Asia Tours
Escorted Burma (Myanmar) Tour & Christmas in Rangoon

 

 

Escorted Burma (Myanmar) Tour In the footsteps of Rudyard Kipling

This is the perfect tour for people who like comfort & quality in a soft adventure. A nostalgic tour to see what still remains of grand British colonial architecture, hotels, houses and gardens in Burma, plus a look into modern day Burma ( now called Myanmar ) to meet craft artists, potters, gold smiths, textile weavers and discover the wealth of Buddhist culture, old and new, in this fascinating and photogenic country.

Relax on this all pre arranged ' Behind the Scenes' tour, where someone else has done all the planning, appointment making, invitations to meet special people, organised all your transport around Burma and you have someone with you every day working as a guide and translator.

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Put yourself in the picture

Imagine yourself cruising up the Irrawaddy River, Rudyard Kipling's Road to Mandalay, on a romantic River Boat, watching the villages go by as you relax in your wicker chair and sip your gin and tonic. Enjoy taking a horse drawn Stage Coach tour around an old British Hill Station in the cool mountains of northern Burma.

And for something completely different , imagine enjoying a fine Dinner in The Strand Hotel in Rangoon, another of the famous hotels of the Grand World Tour days, built by the Sarkies Brothers as a sister hotel to The Raffles in Singapore and The Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang.

Tour starts in Rangoon on Monday 7 December, 2009

Price for Land Only Tour AUD $5875 ( about US $3700 ) Rangoon to Rangoon.

Australian guests, please contact our office for current flight prices.


Fine Food, Accommodation & Transportation

You will be staying in Resort style and Deluxe Hotels, either recently renovated or built within the last few years, with decor that will highlight the splendour and charms of this tropical hideaway.

In Rangoon you will be staying in The Governor's Residence, a most charming luxurious property, located in the quiet picturesque diplomatic enclave, surrounded by cool gardens, shade trees and a wonderful swimming pool.

Transportation will be by private charter coach, car, horse cart, boat and domestic flights within Myanmar. You will also find that December is the dryer, cooler month and a more pleasant time to travel in this region, being winter in the northern hemisphere.

All your meals are included and some fine restaurants have been chosen where you can enjoy the atmosphere as well as the cuisine. This is definitely a soft adventure tour for people who enjoy comfort.

We even plan for you to visit one of the old colonial houses and also enjoy a special Peking Duck Dinner in Rangoon's most famous Chinese Restaurant, where we will be welcomed and joined by the owner.

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Gardens, Pottery, Art & Crafts

Craft artisans can still be found producing their works of art and functional but beautifully decorated products for wearing and use around the house. You will be visiting two different pottery villages and see how kick wheels and hand built pots are created from the clay of the Irrawaddy, wood fired and loaded into boats for delivery.

Textile weavers and dyers, gold beaters, silver smiths, lacquerware makers and even cheroot ( cigar ) rollers will be visited during your stay.

Markets, where local folk are dressed in their ethnic minorities traditional costumes, will be seen in several villages as well as Mandalay and Rangoon's Scott Market ( Bogyoke Market ). Here you will have an opportunity to buy a good selection of the locally made pottery, art and craft .

Gardens in this country seem to always be in bloom and even your hotels have interesting gardens for you to enjoy. In addition to visiting the old British Botanic Gardens in Maymyo, you will also find gardens of endemic plants in suburban front yards and markets selling a very colourful array of cut flowers.

Why choose this tour

On this fully escorted small group Burma Tour you will discover a photogenic world of vibrant colours and friendly people, romantic hill stations, markets, crafts and grand Buddhist and British colonial architecture..... much of which is missed by people who go by themselves.

Meet and talk with the local monks, enjoy Mandalay Rum cocktails at sunset on an Irrawaddy River beach, ride a Stage Coach back in time, relax on our river boat lounge with tea at sunset and explore tiny off the road villages.

If you want a tour that takes you behind the scenes on a relaxing, all pre arranged itinerary, where someone else has done all the planning, appointment making, invitations to meet special people, organised all your transport around Burma and have someone with you working as a guide and translator .... ..this is it !

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Mandalay .. the poem by Rudyard Kipling

By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
"Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay:
Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!

'Er petticoat was yaller an' 'er little cap was green,
An' 'er name was Supi-yaw-lat -- jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen,
An' I seed her first a-smokin' of a whackin' white cheroot,
An' a-wastin' Christian kisses on an 'eathen idol's foot:
Bloomin' idol made o'mud --
Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd --
Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed 'er where she stud!
On the road to Mandalay...

When the mist was on the rice-fields an' the sun was droppin' slow,
She'd git 'er little banjo an' she'd sing "Kulla-lo-lo!"
With 'er arm upon my shoulder an' 'er cheek agin' my cheek
We useter watch the steamers an' the "hathis" pilin' teak.
Elephints a-pilin' teak
In the sludgy, squdgy creek,
Where the silence 'ung that 'eavy you was 'arf afraid to speak!
On the road to Mandalay...

But that's all shove be'ind me -- long ago an' fur away,
An' there ain't no 'busses runnin' from the Bank to Mandalay;
An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells:
"If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else."
No! you won't 'eed nothin' else
But them spicy garlic smells,
An' the sunshine an' the palm-trees an' the tinkly temple-bells;
On the road to Mandalay...

I am sick o' wastin' leather on these gritty pavin'-stones,
An' the blasted Henglish drizzle wakes the fever in my bones;
Tho' I walks with fifty 'ousemaids outer Chelsea to the Strand,
An' they talks a lot o' lovin', but wot do they understand?
Beefy face an' grubby 'and --
Law! wot do they understand?
I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land!
On the road to Mandalay...

Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin', an' it's there that I would be --
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay,
With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay!
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!