Day 1: MANDALAY - SINGU - HSITHE (D)

Pick-up from your hotel at 12:00 hours. Passing through agricultural land, drive through many villages where you can see the daily life of rural Myanmar. The road passes to the east of the famous Marble Mountains, where the raw material for the marble carvers of Amarapura is quarried.

At 14:00 hours, arrive at Singu, an attractive small town on the left bank of the Ayeyarwady River. Here you will take a boat to Hsithe (30min). The boat trip is a great opportunity to observe wildlife, particularly water birds such as Ruddy shelduck, Chinese spot-billed duck, Asian open bill and many Black kites, ospreys and Cormorants etc. (most birds are migratory and the best time to see them is late November to March). Arrive in Hsithe around sunset, in time for light refreshment in the Visitor Centre and watch the superb view of sun going down behind the mountain ranges in the west. The Visitor's centre and the Eco Lodge are both positioned on the east bank of the river with panoramic views. The rare species of Ayeyarwady dolphins might be seen in the river near the lodge if you are lucky. Dinner to be served in the late evening.

Dinner at Visitor's Centre

**Overnight at Singu
 

Day 2: HSITHE - SINGU - MANDALAY (B/L)

Next morning, wake up to the sound of the wooden drum from the village monastery. Have breakfast at the Visitor's Centre. You will probably see the village monks do their morning alms round, and the villagers come out to offer their offerings. Later learn to be a fisherman. First you will be shown how to cast a net. Using a light net, you will have two or three trial throws on ground adjacent to the centre. Then, you go by fishing boat to shallow waters and practice your skills. Young or old, male and female, this is something you will enjoy and remember.

Lunch at Visitor's Centre

In the afternoon, you will go for a tour of the village, which will be led by one of the villagers. You can observe rural village life in all its fascinating forms - the village houses, people, livestock and the monasteries. It is a village of bullock carts, smiling children, and of communities going about their daily life - which is little changed over the centuries. But sadly, it is now time for you to leave this timeless idyll. After lunch, there will be a chance to discover the rural life of the village by boat sailing upstream to Singu. The water birds look particularly beautiful in the evening twilight. It would be a great photo opportunity as the birds come home to roost in the tall trees beyond the blue mountains in the east. Depart Singu at 16:00 hours and transfer back to your hotel in Mandalay by 18:30 hours latest.