Itinerary was completely spot on – brilliant mix of things to see and do. We covered so much ground (literally) and felt that we left with a good overall experience of the country. The timings, activities, scheduling, transport, logistics were all completely faultless. Stubborn Mule and your in-country team should be given great credit.

Guides were totally stand-out – they really added to the experience and we loved them, especially Momo in Mandalay and Mr T in Kalaw.

Tourism numbers are down in Myanmar because of the Rohingya crisis – hotels were very empty and we had the swimming pools to ourselves. Our view is that we need to support the local communities through tourism – the locals can’t control government policy.

Myanmar is a superb destination for families – the people are so friendly, but it is still very poor and was quite raw in parts (which all added to the learning experience for the children).

Children loved the swimming pools, especially after very hot days visiting all the sites.

It was 33 degrees and this is their cool season! We wouldn’t have been able to cope with their summer when it reaches 45 degrees – I’m sure you recommend other destinations at this time. Weather was perfect for our trip – it only really rained on our penultimate day in Yangon (so, we drove to see the sites rather than walked which was fine by us!)…

Singapore Airlines was fantastic – we were on a A380 on the way home – the overnight flight home was perfect

Yangon – quite interesting for a day at the beginning (especially Shwedagon pagoda at sunset) and at the end, but it’s not a terribly fascinating city…government has relocated the capital and they don’t appear to be investing in Yangon now.

Mandalay was fantastic (Momo slightly rejigged the itinerary which was a good idea) – private boat trip to Mingun was one of the highlights.  Momo took us to a nunnery which was an incredible experience – we were the only visitors! Horse and cart trip in Ava was also very, very memorable. U Bein bridge at sunset was a bit disappointing as it was absolutely rammed with Chinese tourists! Hotel was very comfortable.

Bagan was out-of-this-world – temples, pagodas, local market all incredible. Hotel was great – again, lovely swimming pool.

Mt Popa was good fun – D had her flip flop stolen by a monkey and then retrieved by a catapult wielding local!

Kalaw was great – Hotel was clean and comfortable. Trek with Mr T was hard work – D struggled a bit and we spent most of the time walking on a dirt road with lots of passing traffic. We thought we would be trekking through the forests! Never mind, we still enjoyed it. Visiting the elephants was the trip highlight – just the four of us with four elephants…we will never forget it!

Inle Lake – Hotel was very good, again with a fab infinity-edge pool. Boat trip was super interesting.

Ngapali Beach was another highlight…wow! Ours was the best hotel on the beach with another amazing swimming pool!

Overall, we had a fantastic holiday… just what we needed.
We would definitely use you again and have already recommended you to friends.

Inle Lake was absolutely beautiful and we really enjoyed our time there. It was perfect staying on the canal & our hotel was ideally placed & gorgeous.

Pindaya – not a western in sight which was fab however it really hammered home how the Rohingya conflict is impacting on tourism. We liked the quirkiness of Pindaya.

The elephant sanctuary and trekking in Kalaw have to be our highlights. Trekking through the stunning countryside & hanging out in the local village was fantastic. The family we stayed with were really lovely. Sunrise over the village was breathtaking and well worth getting up for. Again Mr Thee was an absolute star explaining about the flora and fauna as we went along. We had plenty of water breaks and it was a wonderful 24 hours. Mr Thee has one of those wonderful, expressive faces and everyone stops to talk to him!

The children totally embraced the Myanmar culture. They learnt key words, understood the money and learnt to barter! They even enjoyed the food and the many temples we dragged them round! Although they got templed out after Bagan, not even Mt Popa could raise a wow after walking up those 700 odd steps!! 

We flew over Bagan with Golden Eagle balloons in the end,  I can highly recommend them. The flight over Bagan was breathtaking and although hugely expensive it it was worth every penny. 

The kids got a lot of attention from the Burmese with many wanting to have their picture taken with them. It was really lovely and gave the kids plenty of chance to interact. 

I could on about the trip forever and I have no doubt we’ll go back. 

Thank you for all your help and advice in creating such a special, memorable trip. Destination Bhutan and Tibet next year! 

More detailed from Dad:

Great trip thank you for organising. I was worried about the weather as the monsoon seems to have been worse this year but apart from a couple of days we had really good weather. Inle lake was fantastic, I would suggest as we did, that clients spend 3 nights there so you get a second day, which tbh was better than the first as went more of the beaten track.

The hotel at Kalaw has the potential to be lovely but the rooms were damp, however the boys loved the Elephant Camp, that was really awesome. The guides / drivers were good, knowledgeable and very different but we liked them all, one thing to note, had to push them to find decent lunch stops, suggesting to them where to go rather than sometimes their preferred stops.

We liked all of the hotels except the last one – more about that below.

Yangon – The guide – Set – was very good and spoke fantastic English. He was very knowledgeable, considerate of the children’s needs and helped us in taking group photos. He saw us right into our cabins on the train to Mandalay and spoke to the Steward about looking after us, making sure we were happy with everything before he left. The hotel – The Alamanda Inn – had good family rooms, great food and was in a good location.  They were also very flexible about our check-in and check-out times.

Yangon – Mandalay overnight train – As I said when we spoke we all loved the train trip and thought it was an eye-opening way to travel! Just need to make sure that you have wet wipes, a sarong and a portable phone charger.

Mandalay – The guide – Jo Jo (Kyaw Lin Khaing) – was everyone’s favourite. He was very attentive, had great English and was very chatty. He took brilliant group photos of us at every stop and was keen to know our thoughts on the places he took us, especially the food stops.  He even Whats App-ed a list of everywhere that we had visited with him and also the name and addresses of restaurants he recommended for dinner. The hotel – Mandalay City hotel – was a beautiful oasis right in the city. The children loved the pool, the service was good and we liked the rooms.

Bagan – The guide – Nini – had an encyclopedic knowledge of the temples and spoke perfect English. She took us to some lovely temples and amazed us with lots of interesting facts!  The hotel – Bagan Umbra – was just fantastic. Paradise, especially the pool, the spa and happy hour cocktails/mocktails!  We recommend the spa. They also made a lovely birthday cake for Alina and Sophia on their 13th birthday.

Kalaw – The guide – Mr Tee – was very funny and great at entertaining the children. As with the other guides his English was very good. He was the the only guide that didn’t provide us with water at any time, and we forgot to ask. Minor point really.  The hotel – Famous Hotel – had huge rooms and a great view.  The service was excellent (we were more or less the only guests there) and they were falling over themselves to try and please us. The only negative comment we can make was that the baths/showers weren’t great. The pool was small but kept the kids amused! There are probably better hotels if having a pool isn’t a factor. The elephant camp was brilliant and a real highlight for everyone – highly recommended!

Lake Inle – We had Mr Tee again as our guide here.  The hotel – Golden Island Cottages – was amazing…

The boat tour of the lake was very interesting. The cooking lesson was good, we did lots of preparation but no cooking as they only had 2 fires to cook on. We were surprised drinks weren’t included as Mr Tee had said that everything was taken care of, but again a minor point.

Ngapali beach – The hotel – Amazing Ngapali resort – was just picture perfect!  Lovely beach, nice pool, fantastic staff, lovely rooms, great food (we had all our meals there), great cocktails, fab spa, great location, very efficient at the airport arriving and leaving, we all loved it and were sad to leave!  The internal flights were all very good too.  We went on the free hotel bus to the market, but in retrospect we hadn’t really needed to as every guide had taken us to better markets.  We organised a snorkelling trip through the hotel which was great.

Yangon – As I have already said to you we don’t think you should use the 7 Mile Residence again. It is not a hotel, it is serviced apartments and the pool was unclean so we didn’t use it. The restaurant was shut because of New Year (so no dinner or breakfast – though we left too early for that anyway) and the staff that we managed to find took a long while to sort us out with our rooms and didn’t really seem to know what was going on. (Stubborn Mule Travel comment – in light of this feedback we will not use this hotel any more and have already sourced a good alternative)

The transfer from and to the airport was very efficient.

Christmas was very special for us as well, being back on Christmas Eve at the orphanage where I have worked before and seeing friends who are making such a difference in so many people’s lives, inspiring others to do the same. The children are growing up in a wonderful loving environment – some have reached adulthood. The first group were all made orphan in Cyclone Nargis 2008.

We are now in Bangkok on our way to Dubai, the chance to experience something very different for a couple of days.

Best wishes,
T

Dear Kelly – Once again thank you to you and Liddy for an amazing trip. We have already recommended you to friends and you will no doubt get some bookings as a result!  It was fabulous and the guides were great. Top two hotels without a doubt were the one in Kalaw (Mountain Dream hotel) the Ngyapali Beach (Amata) one.

Kind regards,
V

Our tour guides were fantastic, very knowledgeable, their English was brilliant and we must give a special shout out to Mr T who was our guide for the trek and Inle, he is one of the nicest people we have ever met. We are going to send an email to to let them know this.

We would have no hesitation in recommending Stubborn Mule and quite fancy a trip to Mexico next year. Is this something you do or if not can you point us in the right direction.

The organisation was fabulous – all our guides met us exactly as planned and were great in their own ways.  While not at all a criticism, I did think some of our guides were a little unsure how to adapt their programme/pitch to kids (by Mandalay, my girls were on ‘Pagoda strike’ but it was hard to convey this message to the guide, and she wasn’t sure what to do to make the experience more appealing to kids :)).  Some of the guides only directed the information to us, instead of perhaps finding a way to make it interesting to and appeal to the kids. I realise they probably felt they needed to give the adults the cultural information.

Given the incredible number of Pagodas in Mandalay, it probably makes sense to start a tour of the country there (instead of ending there as we did), as we all had pagoda/monastry fatigue to some extent by the time we got there.  It is hard to say though, as having the boat trip to Mandalay at the end was very relaxing.

We really enjoyed Yandabo, which I don’t think you had heard of before  – I think one of the highlights in fact for us all. It is just a sleepy stop along the river, with not a lot to do, so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you get to be up close with two villages (the one it is situated in, where they make pots and if you take the boat trip the Hotel offers, you visit another farming village where you really get to see local life, alone (you are the only tourists there) and you get to see the water buffalos coming down to cool off etc).  The kids loved that.

Just so you know, the hotel does charge $20 per adult to go over to the other village and for a ‘tour’ – I was a little surprised as it was the sort of destination where I think this might better have been included in the hotel price (as there is not much else to do there, including for the staff, and the ability to visit the village is on the website without mention of price!). As I know you typically pay for tours from hotels it is hard to say exactly why it felt odd being charged for this one, but it did.  That said, we really enjoyed the experience, especially the kids, so it was worth it.  The hotel itself is lovely.

The kid’s highlight of the trip was certainly the elephant camp (even though Sarah was sick that day, and in fact vomiting as we drove to the farm!).  She perked up completely, and managed to feed and wash the elephants.

Oh, and we met the President of Burma, who stayed in our hotel in Mandalay!  He spoke to us all, so that was quite special.

The hotels were all good – I wasn’t so impressed with the Thande Hotel in Bagan but I know that was one of our choices.  The Triumph Hotel was great, as was the Thitaw Lay House in Kalaw which was just lovely and Mark who ran it was incredibly helpful and his breakfasts with home made banana bread and pancakes were delicious  – Mr Hti was a delight and so very funny which kept us all entertained and the kids managed a 20km walk through the hills – helped along by his incredibly funny sense of humour.

The Amata Resort at Ngapali was indeed a lovely spot and the beach was fabulous – it was a shame that the family rooms (with interconnecting doors) were at the back of the resort and rather noisy and had very little outlook – unfortunately the resort was very full so they couldn’t move us but the room was comfortable.

Just a fascinating trip and both Nick and I were constantly amazed at the changes there – ATM’s, traffic and of course the Burmese attitude was far more positive and much happier which was good to see – the food was absolutely fine for the kids and they had no trouble with the curries and rice dishes – they did miss the sweeter things but so good for them to forego chocolate over Christmas and there was v little complaining, we thankfully survived any ‘jippy’ tummies and we did have ice in drinks and ate salads although only in restaurants that looked relatively clean and in the hotels.

Both girls felt that the elephant sanctuary was the highlight of the trip – so thank you for booking that – I’m also glad that we decided not to do the 2 day trek, the 1 day was quite enough for them and I was so grateful to get back to the guesthouse for a shower and to sit by the fire.  I would very much recommend to your clients the train journey from Kalaw to Heho when travelling to Inlay – it was a lovely way to travel for a couple of hours.

All in all a really well organised trip and thank you for organising – we have already recommended you to a number of our friends.

Feedback from Dad… Thanks also from me Liddy, it was a superb trip. I cycled from Kalaw to Inle and it was a highlight for me.  Mark at Thitaw Lay House helped arrange it and I hired a decent Trek mountain bike for $15 from Mr Joe in Kalaw, he delivered it to the guesthouse and also suggested a great new route off the main road that was easy to navigate but would have been impossible to find out about otherwise as it’s not on Google Maps yet!  Our driver returned the bike to Mr Joe for 5000K and Mr Hti sorted out that as the driver barely spoke English.  I’ve emailed you the strava log of the ride and if other clients want to know about it please do put them in touch. At 88km it’s not an easy family ride but anyone with a decent level of cycling fitness and a good supply of snacks could do it.

But since we enjoyed it so much and since it was so interesting, we did not stop them (I know we could have done so).

One of the highlights was the train ride of course and also Lake Inle. It was marvelous!

After this trip I wanted to ask you whether you also organize tours in Java (or north Myanmar/Thailand/Laos)? We have not finally decided on the destination for our spring holiday but it might be one of these. We will be 9 or 10 persons then, with even younger children.

You really listened to our plans and devised a truly tailored trip, gave some detailed and useful pre-trip hints (Nutella with malaria pills got our stubborn 5 year old happily taking them) and oversaw small details such as a birthday cake for my 10 year olds birthday, which really made our time in Burma special. During the trip we were well looked after by all our guides, I have rarely been so delighted to see anyone as I was when our guide met us at the carriage of our overnight train with cold water, wipes and suggestions for breakfast.

We have some many amazing memories of the trip. The kids loved going to elephant camp where they got to wash an elephant (you wouldn’t believe how tough and leathery their skin is) and the elephants are all well looked after unlike other sites in Asia. They also, inevitably, liked the swimming pools. I’m glad we spent a little more to get a number of hotels with pools as the promise of a splash around at the end of the day helped keep the children going on a number of sightseeing trips.

They also loved water festival, which was on when we were in Mandalay. I was initially a bit wary – open trucks full of people, sometimes in masks, firing buckets of water over passers-by. But it was all really well natured and honestly so hot that a bucket of water tipped over you was a blessing. We just needed to remember to keep our camera in watertight bags at all times. Our hotel in Mandalay, which you recommended was great – they had dancing at the hotel each afternoon, which the kids happily joined in and set up a hose outside which our 10 year old was thrilled by as he went and sprayed anyone unlucky enough to walk or drive past.

The famous highlights of Burma that I’ve wanted to see for years really lived up to their name. Bagan was extraordinary – miles of temples and a really memorably horse drawn cart took us around at sunset. It was incredibly hot as we managed to hit a heat wave so were trudging around in 45 degree heat. But a welcomed A/C minibus helped the kids enjoy it and meant they could escape when needed, as did our Indiana Jones impressions. Having a group of just us was also helpful as we could change the itinerary around. We skipped a couple of sights as the kids had had enough. It also made the transfers between places much easier as we could simply stop and stretch legs when needed. Our guide and driver were also helpful when our children suffered carsickness and we could travel, stop and switch seats to help matters as much as we liked.

Inle Lake was amazing with hills surrounding the lake and lots of villages, farms and houses built over the water. Travelling in a boat past hotels, tying up at a jetty for lunch made for a really unique experience. We visited a floating market and a number of workshops. I thought the kids might get a bit bored, but actually the iron forgery was a great hit, as was the umbrella-making workshop.

We also went on a trek from Kalaw. This was a little hot, but the kids made it through. The trek was quite long and challenging for our 5 year old, but the 10-year especially had a great time and some of my best memories of the trip are walking along chatting to the kids and telling stories to pass the time. The trekking isn’t like the Himalayas following stunning scenery. But there are pretty forested hills and plenty of terraced rice fields.

I would recommend going for the cultural experience. It felt very like going back in time, with oxen ploughing the fields, hill tribe women weaving in houses and the peace and quiet when there are no roads nearby. For the children it was a real eye opener, sleeping in local houses with no plumbing or inside toilets and walls made out of woven bamboo. Spending nights in family houses they played with the village children at night, climbing up trees and my son was taught a great game which seemed to be a form of ‘keepy upy’ football with a bamboo ball.

The expertise and friendliness of the guides as though they were a ‘safe covering’ over our family, was fabulous. The homestay, Saba tea plantation, night rainforest treks, the overnight train (18 hrs!) watching rural life go by, (my husband thought his wife was returning to her teenage backpacking days!) the character of Mandalay, horse and cart ‘taxis’ around the pagodas of Bagan, we loved lnle lake and life on stilts, cycling round the paddy fields watching 16 of the fastest rice planters in Myanmar! And as for the elephant camp, that was such a wonderful family experience. It was right up there on the ‘best experiences ever’ list!

Our guide had asked us to write to you especially with feedback about the homestay in Borneo… what a truly authentic experience and a top of the list for our daughter, playing and swimming with the village children. The family were just lovely and brought a local picnic to the river. We could have stayed for days! Want to complement the guide Chris too. He was very family-focused and his outlook on tourism in the homestay was so sensitive.

So Liddy without having you to read on and on…we had a stunning time and really hope that the experience matters long term in our children’s lives as an exposure to culture and a celebration of the diversity of our world. It was a poignant time in the history of Myanmar with the presidential elections taking place and Aung San Suu Kyi’s long struggle for a democratic government finally being recognised while we were there. So what an education the trip was for our children and helps instil so many values we want for our family life.

Thank you too for ‘stepping in there’ to help David with accessing the care he needed with his dog bite. It was a tense time for us as we anticipated him having to leave the country. You were an answer to prayer! When the bank balance recovers, the culture experience needs a major top up and my children’s mummy needs another reminder of her backpacking days, we will be back to you!

The itinerary was really well thought out for families such as bumpy ox cart rides and visiting the elephant sanctuary. The pace was perfect and there were no hidden extras. Compared to other agents I found the prices really competitive.

It was a fabulous holiday and we are already working out where to go next! As a mother who normally has to arrange everything it was fantastic and so relaxing to have everything arranged and sorted by a thoughtful and trustworthy company. Thank you.

We were unlucky with the weather in Mandalay and Bagan where it rained quite a bit, but after Bagan, conversely the weather improved dramatically and we had a mostly dry trek and good weather at Inle Lake, which was wonderful!

Alamandra is a great, a great base for families. Rooms 7/8 particularly good
Bagan great. Good guide. Hotel very comfortable, pool great. Slightly lacking in ambience but good. Moon restaurant a favourite.

Kalaw perfect. Trek was outstanding. Brilliant guide who stayed with us on Inle and who was very thoughtful. Great food on trek too.
We loved staying in the monasteries.

Inle was outstanding. Hotel was more than wonderful. Exquisite rooms, great food. Exceptional.

Bus to Yangon was fine.

The guide on the trek was outstanding. Do feed that back. His name is Ny Paw.

Although kids bit travel sick as first part very windy! Overall, a fantastic trip. Thanks so much for all your help. Logistics perfect throughout.

There were plenty of ‘pinchers’ who made a beeline for our blond 9-year-old son but he tolerated it pretty well. We live in Asia as you know so are used to the stares and people wanting photos but the Burmese took it to a new level but were as smiley and as unthreatening as is possible. Our eldest son (15) was a particular hit with the several ‘lady boys’ we encountered which we found hilarious – him less so although could see the amusement factor – and our 12 year old daughter lost count how many times someone stared at her face close up declaring ‘beautiful’!

What actually made a significant difference to us are three excellent guides we met on the way, and who we were really appreciated as it was easy to connect with them, they were very knowledgeable, and they clearly adapted their style and approach to our needs and wishes:
– in Kengtung, Kham Kyar
– in Mandalay, Edward
– in Kalaw, Mr Hti

We would very warmly recommend all of them to any tourist visiting their region.

The Green Hill Elephant Camp was an amazing highlight. Contrary to what their website say, you do not need to wear long trousers and a long sleeved top at all. They provide traditional trousers and a hat, plus flip flops and a towel – it is so well organised and thought through. The lunch was gorgeous and so filling we just needed a picnic in our room for tea.

The efforts they are going through to teach the locals to not drop litter, providing a local primary school and inviting every visitor to plant a tree is admirable – as well as looking after 7 elephants, which have had a tough life! The leader is inspirational and totally passionate about the project, a definite must on the itinerary.

I think Mt Popa needs a major clean up before I’d recommend anyone to go there. Our guide said that he and his colleagues are trying to make this change happen through an organisation he belongs to.

Our guides and drivers have been lovely, I’ve invited one of the guides to stay at ours if he manages his travels (I hope he takes me up on it).

Thank you for organising this lovely part of our trip.