2012 Program Schedule
August 22, Wednesday. Depart Narita and Taipei airports for flight to Bangkok. Transfer to Siam Swana Hotel.
August 23, Thursday. Group introductory meeting and planning session. Briefing by Larry Jagan, former BBC correspondent and now independent journalist. Lunch with Larry Jagan. Afternoon meeting with Emma Larkin, author of Finding George Orwell in Burma and Everything is Lost. Independent exploration of Bangkok. B, L
August 24, Friday. To Chulalongkorn University for lecture by Prof. Thitinan Pondsudhirak on Myanmar’s relations with ASEAN and Thailand. Lunch with Chulalongkorn students. Brief return to hotel and transfer to Bangkok Airport for late-afternoon flight to Yangon. Transfer by chartered bus to dinner meeting with Yangon students and then to Panorama Hotel. B, L, D
August 25-28, Saturday-Tuesday These days will be led mostly by the Myanmar students who will guide our entry into their society, whether through exploring the huge Shwedagon Pagoda which dominates the city, examining the colonial architecture, talking in one of the many sidewalk teashops and having dinner one evening in their homes. The emphasis is on building personal relationships as well as observing daily life. A briefing by UNICEF staff and visits to local NGOs will introduce some of the nation’s social challenges. Japanese students will meet with embassy officials; Taiwan students will explore Yangon’s Chinese community with Pre-Collegiate Program students. B, L, D
August 29, Wednesday. Morning flight to Mandalay, the historic capital and the country’s second largest city. After settling into our hotel and having lunch, we’ll visit Golden Palace Monastery and a nearby pagoda with the world’s largest stone books. Shortly before sunset, we travel to Mandalay Hill which overlooks the city, the Irrawaddy river and the far hills. B, L, D
August 30, Thursday. We visit Phaung Daw Oo School, started by a Buddhist priest to serve children who are too poor to attend public schools; we’ll meet with the priest, with teachers and with students. In the afternoon, we will have extended discussions with students at an English school. B, L, D
August 31, Friday. The group visits one of the area’s largest monasteries where thousands of young monks study. We then return to an English school where students welcome us to their homes or monasteries for dinner. B, L, D
September 1, Saturday. We float down the Irrawaddy river on a ten-hour boat trip to reach the fabled plains of Bagan, dotted by thousands of 800-year-old temples, pagodas and stupas. B, L, D
September 2-3, Sunday-Monday. With our local guide, we visit some of the most interesting of Bagan’s fabled sites, whether the huge Ananda Pahto temple or the small stupas found in the fields. We’ll also explore the local marketplace, a village-based toddy-palm enterprise and have dinner with local people, including an artist and puppeteer. On the late afternoon of Monday, we fly back to Yangon. B, L, D
September 4, Tuesday. After a morning group reflection session, the rest of the day is free for a final, personal look at Yangon (with Yangon students). That evening, we join these students for a farewell dinner. B, L, D
September 5, Wednesday. Morning: free. Afternoon transfer to airport for flight from Yangon to Bangkok. Japanese students depart in late evening for overnight flight via Incheon to Narita. Taiwan students stay overnight at hotel. B, L.
September 6, Thursday. Japanese students arrive Narita in late morning. Taiwanese students fly Bangkok-Taipei. B
B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner
Travel Agency: Taisei Tourist Agency Ltd., Shoritsu Nishishinjuku Bldg. 7-8-12 Nishishinjuku Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Japan 160-0023. Tel: 03-5330-5050 Fax: 03-5330-5051. General Travel Agency license no. 307.
Agent in charge of this program: Mr. Kazumi Hamamoto. E-mail: hamamoto@taisei-tourist.co.jp