Myanmar ~
The Golden Kingdom and the Naga Lunar New Year
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Myanmar, formerly Burma, has a rich living culture and a long colorful history. From KiplingRoad to Mandalay to the hill tribes of the Shan State, you will experience traditional Buddhist culture and its many fabulous manifestations of ornate temples, golden pagodas and ancient monasteries. Burma was once a battleground of invading conquerors and an important colony ruled by the British Raj before gaining independence following WW-II.
This years Lost Frontiers Myanmar program is offering you a unique opportunity to witness the Lunar New Years celebration of the Naga tribe in the highlands of western Burma. This unusual 5-day excursion is only possible with special permits and will be in an area that has largely been cut off from western contact for over 50 years. Following the Lunar New Year program is a rare opportunity to visit the Chin tribal country that has only been open a year. With our claim firmly in place that we can change our itineraries without notice in order to improve them, we have done so with the result being not only the Naga festival, but also a boat trip down the Chindwin River followed by a somewhat rough ride to the Mt. Vicotria area that is the homeland of the Chin people. Experience suggests that there still may be a couple of hiccups in the program, but that is what adventure travel is all about. Saying this, we are pulling together all our resources to make the trip as comfortable and as interesting as possible while providing you with an unforgettable experience.
Lost Frontiers worked over 3 years in Myanmar researching and developing unique tribal and cultural programs. These explorations have enabled us to design this special custom itinerary that is a delight for the genuine traveler providing exciting and intimate encounters with the tribal people as well as in depth experiences at many of Myanmars important cultural sites. Join us for this most unusual adventure!
Itinerary
Day 01
Arrival in Yangon and transfer to your hotel. Evening visit to the Schwedegon Pagoda, said to be over 2500 years old, followed by dinner and your orientation on the program.
Day 02
Morning flight from Yangon to Mandalay on Air. Sightseeing downtown Mandalay includes visits to the Mahamuni Pagoda, the Zegyo market and Mandalay Hill that was destroyed by the British when the routed the Japanese in WWII. Overnight Mandalay.
Day 03
Charter flight Mandalay to Khamti takes about 1 hour flying time and upon arrival, we will check into our guesthouse and have the rest of the day for sightseeing around Khamti. The town has a frontier flavour and is interesting in that one gets a real sense of what a remote Burmese town is like. Overnight guesthouse. However, we may be able to depart for immediately for our drive up to Lahe, thereby saving a day for the festival preparation!! A drive day along some difficult roads in army trucks to reach La He where the Naga New Year Festival will take place. Government dormatory.
Day 04
If we dont leave for Lahe on day 3, we will travel today with an early morning start by boat to cross the Chindwin River and meet our army transport on the opposite side. The trip will take about 6-hours to travel up the mountains to Lahe. Our lodgings in Lahe will be simple bamboo houses that have been built to accommodate visitors to the festival and these will be given later to the Naga community for schools and for other purposes. If we are able to reach Lahe on the previous day, we will have this day to roam around the town and see preparations taking place for the festival. Dormatory
Day 05
The whole day and evening is dedicated to the Naga New Year Festival that will include dances, drumming and singing. We will see a wide representation of Naga tribes during this time and most will be dressed in traditional regalia for the festival. Although this is a seemingly strange environment to witness the festival of this sort, it is the only one currently being permitted in Myanmar and it is much more authentic than those staged elsewhere. Guesthouse.
Day 06
We depart very early for our return drive that will take us to the Chindwin River and we expect to reach it at about 12:00 noon. Following a short lunch, we will depart on our own boat down the Chindwin River until we reach the village of Thamanthi. Overnight on board.
Day 07
We resume our travels along the Chindwin and will begin to see some Naga villages along the banks. The scenery along this part of the river is very beautiful with forested hills. There are will be several places where we will be able to see people panning and mining gold using techniques that are from the last century. We will anchor for the night at Homalin and overnight on board. There will be opportunities during our boat trip to walk on shore and spend time in villages or forest areas.
Day 08
After Homalin, the river flows into the area of the Chin tribe.
There are several pagodas and monasteries that can here found along the river that were built in the 14th century by the Shan tribe who settled here at that time. We stop for the night at Minya and overnight on board.
Day 09
We have a long travel day and will motor for about 9 hours. During our trip, the scenery on both sides of the river will become rain forest and we will make some side trips to visit villages where people live from fishing and hunting activities. We finally arrive in the late afternoon in Kalewa that is the first large town that we encounter.Overnight Kalewa.
Day 10
Leaving Kalewa, we spend our last day watching the scenery changing from forest to agricultural land. There will be more and more pagodas and monasteries as we move closer to Monywa where will arrive in the afternoon. Monya is noted for an assassination attempt on King Mindon in 1866, for the Thanboddhay Pagoda, traditional embroidery and laquerware. From Monywa, we drive by car for about two hours to Mandalay. Overnight.
Day 11
The first part of the day is available for visits to other parts of Mandalay or to the nearby town of Sagain that was Burmas very first capital in the 14th century and there are many important Buddhist site around it. If possible, we will visit the buffalo logging site and see yoked animals dragging huge logs from the river to ancient logging trucks. At about 16:00 hours we will transfer to the Mandalay airport and flight to Bagan at 18:05 18:35. Overnight in Bagan.
Day 12
Bagan was established as the seat of kingdom of Pagan in 849 and reached the apogee of its glory under King Anawrahta in 1044 when he subjugated the Mons. For the next 200 years, the plains around Bagan became the construction site for over 5000 pagodas and temples built by royalty and the rich to earn merit for the next life. All came to an end with the invasions of Tamerlane in the 13th century and between his hordes and natural disasters such as the earthquake of 1975, many of the pagodas and temples were either destroyed or damaged. Nonetheless, Bagan today is one of the greatest sites in the in the world and is well worth several days visit. Of special interest are the Ananda Pagoda, the Thatbinnyu Temple, Dhammanyangui Temple and the intricate Shwezigon Pagoda. There is an optional balloon flight over Bagan at sunrise (6:00 am) for those who wish a birds eye view of this wonderful city ($200 per person). Thante Hotel.
Day 13
We rise for an early departure and an 8-hour drive for Mt. Victoria and the town of Min Tat for the Chin portion of our trip. After crossing the Ayarwaddy River, the road will lead through Myanmar's 'Dry Zone' before changing into hilly pine forested areas and finally into rain forest. This is regrettably a poor road and it will be bumpy. Overnight guesthouse.
Day 14
From Min Tat we have the day to visit the surrounding Chin villages in this area which up to now are very basic. Because of Myanmars self-imposed exile from the world since WW II, and because of the governments unwillingness to allow visitors to these areas, the Chin have not seen many foreigners. Tattoos are traditional among the Chin, although the practice seems to be dying out. Guesthouse.
Day 15
This day will take us to the summit of Mt. Victoria from where we will have a beautiful view across the Chin countryside. A dirt road leads almost up to the top after which we will have a 1-hour walk to reach the peak. There are several villages of interest along the way. We return to Kan Pat Let in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight. Guesthouse.
Day 16
We leave Kan Pat Let early in the morning retracing our road trip back to Bagan in time for a sunset among the temples. Overnight Thante Hotel in Bagan.
Day 17
For those who are not extending on other programs, we will have the morning free for further explorations around Bagan including the monastery in Old Bagan, some of the lesser temples or to revisit some of the more magnificent ones. We will transfer to the airport to Yangon in the afternoon arriving in time for a quick visit to the Shwedagon or to other sites of interest. Ovenight Yangon.
Day 18
The day is free until your transfer to the airport for your flight home. Depending on which flight you are on, arrangements can be made for visits around town, time permitting. End of service.
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Level of Difficulty ~ Moderate to difficult