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Day 1: SET SAIL IN MANDALAY
Welcome on board the SanctuaryAnanda. Check in at 12.30pm and settle into your suite.
For those guests arriving on an earlier flightwe can arrange a tour of Mandalay. This will include a visit to Mahamuni Pagoda, Shwenandaw Monastery and lastly a visit to Kuthodaw Pagoda (Maha Lawka Marazein). Kuthodaw is oftencalled the biggest book in the world, for surrounding it are 729 marble slabs inscribed with the Tripitaka texts (Buddhist cannon).
Lunch will be served on board as we cruise towards the pagoda sprinkled hills of Sagaing, an important religious and monasticcentre, home to some 554 monasteries and 6,000 monks and nuns.
We will take a short stop at several of the monasteries and pagodas but it is the views from the top of the Sagaing Hill on the terraces of the Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda which are truly breathtaking. Below and all around, pagodas of differentshapes and sizes dot the landscape.
Before returning to the ship we will visit a silversmith workshop in the village of Ywataung where the craftsmenare renowned for their engraving skills.
Visit Amarapura, known as ‘The City of Immortals’ which in its heyday, held some 200,000 inhabitants. Today, the leisurely ‘clack-clack’ from the looms of the cottonand silk weavers has replaced the noisy bustle of this former capital.We will visit one of the textileworkshops, followed by the U Bein Bridge, a spectacular place to enjoy the sunset. This long teak bridge snakes across the Taungthaman Lake.
After sunset, catch a boat up the Ayeyarwady River and return to the Sanctuary Ananda.
A welcome dinner will be served on a sandbank overlooking Mingun, home to the ruins of King Bodawpaya’s folly: a pagoda which if finishedwould have stood some 500 feet high (152.4 metres).After seven years of freneticbuilding, the project was halted as the King’s astronomers warned that if the great pagoda were ever to be finishedthe country would be ruined.
Dinner will be followed by a local performance on the banks of the rive
Day 2: MINGUN
For those who wish, an early morning visit to the village of Sin Kyun is offered,a village just north of Mandalay sponsored by Sanctuary Retreats Philanthropy. It has a populationof just under 1,000 inhabitants and specialises in farming and hat making. Witness first-handthe way of life in this unspoilt locationseldom viewed by outsiders.
Following the village Chief’s request for a library and a house for an English teacher, Sanctuary Retreats Philanthropy donated the money necessary to begin this new partnership. We hope that with the support of Sanctuary Ananda guests, we will be able to provide further funds to improve the quality of life of the villagers.
On arrival in Mingun, an ox-cart will be your mode of transport through this sleepy and attractive village. The first stop will be at the unfinished Mingun pagoda. Nearby stands the massive Mingun Bell that measures more than 12 feet high (3.66
metres) and 16 feet wide (4.88 metres). Lastly we come to a most unusual white pagoda known as Myatheindan (Hsinbyume).
Return to the ship and start sailing south. Relax as we sail past villages, set against a backdrop of soft browns, rich tamarind trees with white and golden pagodas gracing the distant hills.There is no better way to enjoy this riverine picture than from the Kansi panorama lounge.
Afterlunch a variety of on board activities will be offeredincluding a longyi (sarong) and thank a (cosmetic)demonstration,a cooking school with the chef, cheroot and betel nut tastingand a talk on Myanmar – covering the country’s incredibly rich history, the recent controversial decades to the outlook for the future of The Golden Land. A delicious dinner will bring this excitingday to an end.
Day 3: SAIL TO BANGAN
For those who wish, a meditationand yoga session is available before breakfast.
Trishaws will take you to the local market in Pakokku where mouth-watering fruit and vegetables are laid out with consummate style. Then to the cheroot factory, watch the girls roll and make the cheroots with great speed and dexterity.
Return to the Sanctuary Ananda and arrive in Bagan in the early afternoon.Our firstvisit will be to HtilominloTemple a two-storey red-brick temple built around 1211 AD. It is a magnificent structure, though now heavily restored.
Onto the village of Myinkaba, a centre of the ancient craftof lacquerware which has been produced in Bagan since the timeof King Anawrahta around 1050 AD. Here in the workshop the traditional methods are stillused.
The day’s finaleis a quiet moment on the terraces of the Pyathatgyi Temple. Admire the light change on the pagodas which exude antiquityand mystery.
Finally the sun sets behind the hills on the far side of the Ayeyarwady River, fillingthe sky with a reddish glow, a truly magic moment.
Dinner will be on board followed by a local performance
Day 4: BANGAN
Begin your day by watching the sun rise from amidst the plain on a temple terrace in the company of a meditationexpert. Alternatively, at 5.30am you can take an optionalballoon tour (an additionalcharge applies) to capture a birds-eye view of the Bagan plain.
Sanctuary Ananda will set sail passing Chauk, one of the original oilfieldswhere the nodding ‘donkeys’ (oil well pumps) stand by the river bank stillworking away. On arrival in Sale we will visit Yoke Sone Kyaung monastery, a fineteak building with some beautifullycraftedreliefs.A host of small white stupas interspersed with some Italianate monasteries are nearby. Then on to Tha-ta-na Kyaung, a small temple, to look at its Buddha image made of bamboo.
Once back on board, we will return to Bagan to visit the Ananda Temple. Completed in 1091 AD, it is commonly referred to as one of the four great temples in Bagan. The Ananda is regarded by folklore as one of the most beautifultemples in Myanmar. Then we drive to the village of Wetkyi-in and the cave temple Kubyaukgyi (Gubyaukgyi).
Return to the ship at 6pm in a horse drawn cart for a traditional Shan dinner with our Captain.
Day 5: BANGAN
Enjoy an early breakfast on your finalmorning before check out at 9am.
If you are departingon a later flightwe will arrange for you to take a tour in Bagan. We will visit Minanthu village in the heart of the Bagan plain, to see the way of life of the local people, before progressing to a brick factory. Onto the village of Myinkaba, a centre of the ancient craft of lacquerware which has been produced in Bagan since the timeof King Anawrahta around 1050 AD. Here in the workshop the traditionalmethods are stillused. The last stop is at a jaggery workshop which produces unrefinedsugar.
