12 Days in Myanmar

Myanmar | Nov 28 - Dec 9, 2019

Just returned from a 12 day trip to Myanmar. Our host/guide(s) Jack et al were great. We were met at all of our destinations by a guide and driver. Accommodation was very comfortable, several with lots of character/history. Highlights were:

1) Boat Trip from Mandalay to Bagan on a small river boat that had 7 cabins. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was very relaxing and we got to see lots of activity along the river with a few stops for land tours here and there.
2) Bagan. We spent two days in Bagan. The first day was with a guide who showed us some of the more notable pagodas and also took us on a tour of a local farm village which we enjoyed. The second day we were on electric scooters and had lots of fun exploring around the place.
3) We flew from Mandalay to Heho and then got driven to Kalaw which is a small town in the foothills (elevation around 5000 feet). We stayed in a hotel that was at one time an English school. From here we rode bicycles for three days through the hills and ended up at Inle Lake. We had good quality Bianchi hybrids and the local driving population were very respectful to bike riders.
4) Inle Lake is very cool and where we encountered the most tourists. We enjoyed visiting the Inle Horse Club (where you can ride horses if you like) as well as the Red Mountain Estate Winery. These two venues are very close together and the winery is very well done. We also went around the lake in a long boat for a day which was a lot of fun.
There are a few cautionary notes for travelers to Myanmar. We took US $ which are readily accepted everywhere. However, at the airport money exchanges, if the bills were not in mint condition, they would not accept them. This includes any writing on the bill or the slightest tear. Secondly, our credit card company cancelled our card when we initially tried to pay for our trip. A lengthy discussion ensued between me and the credit card company but they indicated that there was a computer algorithm which was responsible for the cancellation and it could not be over ridden. Fortunately KimKim offered us an alternative payment through a wire transfer.