Hello Nwe Nwe,
I promised to write to you in greater detail about our holiday with some suggestions.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate you & your team on the efficiency of the arrangements - the "meet & greet" worked perfectly at all destinations; all the guides & drivers were excellent (as were the cars provided); the itinerary was generally well balanced & included all the important sights; and the hotels were very good - some were exceptional.
For your future planning, I would like to make a few suggestions.
1. In Yangon, the sightseeing by "circular train" did not seem worthwhile - it was not possible to see the countryside from the train as it travels in a deep cutting & after a few stops we were met by our car & returned to the city.
2. In Mandalay, instead of visiting the Mahagandayon Monastery in Amarapura, our guide recommended that we visit the Mya Sett Kyar Monastery in Sagaing, which she said would be more interesting & less crowded. This was an excellent choice - we watched the monks lining up for their morning meal provided by a donor, and were able to get close to them without any crowds, and were invited to join them in the meal. A very enjoyable experience.
3. The Express boat from Mandalay to Bagan was interesting but a very long day (11hours) with not a lot to see for much of the journey. While it is a worthwhile experience to travel on the Irrawaddy River (instead of just flying from Mandalay to Bagan), you might like to consider using the over-night boat, which I understand is very comfortable - we met some people who used it and recommended it - and still allows you to experience river life.
4. Because Rosemary was ill, it was necessary to change the cultural show & dinner. As the original choice was not available for the next night, we went instead to a marionette show & dinner. This was very good entertainment & a good meal - probably more interesting than the original cultural show!
5. In Inle, the whole day tour to Taunggyi & Kakku Pagoda Complex was very interesting but a very long drive on a very poor road (= two & a half hours each way) to visit only one place. It was a very tiring journey. Perhaps this should be combined with other sights to break up the 2 long journeys.
6. In Pindaya, the visit to the caves was very interesting & very different to anything else we had seen, and I am very pleased it was included in our itinerary, but the hotel was not really of a "European" standard (even though we had their best room - the Executive Suite) - poor facilities & rather shabby. I would recommend that you consider changing future itineraries so that the caves are visited first, when one arrives at Heho airport, and then drive to Inle Lake for the rest of the tours, so that it is not necessary to stay overnight in Pindaya.
I hope you will find the above comments useful for future tours.
Your choice of hotels was excellent (except in Pindaya). Although we were originally disappointed not to be able to get either the Governor's Residence or The Strand, in Yangon, The Savoy was a lovely hotel - very clean, very comfortable, good location, lovely staff - and our "deluxe" room (instead of the "suite" we originally booked) was perfectly adequate. We did in fact visit The Strand, but much preferred The Savoy.
The hotels in the other locations were excellent, especially the Sandoway Resort - a beautiful hotel in a beautiful location. One of the best hotels I have ever stayed in.
Once again; I would like to compliment all the guides (and the drivers). They were very friendly, very helpful & very knowledgeable without boring us with too much detail.
Finally, I would like to thank you again for a wonderful holiday. I will never forget beautiful Myanmar and have told all my friends that they should visit as soon as possible.
Best wishes,
