Fun things to do in Burma

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There is a suspended walkway around one side of the shore of Lake Kandawgyi. In the relative cool of the evening, it is beautiful to walk around and see the various sights of the area. Make sure you take insect repellent though!!

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In Yangon, you must visit this site. I arrived in the city at night and to see the giant stupa reaching into the night sky is absolutely amazing. One of the most beautiful places I have ever experienced.

There are so many tourists in Myanmar in this year and may be in the future than before because of the political positive changes.
But , FIT were still visiting to Myanmar .
You should make reservation in advance for your hotel and flight tickets through local based travel agencies to get lower prices . For most of the hotels ,you can book by yourself it will be more expensive than local agent.
When you make reservation by yourself , You wouldn't get reply from some hotel .
At least , you should book in advance for Yangon and Inle hotels .
with regards ,
Min
Have a good time in Myanmar !

Hi! Dear huubj
Most of the travel agent in Myanmar are reliable. If you are worry for your trip ,I will present some travel agencies which received good news to travelers .
Santamari Travel and Tours : http://www.myanmartravels.net/
One Stop Travel and Tours : http://onestop-myanmar.com
Exotic Myanmar Travel and Tours :http://www.exoticmyanmartravel.com/

you are preparing for November .So , you have plenty of time to check their reliable and reputation and safe ,too .
Which one is cheap , safe and reliable ? Check it out !
You are already chosen for the best places of Myanmar . If you want to visit to the places which you mentioned , you will need about 2- 3 weeks .
Here is my suggestion itinerary :
1 - Arrival and Yangon
2 - Yangon sightseeing and overnight bus to Mandalay
3 - Visit Mandalay and Amarapura , Sagaing , Inwa
4- Visit to Mingun by boat and leisure at U Bein's Bridge with sunset
5 - Mandalay - Monywa by car and overnight at Monywa
6 - Monywa - Bagan by car
7 - Visit Bagan
8- Visit Bagan
9 - Visit Bagan
10 - Bagan - Heho by morning flight and proceed heho-pindaya -Inle
11- Inle sightseeing
12 - Indein sightseeing
13- Visit Inle and fly back to Yangon with evening flight
14 - Yangon - Sittwe by flight and proceed to Mrauk U by boat
15 - Mrauk U
16 - Mrauk U
17 - Mrauk U and visit chin villages
18 -Maruk u -Sittwe and Sittwe - Yangon by afternoon flight
19 - Yangon
20 - Departure
(1) You must have at least an extra day in Yangon before your departure Because My Airlines are not reliable .So, if you internal flight cancel or delay ,you will have problem to catch for your international flight .
Be lucky !
with regards ,
Minthan
19 -

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MYANMAR
Thinking of visiting Myanmar (Burma) !!! If so, Please think of the children and take along some small gifts. I decided before leaving Bangkok that I would go to the supermarket and buy some small note pads , Pens, Pencils and other various small items for the children. I found this to be a relly rewarding experiece as this made many kids happy.This also, I found was much better than the practice a lot of travellers doby giving the children money. This then creates a beggar mantality with the children and is not good.
The children I gave all my gifts to were just so happy to receive these gift items that their parents really could not afford to give them.Just a simple gift bought me many happy smiles and thank you's. So, if you're going to vist Burma ...Don't forget the children
I always made sure that I never gave any children gifts without being in the presence of their parents.

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One of the biggest attractions in Bago is the huge burmese python who is residing in one of the monasteries. Not sure if many westerners actually get here since each time i'm here we seem to be far and wide the only ones there. But it is a sight to behold. My dad who can make fair estimates of weight and length guesses that the snake is about 4-5 meters long, a wooping 40-50 cm wide (and he saw the snake after she'd been almost 3 months in meditation during Waso when she is fasting), and weights about a 150 kilo. The man who was with the snake that time said that they need 5 people to carry her around if they need to place her somewhere else. But she takes her morning bath on her own. According to the monastery (and the old monk who loved there ever since he was very young and who unfortunately died recently at the age of 103) the snake is around a 115 -117 years old. Westerners are usually allowed to enter her sanctuary and touch the snake (though not during Waso (july to september). It is a strange feeling i can tell you. And i am glad i've done it but didn't have the need to do it again on the occasions i've been back there. It is one huge snake...

Saw the snake, alive and relatively well (it is quite overfed and lacks exercise) this past Saturday (19-11-2011).

There are other nice attractions to visit in Bago. A huge paya (Shwemawdaw paya ), a nice, reclining buddha (Shwethalyaung Buddha ), Kyaik Pun Paya (the 4 seated buddhas) and many smaller attractions doted about the place.

A small word of warning. There is an entrance fee of $10 for the main pagoda. It gives acess to some other sites as well. Personally , I don't think it is worth it since there are many pagodas and sites of interested that are free. Even in Bago.

And if sightseeing gets too tiring, go and enjoy some palm toddy juice. Slightly alcoholic but refreshing.

A big advantage of Bago is that it is easily done as a day trip from Yangon. Or included on trips to Mandalay, Inle Lake or Kyaithiyo (golden rock)

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Kaungmudaw Pagoda is the largest stupa in Myanmar and is well-known for its large white-washed edifice and large dome. Its circumference is 57m and the dome rises 46m in the shape of a perfect hemisphere. It looks like the moon.

The distinctive dome-shaped stupa is thought to be a replica of Ruwanwelisaya, the Great Stupa, also known as Mahathupa, in Ceylon now Sri Lanka, but according to another popular story it was modelled on the breast of King Tharlon’s favourite wife.

Around the base of the Zedi are 812 stone pillars, images of Nats can be seen in the 120 niches that circle the base. The details of the pagoda's construction are recorded on them.

Kaungmudaw Pagoda which has been white-washed since its construction has recently been painted gold in January 2011 for the first time in its 375-year history. It will now look like the golden sun.

The Maha Myat Muni Paya, often referred to as the Mahamuni Pagoda, is the holiest pilgrimage site in Mandalay, and the second holiest in Myanmar after the Golden Rock. The Mahamuni Pagoda was built in 1784 by King Bodawpaya. The principal image within the pagoda is the Mahamuni Buddha. It is thought to have been built in about 150AD and later brought to Mandalay. It is the most reverred Buddha image in Mandalay.

The "lumpy" appearance of the lower part of the statue today is due to the generations of devotees who have adhered offerings of small squares of gold leaf to the image.