17-Day Private tour to Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos

Make your way to Myanmar with the first stop in Mandalay. The ancient and elegant city used to be Burma's royal seat and still holds strong influence in today's Buddhism teaching and cultures. Your flight will probably land in the afternoon and you will call it a day after check-in.

- Entry flight:

Bangkok is an all-time-good transit if you are flying from other continents. Bangkok - Mandalay flights most take off from BKK at noon, so it's better to plan a in Bangkok the night before. Please let us know if you need our assistance in Bangkok. Besides Bangkok, you can also reach Mandalay from Kunming in China and Singapore.

-Include Myanmar e-Visa for your trip:

People of all nationalities, except those from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), are required to obtain visa for Myanmar. Our Myanmar tours include the fee for your Myanmar visa, e-Visa to be accurate. Your passport information and flight details are to be provided to your travel advsior at least 1 month ahead of your travel date. It will take about 3 working days before the visa is issued. Take the e-Visa with you when land in Yangon, Mandalay or Nay Pyi Daw airport. You may go straight through the customs check without paying the visa stamp fee.

After breakfast, your first stop will be Shwenandaw Monastery. This exquisite monastery used to be a part of the royal palace and a textbook example of royal teak wood architecture.
Get on the journey outside of Mandalay City. En route, stop at Mahagandayon Monastery during the lunch time for the local monks. Villagers come to this monastery to help the kitchen prepare food and you can walk into the spacious and clean cooking both to offer a hand. At 1030am, the monks line up to accept offerings from the local believers and it is quite an affectful site to watch thousands of monks and novices dine together.
Transfer to the pier and hop on a local boat to cross the river. Have lunch at a restaurant by the riverbank.
Due to its relative remoteness, Inwa Ancient City doges away from heavy footfall of tourists and unsympathetic restoration and much of its ruins remain intact. Take a horse cart on a bumpy dirt road to visit some sites including Ava Palace, Bagarya Monastery and some unnamed villages.
Sightseeing in Inwa takes about 2 hours before you get to Amarapura for the famed bridge, U Bein Bridge, the longest teak wood bridge still in use. Find your boat loaded with some fresh beverages await. Row around the bridge and wait for the sunset with a nice drink in hand.

Monks line up for lunch at Mahagandayon Pagoda of Mandalay

Be an early bird today! We will make our first visit of the day at Mahamuni Pagoda. This site is known for the daily Face-Washing Ceremony that takes place at 0400am. Fresh towels, flowers, food and other offerings are brought by the local devotees. When the drumming kicks in, the presiding abbot will firstly wash the face of the Buddha image, brush its teeth, smear with sandalwood paste and finally springkle with scented water to complete the entire ritual. Only male visitors are allowed to enter the main chamber and females should wait and watch the video in the adjunct foyer.
Return back to your hotel for breakfast and then get on the flight to Bagan. Flight lands in Nyuang U, 40 minutes to Bagan. Transfer to hotel and you will have a couple of hours free at leisure.
In the afternoon, you will be taken to Nyuang U Local Market where the local villagers are busy with dinner shopping. Afterwards, visit t Shwezigon Pagoda, which is the first Burmese-style pagoda and all pagodas across Myanmar are built based on its grandiose pattern. Constructed in 1060, it is still the most worshiped shrine in Nyuang U.

-Take off your shoes:

All footwear is to be removed before entering a religious site or a private home.

A monk is washing Buddha's face at Mahamuni Pagoda in Mandalay

In comparison with Mandalay, Bagan is more like a dizzy day dream that you find it hard not to be hypnotized by the psychedelic site of thousands of pagodas in the morning mist. Today you will visit the World Heritage Site, Bagan Archaeological Zone. Given some pagodas are only a hallow shell, your tour guide will pick some textbook examples, such as Ananda Pagoda, Dhammayangyi Pagoda, Maha Bodhi Pagoda and Dhammayangyi Temple for your visit.
At the eveing, you will take an Ox Cart Ride among the pagodas.

- Hot air balloon flight (Optional):

Flying up in the sky, overlooking all the temples at sunrise, a 1-hour hot air balloon ride can be something special to tell your friends back home. It is available for booking during October to next March, morning time schedule every day and sunset flight upon request.

Take an early morning flight to Yangon.
Being the oldest oceanic port and former political seat of Myanmar, Yangon still remains a small-town ease. Transfer to your hotel and have some free time before lunch.
After lunch at a local restaurant, your impression of Yangon starts with Bogyoke Aung San Market, which is named after General Aung San. No matter you want to do some memorabilia or just bowering, this place can be an intriguing experience. Later, take a walk around the Colonial District visiting plenty colonial-style houses and buildings with profound history behind.
Local believers shuffle in during the sunset hours to Shwedagon Pagoda, the landmark of Yangon. As the sun is setting down, heat goes off and lights go on, creating a sublimely spectacular outline of the glittering pagoda in the night sky. On some important days, there will be some rituals such as novitiate when the parents send their young sons to the monastery or temple to be a monk.

Shwedagon Pagoda in night lights

For a short morning visit, you will hop on Yangon Circular Train. The entire train ride is 45km in length but it takes about 3 hours to complete the loop, which means it is rather slow and you will be granted a great opportunity to watch the local commuters on their ways to school, workplaces or markets. You will start the ride at about 07am from the Main Station. The train stops every 5 minutes and the locals only have a couple of minutes to hop on or hop off. Get off at a local market in the Insein Station and saunter through lines of veggie and fruit vendors, eventually meet your private transfer at the exit.
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. Transfer to Can Tho for overnight.

- About the train ride:

To ensure you have an authentic experience, we will arrange the local train for you. This kind of train has wooden cabins and seats but no A/C. All windows and doors are open so the air circulation will not be a problem and it is not too hot if traveling in the morning. However, we can still shift it to a modern train with A/C upon your request. The modern train is similar to a subway cargo.

Two novices waiting for the train in Yangon

Waking up early in the morning at around 6am, you will visit the bustling Cai Rang Floating Market. Owning a boat is important for a Mekong family and it can be used as transportation, a house for living and, as you can will be able to see, a place to trade fresh fruits and vegetables. Aside from the fascinating views of so many boats laden with goods, you will also enjoy a boat trip near Vinh Long to some small islands. Have lunch at a local restaurant on the way back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Coconut vendors at Mekong Delta

Take an interesting cyclo (rickshaw) tour in Ho Chi Minh City to pass by some interesting sites, such as the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Opera House. Stop at the War Remnants Museum where your private tour guide will introduce the history and some impressive display to you.
After a simple lunch at a local restaurant, you will be taken to the airport and fly to Danang. Transfer to Hoi An upon arrival.

Encounter some locals just off work

Whether you've visited Angkor Wat or not, the Angkorian-style ruins at My Son can still be worthwhile as a half-day trip. After breakfast, you will be taken to this site and your private tour guide will explain you more about the history behind these rocks that really make a difference from other sites in Vietnam. Transfer back to the ancient town of Hoi An for lunch. In the afternoon, you will have a walking tour (done by shaded rickshaw in case of hot sun) hitting some of the most important sites, including Japanese Covered Bridge, Fujian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien) and Old House of Tan Ky, and then you will have a nice cup of tea at a teahouse run by some hearing-impaired young people.

- About Reaching Out Teahouse:

Reaching Out Teahouse is a lovely tea house run by some local young people with hearing disability (some are partially hearing impaired). Sitting in the teahouse with a cup of green tea or iced lemonade, you will sense the beauty of silence.

Nothing scheduled for today. Take the flight to Hanoi from Danang. Check in and have some free time on your own.

Let's get to know about Hanoi. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology will offer a good prespective of ethnic minority cultures. Ho Chi Minh Presidential Palace Historical Site gives you a better understanding of Uncle Ho and his life.
After lunch, you will go for a walking tour in the Old Quarter with local eats. The trip starts from a hidden coffee stall famous for the Egg Coffee, get to the Beer Corner for a cold beer and continue to Hang Bong Street where you will try out some local snacks. Getting around the Hoan Kiem Lake for pleasent views of the city life. Transfer back to hotel after the trip.

- What to do at night?

In the mood of some music? Attend the music show at Thang Long Ca Tru Guild at the Old Quarter. Twice or three times every week, schollars and tranditional artists of Vietnamese traditional music, Ca Tru, will put on performance here for those to enjoy some music and learn to play traditional instruments.

After a fresh coffee and breakfast, you will be on the way to Halong Bay. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the bay has all it takes for a relaxing journey: a stunning natural landscape, catering services onboard, an outlook over a waterfront lifestyle, and interesting activities, such as kayaking, swimming, and diving. Itineraries differ for each cruise, but you will probably visit: Cua Van Fishing Village, Vung Vieng Fishing Village, Me Cung Caves, Virgin Cave, and Surprise Cave, as well as passing some small islets, such as Flight Cock Islet, Human Head Islet, and Toad Islet and etc. Some cruises also include a cooking class at night and a taichi lesson in the morning.

- About the cruise:

1. There's not much to see during the drive to the bay.so Ttake a nap to recharge,ready for the upcoming journey.
2. Traveling with a baby? Notify us in advance and we will put a crib in your cabin.
3. All meals onboard are included except for drinks. Your privatet our guide will take you shopping for some drinks and snacks before getting onboard.

Cruising in Halong Bay

At about 11am, the cruise junk will take you to the pier after brunch, where your private Vietnam tour guide and driver are already in wait. Transfer to the airport and fly to Luang Prabang.

Rise up early in the morning and you will participate in an important ritual: morning alms giving. To show respect, locals offer their first pot of sticky rice of the day to Buddhist monks, who walk a long distance barefoot into the town. Such simple food is their only food resource of the day. Get in line and wait for the monks' approach.
After the ritual, you will visit the morning market of Luang Prabang. Today's tour will be at a slow pace: Xieng Thong Temple, the Traditional Art Exhibition Center and the Royal Palace Museum. Sample some local cuisine for lunch.

- Some tips of alms-giving:

Female travelers should not touch the monks at all. If donating, place food directly into the monks' basket. Women should wear a scarf-like cape over their left shoulder. Always use your right hand to give food. Do not give snacks or any kind of meat.

Carving of a heavenly fairy on the door of Xieng Thong Temple

Have the morning free to yourself.
After lunch on your own, you will be on the way to Kuangsi Waterfalls. This picturesque, multi-level, transparent and mind-cooling site is just perfect for a dip. Jump in and get wet however you like.
Get back to town and call it a night.

Kuangsi Waterfalls in Luang Prabang

Don't you just love the atmosphere of Luang Prabang? We suggest you book an afternoon flight for departure, so that you can savor up every little bit of this lovely town.
Transfer to the airport for your departure flight and we hope to see you again soon!