Location: Myanmar
Duration: 13 nights / 14 days
Group Size: Max 36
Level of fitness required: Easy
Join Tatra Photography for a magical journey through the ancient treasures, mythical landscapes and magical temples of Myanmar.
Our luxurious private charter all suite ship will take you in style on a voyage of breathtaking beauty and discovery on the mysterious rivers of Myanmar. You’ll visit the majestic Ayeyarwady river between Mandalay and Yangon visiting temples, pagodas, palaces, forgotten villages, ancient towns and monasteries.
The Ayeyarwady River (also known as the Irrawaddy River) is the longest river in Myanmar which flows from north to south originating in the Kachin River at the N’mai and Mali River’s confluence. The sources of these two rivers are found in the Himalya Glaciers. The Ayeyarwady River has five tributaries, one of which being the Chindwin River. The Ayeyarwady Rivers connects the famous cities of Mandalay and Bagan with Yangon, we will cruise north from Yangon to Mandalay stopping at all the best photographic locations along the way.
All levels are catered for so whether you are new to photography, an enthusiast or a seasoned pro we provide a fun packed tour with a masterclass in landscape & travel photography techniques from our professional photographers.
While on location you will receive dedicated one-to-one tuition to help hone your landscape photography skills. Our tutors will offer guidance on both the technical and creative aspects of landscape and travel photography and always be at hand to provide feedback on your photographs. At each location we visit our tutors will make suggestions and offer advice on how to create wow factor images.
Your tutors for this workshop are Mark Bauer & Ross Hoddinott & Adam Burton.
Mark is one of the UK’s leading landscape photographers. He has been a full-time professional since 2003, and his images have been published in books, magazines and calendars around the world. Mark is represented by several leading image libraries, including the fine art library, Trevillion Images and he is regular contributor the UK photographic press, in particular Digital SLR, Digital Photographer, Photography for Beginners and Landscape Photography Magazine.
He is the author of three books, including The Landscape Photography Workshop (with Ross Hoddinott) and is currently working on a fourth. He is a multi-award winner, having had work Highly Commended and Commended in the ‘Take a View’ Landscape Photographer of the Year Competition and Highly Commended in The International Garden Photographer of the Year. In 2011, he was a category winner in the Outdoor Photographer of the Year Competition.
Mark’s work is characterised by dramatic compositions shot in atmospheric light, and he is an experienced tutor who is passionate about helping others to develop their vision.
From an early age, Ross has had a passion for the outdoors. His parents introduced him to photography when he was aged 10 and Ross immediately began photographing the wildlife and scenery near their home in north Cornwall. In 1990, he won ‘BBC Countryfile’s’ junior flora and fauna category in their annual photo competition and by the time he won the ‘Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ competition a few years later, Ross had decided to pursue a career in photography.
Now aged 33, Ross is established as one of the UK’s leading outdoor photographers. He is a regular contributor to a number of magazines, including ‘Outdoor Photography’ and ‘Digital SLR Photography’, and his work is published widely. He is multi award winner in the prestigious ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition’ and was named ‘British Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2009’. He is also a commended photographer in the ‘Take-A-View’ Landscape Photographer of the Year Competition. He is contracted to NaturePL picture agency and the National Trust are among his clients. Ross is an experienced tutor and has also written several books on photography, including ‘The Digital Photographer’s Guide to Filters’, ‘The Digital Exposure Handbook’ and ‘The Landscape Photography Workshop’.
Adam is one of the UK’s leading landscape photographers and author of four books. Since 2008 he has been working as a full time professional landscape photographer, regularly supplying imagery and undertaking commissions for a wide range of business clients.
He has photographed five of the seven continents and now specialises in the landscapes of the UK, particularly Southwest England.
Photographic background
Adam first began teaching himself photography in 2001, mainly from reading magazines and then putting into practice techniques while on location either in the New Forest or along the Dorset coastline. This informal training enabled Adam to develop a unique style that continue to make his photographs instantly recognisable and highly in demand. His knowledge is entirely self taught; he has never received any formal photographic training.
Professional career
Ever since Adam first began taking photography seriously, his images have been in demand commercially. Since 2004 his images have been published regularly in national newspapers and magazines, as well as in books, greeting cards and calendars. Over this time he has worked for many large and prestigious organisations, supplying imagery and undertaking commissions for companies including British Petroleum, The AA, The Times and National Geographic.
Adam has authored four books published by leading UK publishing houses. He is currently working on a fifth title to be published in 2012.
Ananda
Ananda was custom built for the Myanmar rivers by local craftsmen using traditional materials while offering sleek contemporary luxury. Ananda offers 20 spacious suites on three decks, the luxurious Owner’s suite, a sundeck with an outdoor pool and the Kansi panorama lounge. Each suite reflects Myanmar’s renowned reputation for arts, crafts and textiles in its furnishings and décor which showcases local fabrics, teak wood and lacquer ware. The old Irrawaddy Flotilla is remembered in a splendid vintage photograph in each of the cabins. Rooms are available in twin or double suites, single travellers will share with same gender in a twin suite. Single supplement on request.
OWNER’S SUITE - 67 sqm
LUXURY SUITES - 33 sqm
DELUXE SUITES - 28sqm
TALIFOO RESTAURANT
KANSI PANORAMA LOUNGE
DUFFERIN LIBRARY
THAMBYADINE SPA & GYMItinerary
Day 1 - Depart UK for International Flight into Yangon.
Day 2 - Yangon - 2 nights Five star hotel.
Check into our luxury five star hotel with incredible view over Yangon, we will have a relaxing morning after the flight from the UK. In the afternoon we will have the introduction with our guides and professional tutors before heading out to capture the sunset over Yangon.
We will arrive before sunrise at the charming little town of Danuphyu, it was from here that General Maha Bandula led the Burmese against the British in the Anglo-Burmese War. Explore the town by trishaw, visiting the Pagoda of Tyuakalon Pun and the Maha Ban Dula monastery. Enjoy a visit to the port of Zalon, again explore by trishaw and see the Pyi Taw Pyan pagoda which houses the famous bronze Buddha stolen by the British Army and returned by order of Queen Victoria.
Inle lake High hills flank the lake on both sides of the shore. The lakeside and islands are littered with villages on stilts, inhabited mostly by the industrious Intha people. There are also over one hundred monasteries and a thousand pagodas scattered along the shoreline. Crystalline waters, lush green hills, deep, cloudless skies and a calming and serene lake inhabited by a jovial and welcoming people are the perfect ingredients for an idyllic destination.
Check out from the hotel and transfer to Mandalay to board the Ananda. Check into your suite for this voyage to remember. Your first day on the Ayeyarwady river we will have many opportunities to enjoy the beauty of the Ayeryarwady and its river banks. Welcome cocktails, followed by dinner and a traditional entertainment.Day 7 - Mandalay
Visit to the pagoda sprinkled hills of Sagaing, an important religious and monastic centre, home
to some 554 monasteries and 6,000 monks and nuns. We will take a short stop at several of the monasteries and pagodas and capture the incredible views from the top of the Sagaing Hill on the terraces of the Soon. U Ponya Shin Pagoda are truly breathtaking and we 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 cotton and silk weavers has replaced the noisy bustle of this former capital. We will visit one of the textile workshops, followed by the U Bein Bridge, a spectacular place to enjoy the sunset. This long teak bridge snakes across the Taungthaman Lake.Day 8 – Myinmu
Visit Myinmu and join the daily ritual of alms offering to monks – one of the oldest rituals of Buddhism where food is given during the daily alms round. Take a trishaw tour of the town and visit a tapestry workshop. Lunch is served on board as we set sail towards Yandabo. 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. A talk on Myanmar whilst in transit will cover the country’s incredibly rich history, the recent controversial decades to the outlook for the future of The Golden Land.Day 9 – Bagan
A visit to the local market in Pakokku where mouth-watering fruit and vegetables are laid out with consummate style. Then to the cheroot factory to watch the girls roll and make the cheroots with great speed and dexterity. Arrive in Bagan in the early afternoon and 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 beautiful temples in Myanmar. The day’s finale is the sunset. 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 Ayeyarwady River, filling the sky with a reddish glow, a truly magic moment.
Day 10 - Bagan
Sunrise to capture a birds-eye view of the Bagan plain and tour of Htilominlo Temple - a two-storey red-brick temple built around 1211 AD. It is a magnificent structure now restored. On route to Mount Popa, visit a Palm Tree Climbers’ hut, fresh fruit markets and a local ‘toddy’ bar. Mount Popa is best known as a pilgrimage site with numerous temples and relics. 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. A candlelit sandbank dinner is served with the backdrop of the twinkling lights
of Bagan.Day 11 - Bagan
Visit the great golden Shwezigon Pagoda. This holds a special place among Burmese pagodas for two reasons: it was the first major monument built in the Burmese style (as distinct from Mon style) following the country’s conversion to Theravada Buddhism, and was the first pagoda to have nat (spirit) images allowed within the recinct. The Shwezigon is said to contain important relics of the Gautama Buddha, two bones and a copy of a tooth. Afterwards, discover the local craft of lacquerware in a workshop where the traditional methods are still used. In the afternoon we take a tour of Bagan, with visits to brick making factory, a jaggery (sugar palm) workshop and discover the tradition craft of lacquerware with a visit to a lacquerware shop. In the evening, a candlelit sandbank dinner is served with the backdrop of the twinkling lights of Bagan.
Day 12 – Bagan
Visit to the bustling Nyaung U local market. The daily market is where the farmers meet to buy and sell a variety of goods, ranging from fruit and vegetables to china and lacquerware. Set sail from Nyaung U and relax as we 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.
Day 13 – Mandalay
Visit to Mahamuni Pagoda, one of Myanmar’s
most religious monuments housing the revered Mahamuni Image. Continue on to visit Shwenandaw Monastery, the only palace building to survive the bombings of World War II. This beautiful teak monastery had been the apartment of King Mindon and after his death in 1879, his son Kong Theebaw, moved it out of the palace.
Lastly a visit to Kuthodaw Pagoda (Maha Lawka Marazein) built by King Mindon in 1857, in effect a copy of the Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan. Kuthodaw is often called the biggest book in the world, for surrounding it are 729 marble slabs inscribed with the Tripitaka texts (Buddhist cannon).
Check out and disembark, transfer to Mandalay airport.
Day 14 - Arrive in UK.
All monies paid by you for the air holiday package shown are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 6404. For more information see our booking terms and conditions.
