can hop onto your bicycle and peddle through picturesque villages (about 20 minutes). Stop at a riverside restaurant for a delicious and filling lunch. Then board a sampan for a relaxing trip along narrow canals. The boat will be waiting for you at the pier nearby to bring you back to Ben Tre where your car will take you back to Saigon.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City – Fly to Yangon – City tour
Today you leave Vietnam for Myanmar by the direct flight to Yangon.
Mingalabar! Up on arrival at Yangon International airport, our guide and driver will welcome you and proceed to the tour.
Welcome to Myanmar, the country has just opened its doors to the world after 60 years of isolation and now waiting people to explore its unique heritage and culture.
Now you have a trip downtown with a walking tour through the historic quarter. Along the way you visit the former City Hall and various other examples of 1940’s colonial British architecture. The hidden art galleries inside the small alley could also be the next stop on your tour. Continue to Bogyoke Market, formerly Scott Market (closed on Mondays and public holidays). Built in the 1920s under British rule, the side is listed a heritage of Yangon. It has more than 2,000 stalls dominated by large selections of antique Burmese handicraft, clothing and jewelry…
Last but not least, you go to Shwedagon Pagoda, the most sacred Buddhist site of Myanmar and the oldest one in the world. The pagoda contains a 99m high golden stupa and spires, adorned with 7,000 diamonds, sapphires and rubies and allegedly, hairs belonging to the Gautama Buddha. If you are fortunate, have a chance to join a special oil lamp lighting ceremony with thousand oil lamps are lit around the gilded pagoda. This ancient and symbolic Buddhist ritual will be the truly awe-inspiring spiritual experience.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Yangon
Day 5: Yangon – Fly to Bagan – Sightseeing
Today you have the flight to Bagan and have the visit to the most beautiful and iconic sites, including: Ananda Temple, Shwezigon Pagoda, Nanpaya Temple, Thatbinnyu… In the afternoon, you visit a traditional lacquerware workshop, try creating some products yourself and bring home some unique the handicrafts. Later on, from an elevated vantage point, you witness the panoramic view of the archaeological wonders in sunset. This is the most relaxing way to end a day in Bagan.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan.
Day 6: Bagan rural sightseeing – Mt. Popa
Begin the sightseeing with a visit at the colorful Nyaung U market which remains very authentic with a wide range of local grown products. Next, you take an exotic horse cart ride around the ancient land, feel free to drop by any temples in Bagan and many other interesting sites nearby. Now you proceed to the typical Burmese villages, discover their agricultural lifestyle, such as Min Nan Thu Village and Shwe Hlaing village…
Continue your journey to Mount Popa, an extinct volcano standing 1518 metres high. It is the worshipper center of the pantheon of Burmese ‘Nat” spirits (which form an essential part of Buddhist beliefs in Myanmar).  Climb 829 steps with bare foot to reach the revered Popa Taungkalat Monastery perched dramatically on a large rocky outcrop. The adventurous is rewarded with sweeping views of Popa National Park.
In the afternoon, drive back to Bagan and stop en-route at the workshop making traditional palm sugar, cigar maker and peanut oil distillation. You cap the day with an unforgettable sunset from a boat on the Irrawaddy River.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Bagan.
Day 7: Bagan – Fly to Yangon – Departure
Breakfast at hotel. Take the flight back to Yangon and Get ready for the International flights.
Thank you for your time with us!
Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodations: N/A