Yangon with Your Cooking Skill

Pick up from your hotel in Yangon and drive to the jetty. Cross the Yangon River by local ferry (10 minutes). Upon arrival on the other side, trishaw drivers will take you on country roads through local villages to a monastic school. Here you can meet the children and talk to the teachers (with help of your guide). The head monk does everything he can with very limited funds to create a good life for the children, and if you care to make a donation while you are here it would be such a pleasure for them to receive donations like school books, blankets, rice, clothing etc. The children are delighted to meet foreigners, and these encounters can be very rewarding for visitors. Next visit is to Chu Chu Workshop, you will see how the plastic bags from the garbage are turned into useful products. Chu Chu members gather plastic bags from the dumping sites and markets in Yangon and work to develop new designs that meet the local and international market demand. On your way back to the ferry, enjoy the views of real local rural life - nothing like the busy streets of Yangon on other side of the river.
Return to Yangon and proceed to learn cooking lesson at Monsoon Cooking Class at 11:00 hours. Learn how to cook and enjoy the taste of traditional Myanmar food with the great chef at Monsoon. The class will take one and half hour. You will have your own cooking for lunch as well as additional Myanmar dessert and tea / coffee.

Lunch at Monsoon Cooking Class

After lunch, visit to Bogyoke (Scott) Market (closed on Mondays and Public Holidays) gives you the opportunity to see Myanmar's wide range of handicrafts and souvenirs. Enjoy a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the World Wonders. Its golden stupa is the 'heart' for all Buddhists in Myanmar. The Pagoda is believed to be 2,500 years old and the central stupa in surrounded by dozens of intricately decorated buildings and statues. Firstly, drive to the Eastern entrance of the Shwedagon pagoda at Bahan and walk along the small shops where monk accessories, Buddha statues, flowers etc. are being sold. The entrance is always very busy with sellers and local pilgrims. You will learn about the daily life of the local people who reside in the immediate surroundings and gain a deeper insight into the Buddhist religion as you provide offerings to the monks. Then, walk up the staircase where many vendors sell artefacts for peoples own shrine at home. Continue to walk along the pagoda platform clockwise, as is tradition, around the main Pagoda. During this interactive walking tour of the pagoda, explore walkways and hidden gems that are unknown to most visitors. Stopping in one of the pavilions to prayer, you might get a chance to meet a Buddhist monk and talk about Buddhism and meditation or simply contemplate. Continue through the back door of Shwedagon Pagoda and discover its fascinating history. It is always full of people praying and making offerings, and is a fascinating place to spend time watching the world go by.