Myanmar Romantic Getaway for Couples

Yangon is a city of contrasts. Vibrant colonial-era streets are alive with the atmospheric shouts of tea sellers and samosa fryers; indulgent treats are nestled into the green suburbs that surround the city, and the golden pinnacles illustrate the local religious fervor. Both an introduction to the country's mystique and a journey into the opulence of old-world Rangoon (the city's former name), you will be greeted at the airport and transferred to one of the leading hotels of the world. Once one of Asia's finest colonial-era hotels it retains the elegance of its time with high ceilings and an elegant bar area. Spend your afternoon at  Myanmar's leading spa, a delightful retreat on the city's outskirts. Enjoy a three-hour couple's treatment to reenergize after the flight and provide an introduction to the serene romance that's to come over these ten days.

Your hotel overlooks the harbor with a commanding position at the pinnacle of the colonial neighborhood. Wander the streets to pass dozens of equally resonant relics; the old post office, townhouse facades that have faded in the sun, trading buildings with once-glamorous verandahs. Little has been revitalized or changed, so it's as if you are walking through the early 20th-century. Men pull wooden carts of ripe fruit, market stalls spill into the streets, and exotic fragrances waft down the narrow lanes. A local guide leads you on a walking loop of the old city to take in the most significant landmarks and ensure that you are immersed in the vibrancy of life that exists amongst the streets.

The tour culminates back at your hotel, where a colonial-style high tea is served in the decadent dining room. A tiered platter is filled with artisanal delights that include soufflés, canapés, miniature sandwiches, chocolate cakes, and further indulgence. Enjoy an English-style brew of Myanmar's tea leaves, or try out some of the country's finest locally-grown coffee. The evening is at your leisure, and the guide can provide romantic dinner recommendations.

Bagan is wrapped in mystique with thousands of temples left in a redolent state of ruin. With just one glance you can sense the majesty as beautiful monuments rise in clusters from the scorched red earth. There are over 2,300 in total as sandstone pagodas hide golden Buddhas, millennium-old temples are filled with faded murals, six-meter high Buddha statues stand in musty meditation rooms. There is a fabled sense of romance, a dramatic landscape that rolls without interruption. Fly direct from Yangon to Bagan to land in the late morning for your transfer to a stylish hotel in the heart of Old Bagan with the peaks of temples visible from your balcony.

Such an iconic landscape requires a unique means of exploration. Spend the afternoon with travel by horse and carriage to ride past hundreds of atmospheric temples. Stop first at Ananda as its gilded in white and gold. Then roam across the Central Plains, an area that maximizes Bagan's sense of mystique. There are no roads or houses here, just deserted sandy trails and hundreds upon hundreds of ancient temples. Climb stairs to find sand artists on remote rooftops, discover the multiple faces of Buddha, then find a tranquil temple for the iconic sunset over Bagan view.

Sunrise paints subtle hues on the horizon as your hot air balloon rises. Beside you is the Irrawaddy River, resplendent as it reflects the facade of golden stupas. Beneath you is Bagan, the ancient tapestry of Buddhist monuments that rise with a surreal grace. Constructed in the building boom of the 11th and 12th-centuries, this is one of history's most fantastic sights as the unfathomable collection scatters in every direction. The sheer scale of Bagan's riches can be overwhelming, especially when you admire it from the hot air balloon. For two hours you just float and marvel at the overabundance of monuments before you touch down to pop your champagne in a quiet piece of the landscape for an iconic romantic experience in the country.

After your champagne celebration, return to the hotel for brunch and some relaxed time during the heat of the day. In the afternoon, you will be shown around the monuments of Old Bagan, an area that contains the most visibly impressive and archaeologically important temples. It's here that you can compare the styles of former kings as you trace a historical path through the riches and excesses of the 11th to 13th-centuries. While these are the unmissable Bagan sights, you will find that there are very few tourists as when there are over 2,300 temples, the visitors are spread across a large area.

Ancient Myanmar winds along the Irrawaddy as it meanders from the jungle-clad mountains to the expansive delta region. Along the riverside, find the eclectic traces of local life as monks wander barefoot to spiraling pagodas, women wash vibrant cloth in the shallows, children splash and ox carts rumble across the sand. Today, you journey upriver on a private cruise to wind elegantly along the Irrawaddy to the old city of Mandalay. It's an eight-hour journey immersed in the rural charms of the country. Your hotel offers a dreamy location above the city on a perch tucked into Mandalay Hill and provides sublime sunset views, along with an opulent spa and a decadent honeymoon suite.

Empires rise and fall along the Irrawaddy to leave great cities sacked and abandoned, casting them as relics from a distant realm. Three ancient capitals are found on the outskirts of Mandalay, tethered together by the roving river. On a full-day tour, head first to Inwa where stupa-studded fields hide behind crumbled city walls and a lush protective moat. Explore by horse and carriage to pass a gleaming golden stupa to find a photogenic wooden monastery next and then a clock tower that leans unreasonably. The city is not inhabited, and the lanes exude a lost-world feel.

Then continue to Sagaing, another capital dominated by beautiful monasteries and the architectural excesses of ruling monarchs. Lunch comes with a sublime river view before the afternoon leads you to the U Bein Bridge, a wooden portrait of ingenuity that stretches for over a kilometer. It's a perfect place to watch the sunset, sip on fresh juice at a local cafe, and soak up the local life of Myanmar. Return to Mandalay and your hotel offers a luxurious counterpoint to the streets, a place to watch the city lights glisten below.

Stand on a lush plateau to see Pyin Oo Lwin, a once revered hill station during colonial times. It's never scorching hot here, a fact that attracted hundreds of British who built fabulous mansions among the flourishing gardens. The area’s fame was such that British King George V commissioned huge tower bells to dominate the town's center, and they still chime every 15 minutes to this day. After your road journey, you will be guided to Myanmar's national gardens, a delightful place to explore at leisure as tulips bloom beside wild groves of teak trees. Then, take a regal horse and carriage ride along the finest colonial lanes to find strawberry patches beneath the faded facade of the early 19th-century. Pyin Oo Lwin is arguably Myanmar's most relaxed town, and a charming glimpse of days gone by are yours at the old hill station.

Fly south to hop across Myanmar to Shan State, where rural life is revealed in all its splendor. Lavish rice paddies stretch across the hillsides and the steppes are occasionally graced by children as they ride buffalo or farmers in triangular bamboo hats. Tiny villages are scattered across the landscape to offer an endearing welcome to all visitors who wander along the farming trails. Inle Lake lies beneath the hills, a placid expanse of clear water that blends cultural immersion with romantic escapism. Your hotel provides the latter, a dreamy lakeside place with luxurious stilt-house rooms that stand in the water. Rooms are decorated by the fresh fragrances of flowers from the Inle floating gardens. Lounge on your balcony, and you're on the lake to watch the distant silhouettes of fishermen and the serene cascade of surrounding hills. An on-site spa and swimming pool provide further options for relaxation.

To go anywhere, you'll need a boat as Inle Lake is not connected by roads. Instead, villages grow on stilts to create canals that wind past wooden longhouses alongside floating gardens. Throughout your stay, you will have access to your private narrowboat and driver. Today, head along the canals to a small temple; the incense swirls as you're invited into an ambient chamber. Meditative chants ripple against the walls, and you meet a priest in red robes. Enacting a traditional local ceremony, the priest will offer you couple's blessing amidst the mystique. Not a tradition for tourists, you will receive the same blessing that local couples seek to receive. From here, encounter another side to Myanmar's surrealism as you visit a fabled fortune teller and listen to the narratives of what's to come; this one usually starts as a bit of fun, but there is an eery resonance as the teller starts elucidating things he couldn't possibly know.

Inle Lake could fill a thousand postcard images; leg-rowing fishermen cast their nets in unison, flower gardens float and turn across the water, local markets radiate color and charm, and pagodas rise silently in the heart of the lake as narrow channels lead past the stilt houses of blacksmiths and weavers. A boat trip can take you in many directions and today's tour will be designed based on your interests and energy levels. One surprising stop are the vineyard slopes along the eastern shore, where you can sample your way through Myanmar's only wine. And when the tour ends, the postcard views continue from your luxurious stilt house, with the enchanting lake filling every angle.

Sunrise brings final romantic memories as the fishermen appear like silhouettes as the sun peaks above the surrounding hills. Watch it all from your balcony at breakfast and take in the serenity on your last morning in Myanmar. You will be transferred to Heho Airport for a domestic flight back to Yangon for connection with your international departure.