Published on November 29, 2017
What You’ll Get
A 10-day, 9-night voyage through Myanmar & Singapore’s highlights, suitable for young travelers, experiential travelers and educational/student groups.
Highlights
Tourists taking this tour will take home different learning experiences from two countries – in Myanmar, they’ll find a developing country with rich natural values essential to sustainable development; in Singapore, they’ll discover a developed country implementing sustainability with a hypermodern toolkit.
Arriving in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, you’ll immerse yourself immediately in the country’s natural and cultural treasures.
The homegrown and colonial sides of Yangon will be immediately apparent to the visitor: the former, in sites like Sule Pagoda and the gilded Shwedagon pagoda; the latter, in places like Yangon City Hall, Immanuel Baptist Church, High Court, Independence Monument, Bogyoke Aung San Market and Maha Bandoola Park.
A short flight to Heho Airport takes you to scenic Inle Lake in Shan State. Famous for its floating gardens and Intha ethnic group, you’ll discover fishermen who practice a unique upright one leg-rowing style; local cottage industries for lotus-cloth, cheroots, Shan paper, and silver; and dazzling local must-sees like the Hpaung Daw Oo Pagoda and Inthar Heritage House, home to a growing colony of pure-bred Burmese Cats.
ntha fisherman on Inle Lake, Myanmar. Image courtesy of Mira Travels.
South of the lake, you’ll pass by Sagar Village, where ancient stupas rise from the lake and nearby villages produce rice wine the old-fashioned way. Following this, you’ll proceed to Loikaw, capital of Kayah State and jump-off point to the area’s many natural wonders.
The Kayah people’s rich culture can be explored here via sites like the Taung Kwe Pagoda, with its panoramic view of the area; and Loikaw Ethnic Group Museum, sanctuary of the Kayah way of life. Villages beyond Loikaw will take you even deeper into the local vibe: Hha Nee La Leh Village’s Kayhtobo totem and animist temple; Pan Pet village group’s community-based tourism activities; and Saloan Kanar village, where you can study how to make Kayan traditional wine, cotton weaving, totem, bamboo weaving, wood carving and traditional bracelets.
Kayan (Padaung) in Kayah State, Myanmar. Image courtesy of Mira Travels.
A flight to Singapore takes you to a different side of Southeast Asia city living. The past comes alive in colonial-era landmarks like the Padang, Chinatown, City Hall and the wrought-iron Lau Pa Sat hawker center, a marked contrast to hypermodern areas like the Orchard Road shopping district, Singapore Flyer and the rest of the Marina Bay skyline.
Singapore reveals a natural side, too, via parks like Gardens by the Bay, S.E.A Aquarium, and Jurong Bird Park.
