8 Days / 7 Nights - OVERLANDER -
Bangkok or Kanchanaburi (Thailand) - Dawei to Yangon

ITINERARY

Day 1 - Kanchanaburi to Thai / Myanmar Border - Continue to Dawei
Day 2 - Dawei and Maung Ma Gan Beach
Day 3 - Dawei to Mawlamyine
Day 4 - Bilun Island and City Tour Mawlamyine  
Day 5 - Day trip to Hpa An's bizarre lime stone formations and caves
Day 6 - Mawlamyine to Golden Rock (Significant pilgrimage place)
Day 7 - Golden Rock via Bago to Yangon
Day 8 - Departure 

Please note: This tour can also start from Yangon and tailored to your desire.

DAY 1: Kanchanaburi to Dawei (-/-/-)

You will be picked up from your hotel in Kanchanaburi and transferred (1 hr) to the newest of all border crossings between Thailand and Myanmar.

(Pickup from Bangkok or Bangkok Airport is possible. Supplements apply.)

Your guide will welcome you after the Thai Border gate. After a smooth and easy immigration process we are on our way to Dawei.

The 4 hour (in monsoon season maybe more) drives runs partly along the Tanintharyi River. The lush scenery of the Tanintharyi Mountains keeps this drive all the way long interesting. After reaching Myitta Township the roads are paved again and we can see plenty of rubber and beetle nut plantation.

Dawei is the capital of Tanintharyi division in the south of the Myanmar, formerly known as Tavoy. Dawei was one of the first cities, where the English settled after the 1st Anglo-Burmese in 1826. As a result the town has a long lasting history and picturesque buildings from the colonial times.

Check into your hotel for refreshments. If time permitted we will visit in the evening Tanintharyi Regional Museum. The museum displays a collection of bronze coins, vase’s, portraits and large wooden ancient Buddha images as well as the history of Moken (Sea Gypsy People). Otherwise we will take a nearby walk along Dawei’s authentic river front.

Lunch and Dinner are to your own account.

Meals: none
Overnight stay: Hotel in Dawei

DAY 2: Colorful City Tour of Dawei & Sunset at Maung Ma Gan Beach (B/-/-)

This vivid tour will explain to you why Burmese men “stain” their teeth red and why Burmese woman “paint” their face yellow. After a short excurse into history we can understand why people in Dawei seemed wealthier than other regions.

Furthermore you get to know the magnificent colonial architecture. Taste some of the delicious snack food at the local market. Visit some of the local business and see how life works in that city. We will talk about power and water supplies and rubbish collections.

Lunch in a clean traditional Burmese Curry house (own account).

In the afternoon we will be on our way to the well-known Maung Ma Gan Beach. Enjoy the relaxed and beach atmosphere with a sun downer and a delicious seafood dinner. Return to your hotel after a fabulous sunset.

Lunch and Dinner are to your own account.

Meals: Breakfast at your hotel
Overnight stay: Hotel in Dawei

DAY 3: Dawei to Mawlamyine (B/-/-)

After breakfast we will start to drive towards Mawlamyine (320 km - 7 hours). Our journey takes us over a stunning mountain range, which divides the Tanintharyi Division and the Mon State. Our first stop will be Banana Mountain, which is overlooking Ye and its river. A Buddha statue with its nine levels and nine different decorations is the well worth a climb. About half way, we will stop at a local restaurant for lunch.

Further down the road we will visit Thanbyuzayet It is the starting point of the infamous Death Railway connecting Myanmar and Thailand with the Bridge over River Kwai, constructed by the Japanese during WWII. This Death Railways was started in September 1942 and official opened on 25th October 1943. The British surveyed the area and announced it was too difficult to build a railway through the mountain and jungle, the Japanese finished it within 10 months.

There is a well-kept Allied War Memorial Cemetery where 3512 stone graves of prisoners of war (1728 British, 1162 Australian and 621 Netherlanders) who died while building the “Death Railway”, Railway Museum and Japanese built pagoda in the memory of the perished Japanese engineers and POWs. Unaccounted are the many thousand local laborers, which died during this campaign.

Our last visit if time allows is one of the World’s largest reclining Buddha Statue, Win Sein Taw Ya, is home. From head to toe it is measuring 180 meters. Lunch and Dinner are to your own account.

Meals: Breakfast at your hotel
Overnight stay: Hotel in Mawlamyine

DAY 4: BilU Island and City Tour of Mawlamyine (B/-/-)

We pick you up after breakfast visit Bilu Island (Ogre Island). There are quite a few stories about the islands name. The best one might be that in the past people were so ugly and eat raw meat that they are considered to be ogres.

Our first stop will be the slate industry. School kids even nowadays will have an old fashioned slate board for the first grade to learn the writing of the Burmese Alphabet. Further down the road is a local blacksmith who is sharping the sickle for the rice farmers.

We will reach Ywa Loot Village, which is known for making smoking pipes. Watch the workers manufacturing there pipes in their local homes. Lunch will be in a clean local restaurant (not included). Other small industries we are going to visit are the rubber band making from leftovers of the rubber industry, the cigar rolling shop and rice paddy cultivation (seasonal).

In the early afternoon we will return to Mawlamyine. We visit the famous Kyaikthalan Pagoda, where Rudyard Kipling’s poem begins: “By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea/ There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me…”.

The late afternoon is to your own leisure. We suggest ordering a massage to your room (to your own account).

Lunch and Dinner are to your own account.

Meals: Breakfast at your hotel
Overnight stay: Hotel in Mawlamyine

DAY 5: Hpa An DaY Tour (B/L/-)

After your breakfast transfer to Hpa An by car. On the way we visit Kaw Gun Cave also known as the ‘Cave of the Ten Thousand Buddha’s. The walls are holding up more than 2000 tablets of Lord Buddha with Mon inscriptions. Until today not all of them are encrypt as the cave can be dated back to the 7th century. Our next stop is Kyauk Kalat Monastery, which is built on top of a single rock formations surrounded by a scenic lake.

Further down the road is Lumbini Garden with Mt. Zwekabin as a scenic backdrop. The 1000 Buddha statues and the 722 Meter high mountain are giving the place a mystic touch. We enjoy traditional Mon lunch at local restaurant.

Probably the most beautiful cave is Saddar Cave. We walk through an entire lime stone mountain range. Especially the caves stalagmites and stalactites are incredibly beautiful. Fortunately we don’t need to return the same way. A traditional wooden boat is taking us under the lime stone range back to the car park.

In the late afternoon we visit the bat cave, where more than thousands of bats come out every night to find food. The sky is darkening and it is said they fly as far as Mawlamyine to still there hunger (optional). We return to Mawlamyine in the evening.

Dinner is to your own account.

Meals: Breakfast at your hotel, Traditional Lunch
Overnight stay: Hotel in Mawlamyine

DAY 6: Mawlamyine to Golden Rock (B/-/-) 

After breakfast we leave for Thaton, one of the ancient Mon kingdoms, and the Thamanya Monastery, the home of one of Myanmar’s most revered monks. After lunch at a local restaurant we arrive to Kin Pun base camp to change our mode of transport to an open truck. The ride is shared with local pilgrimage makers for the next 11km to the top. For the last bit we will take the cable car to the top.

The Golden Rock, or Kyaiktiyo as the Burmese call it, is a fascinating boulder covered in gold leaf and balanced precariously on the edge of a cliff. On top of the boulder is s a small shrine believed to contain Buddha’s hair relics, which pilgrims believe holds the rock in place.

The sacred site is well known in South East Asia and every Burmese Buddhist has to visit it at least one time. Enjoy a tranquil sunset and sunrise at this magic place.

Lunch and Dinner are to your own account.

Meals: Breakfast at your hotel
Overnight stay: Hotel at Golden Rock

DAY 7: Golden Rock to Yangon (B/-/-) 

If you are staying on top, do not miss out on the magic sunrise. After breakfast we visit the old capital Bago or Pegu. Bago is the center of the cottage industry that produces intricate woven bamboo crafts. In Bago we take a stroll through a colorful market and stop for a cup of tea or coffee in local tea shop, like the locals do.

In the afternoon we board the train to Yangon central station. The 2 hours train ride is a pleasant way to enter Yangon like in colonial times. Sit back and enjoy the scenery which changes from local country side to life on the train tracks at the outskirts of Yangon. Transfer to your hotel from the train station by taxi.

Lunch and Dinner are to your own account.

Meals: Breakfast at your hotel
Overnight stay: Hotel in Yangon

DAY 8: Departure (B/-/-)

Breakfast at your hotel. Please let us know if you would like to stay more night in Yangon or need a transfer to Yangon Airport or want assistance to travel further with us through remote areas Kayah, Chin or Shan State or Myanmar.

Additional we do half and full day sight seeing in Yangon for first-timers. For returners why not try a bike or a food tour of Yangon. Hit is up for suggestions.

Meals: Breakfast at your hotel
Overnight stay: none

Included Services

• Private transfer as specified in the itinerary

• All entrance fees to the sites mentioned in the itinerary

• English speaking guide

• Accommodation with breakfast on double occupancy (Single supplement varies)

• 2 bottles of water & 2 cooling towels per person / day

• Luggage handling fees at airports

• 1x Traditional Lunch on Day 6