CRUISE ANANDA (4 NIGHT )

If you arrive on an earlier flight we can arrange a tour of Mandalay.

Check in at 12:30pm and settle into your suite. Lunch will be served on board as we cruise towards the pagoda sprinkled hills of Sagaing. Here we will visit a Monastic school where you will have the opportunity to meet some of the residents and understand the teachings of Buddhism before taking in the views from the top of the hill on the terrace of the Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda.

Visit Amarapura, known as ‘The City of Immortals’ which in its heyday, held some 200,000 inhabitants.  We will visit one of the textile workshops, followed by the U Bein Bridge, a spectacular place to enjoy the sunset.

Back on board Sanctuary Ananda, enjoy a local performance followed by dinner.

Early this morning Sanctuary Ananda will sail north to the quaint village of Sin Kyun, a village just north of Mandalay sponsored by Sanctuary Retreats Philanthropy. Take an optional tour to witness firsthand the way of life in this unspoilt location seldom viewed by outsiders.

Next we sail south, past the sleepy village of Mingun, home to the unfinished pagoda which can be seen from the ship.

After lunch a variety of on board activities will be offered including a longyi (sarong) and thanaka (cosmetic) demonstration and mixology. A delicious dinner will then follow.

Join our back of house tour and take a cooking class with our Executive Chef. One of our chefs will take you to the local market in Pakokku where mouth-watering fruit and vegetables are laid out with style.

After lunch on board, we will visit a small pagoda complex to see the different architecture of the stupas first-hand. Next, visit the temples of Bagan, including the great Ananda Temple which is regarded by folklore as the most beautiful temple in Myanmar.

Enjoy the sunset over the Bagan plains. Admire the light change on the pagodas as they exude antiquity and mystery. Finally the sun sets behind the hills on the far side of the Irrawaddy River, filling the sky with a reddish glow, a truly magic moment.

Take an optional early morning balloon tour to capture a birds-eye view of the Bagan plain (an additional charge applies, please book in advance), followed by breakfast back on board.

Next, on to the great golden Shwezigon Pagoda, said to contain important relics of the Gautama Buddha, two bones and a copy of a tooth.

Lunch will be served at Popa Mountain Resort with spectacular views over Mount Popa. Choose to climb the 777 steps where pilgrims give offerings and pray to carved figures; it’s a climb to take slowly, relishing the views.

Return to the ship in the early evening and enjoy the sunset as we sail. Tonight, a candlelit sandbank dinner is served with the backdrop of the twinkling lights of Bagan.

Enjoy an early breakfast on your final morning before check out.

If you are departing on a later flight we will arrange for you to take a tour in Bagan. Leaving at 9am we will visit a local village in the heart of the Bagan plain, to see the way of life of the local people.

Next visit a lacquerware workshop. This ancient craft has been produced in Bagan since the time of King Anawrahta around 1050 AD. Here in the workshop the traditional methods are still used.