This morning your guide and driver will greet you at the hotel and embark on the drive to Bago, a 2-hour drive. Bago, also known as Pegu, was the capital of the Mon Kingdom in the 15th century and is a town steeped in legend.

The sites in Bago are spread out around the town and you’ll spend the day exploring with your guide, learning about the history and myths of the city. Stops include the 55-metre long reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha, the four seated Buddhas at Kyaikpun and the old palace of Kambozathadi. The Mon-style Shwemawdaw Pagoda is the most outstanding religious monument in Bago. This golden temple stands at 114 metres tall, higher than Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda, and can be seen from around 10 kilometres outside of the city. Next, visit Bago’s strangest, and some would say creepiest, sight. Nearby Kanbawzathadi Palace, the Snake Monastery is a pilgrimage site to see the 9 meter, and reportedly century old, Burmese Python. The monastery is devoted to a Buddhist abbot who was reborn as a python.

While in Bago we’ll also take time to visit the city’s local sites, including the town market and a Mon neighbourhood where the locals produce beautiful woven textiles. A lunch stop will be made at a local restaurant during the day’s touring in Bago.

From Bago we’ll return to Yangon this afternoon. Before reaching the city limits, stop in Htaukkyan township to visit the Allied War Cemetery. This beautifully-landscaped, peaceful area is the final resting place for more than 27,000 Allied Soldiers who perished during the World War II campaign in Myanmar.

Once in Yangon you will be transferred to your hotel.