Kipling's Burma

Day 1-2

Yangon

With the most colonial buildings in Southeast Asia, Yangon (formerly Rangoon) is the perfect place to begin your historical exploration. When Kipling visited, he drank at the Pegu Club and laughed with the locals at Shwedagon Pagoda “because that seemed to be the custom of the country”. Though the Pegu Club is no longer, you’ll approximate the experience as you bar-hop between swanky Governor’s Residences and beautifully restored hotel bars. Meanwhile, at Shwedagon, you’ll find that little has changed: laughing together is still very much the custom. Covering both the Burmese and the British sides of the capital, this is a fantastic introduction to the complexities of modern Myanmar.

Highlights

Visit the “golden mystery” that is Shwedagon Pagoda: Kipling’s first glimpse of Rangoon as he steamed up the Irrawaddy River

Go on an architectural walking tour of Yangon, including both British-era relics and monuments to anti-colonial resistance

Go bar-hopping in the Elephant Coach, a restored colonial-era bus

Day 3-4

Mawlamyine

After visiting Rangoon, Kipling headed for Moulmein – present-day Mawlamyine – but you’ll expand on his route as you travel through the towns and villages of the Bago region, once among the wealthiest and most powerful in the country. No longer “a sleepy town, just one house thick, scattered along a lovely stream,” modern Mawlamyine is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar. Nevertheless, you can still visit Old Moulmein Pagoda – from which the author looked out over hillsides “ablaze with pagodas” – and recapture the atmosphere of yesteryear as you explore nearby river islands, where life still moves at a lazy pace beneath “the talking of the breezes in the tops of the toddy palms”.

Highlights

Stop off in Bago (formerly Pegu), the 13th-14th century capital of the Mon Kingdom of Martaban

Visit idyllic Ogre and Shampoo Islands: one named for an age-old insult, the other for a royal hair-washing ceremony

Watch the sunset from Kyaik Than Lan Pagoda, about which Kipling is thought to have written the poem Mandalay

Day 5

Hpa-An

Here you diverge from Kipling’s route and travel on through Kayin State to Hpa-An, famous for the teetering temple of Kyauk Ka Lat. Beyond this fantastical sight is a landscape rich in tradition and riddled with limestone caves, many of them crammed full of Buddhist statues and pagodas. As you travel through the region, your guide will show you to some of the finest – some of them housing artworks over a thousand years old, and most of them rarely visited by tourists. This is a wonderful chance to explore a region of rural Myanmar where life is slow, tradition is strong, and Buddhism is at the heart of everything.

Highlights

Go for a scenic drive through the hinterlands of Kayin State

Explore hidden cave temples rarely visited by tourists

See Kyauk Ka Lat Pagoda, seemingly impossibly balanced on its limestone karst in the middle of a lake

Day 6-7

Golden Rock/Yangon

Your next stop is one of the three most sacred sites in Myanmar: the Golden Rock. A gigantic, gilded boulder that appears forever on the point of tumbling off its perch at the top of a towering volcanic hill, this is a popular pilgrimage site for Burmese – which makes it particularly good place to make friends with your fellow travellers. Though the boulder itself is the draw, the journey up by open-topped truck and cablecar is at least as memorable – and the views from the summit are stupendous. On your way here, you’ll take plenty of time to stop off at smaller temples and rural villages to experience the full range of life outside of Myanmar’s more famous sites and cities.

Highlights

Stop off in the sleepy village of Hpa Pu to experience everyday life in the countryside

Climb a small mountain for beautiful views over Hpa An

Take the new cablecar up Mount Kyaiktiyo to see the Golden Rock, one of Myanmar’s three most sacred sites

Day 8-9

Bagan

You couldn’t possibly go on a historic adventure through Myanmar without stopping in Bagan: the undisputed jewel in the country’s crown. Kipling never made it this far, but if he had he’d have seen a landscape little different from Bagan today: great, flat plains dotted with red-brick spires as far as the eye can see. These are relics of the great Pagan Kingdom, rival to the Khmer Empire during the 12th-13th centuries, and for us it’s a sight that never loses its magic. With literally thousands of temples to visit, we suspect you’ll be glad to have your guide to show you the ropes! Then, cool off in your hotel pool and head out to enjoy some of the excellent restaurants nearby.

Highlights

Watch sunset over one of the most iconic views in the world

Combine Bagan’s most famous temples with a few of its little-known gems on a guided tour of the area

Take an afternoon to relax – or use it to explore even further to discover temples rarely seen by tourists

Day 10-11

Irrawaddy River cruise

It’s time to rejoin Kipling (in spirit at least) as you board a two-night cruise on the Irrawaddy River: the “Road to Mandalay” of the famous poem. Whereas Kipling travelled on a steamer, you’ll be quartered in style onboard a floating boutique hotel: complete with colonial-style teak cabins and traditional Burmese decorative motifs. As you travel upriver, you’ll stop off in typical villages to explore monasteries and cottage workshops – including the village where the peace treaty of the First Anglo-Burmese war was signed in 1826. When you’re not exploring on land, you’ll have time to enjoy the luxurious surroundings of your vessel as you watch the Burmese countryside drift by.

Highlights

Slow the pace and enjoy a relaxing, two-night transfer on the Road to Mandalay

Enjoy the luxurious facilities onboard your cruise boat, decorated in a fusion of colonial and traditional Burmese styles

Disembark to explore little villages and experience life along the riverside

Day 12

Pyin Oo Lwin

At just over 1,000 metres above sea level, Pyin Oo Lwin’s balmy climate and lush surroundings made it the perfect summer escape for cold-blooded colonists struggling with the sweltering heat of the lowlands. Back then, the town was known as Maymyo – after commander Colonel May, who was stationed here in the late 19th century. Though the name may have changed, much else hasn’t – including the Summer Palace of the Governor, the Purcell Clock Tower downtown, and the mock-Tudor houses of colonial officials. Though Kipling never visited, the town does claim another significant literary alumn: George Orwell was stationed here from 1922-1927.

Highlights

Visit British Burma’s old summer capital: leafy Pyin Oo Lwin

Wander through the National Kandawgyi Botanical Garden, planted in 1915 and modelled on London’s Kew Gardens

Travel the local way with a horse-and-cart ride through the town

Day 13-15

Mandalay

If there’s one place in Myanmar associated with Kipling, it's Mandalay. Right? Well, sort of. Despite his famous poem, Kipling never made it further north than Moulmein — and so his Mandalay was never more than a romantic ideal. Even if it had been real, you wouldn’t find it today: modern Mandalay is a bustling hub; no “lookin’ lazy at the sea” here. Nevertheless, scratch the surface and there’s plenty to discover – especially in the leafy suburbs, where the remnants of former royal capitals have faded into rural backwaters, providing a crumbling record of days long before the British. Before you leave, there’s just time for one last beautiful sunset – this time over beautiful U Bein Bridge.