Phaung-Daw U Festival, Myanmar

Myanmar is the land of festivals! There is a festival every month whether specific to a town or nation-wide. The dates are based on the lunar calendar and useful to know if you are planning a trip to Myanmar! Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival is the most famous held every year just after the rain stops in September - October.

The Phaung Daw U Pagoda is the most famous lake on the Inle Lake. The Pagoda contains five small gilded images of Buddha covered with in gold leaf. In fact the images where originally made from Sandal wood, but have been covered so many times with gold leaf, they now appear rather shapeless objects of pure gold. The images represent Kakkusandra, Kaunagamana, Kasatpa, Gautama and Arainmareya Buddhas of this world.

Every year when the rainy season ends around September time boat races are held on the rivers and lakes throughout Myanmar. The most spectacular festival takes place in October at the Phaung-Daw U Pagoda on Inle Lake near Taunggyi.

During the event, four of the five Buddha images are placed on the Royal Barge. The fifth Buddha image is left to take care of the monastery. The barge takes the shape of a bird, the Karaweik ('a mythical bird with a sweet voice'), and a procession takes place around the lake, stopping at each large monastery and village to spend the night before moving on the following morning to the next village in a clockwise direction. These visits represent those made by King Alaungsithu several centuries ago. The decorated royal barge is towed by several boats moving by leg-rowers of Inle Lake. The high point of the festival is on the day when the images arrive at the main town of Nyaung Shwe, where most pilgrims from the surrounding region come to pay their respects and veneration by boats. There are hundreds of floating boats from near and far. At Nyaung Shwe they spend three nights and then they return to the Pagoda via the right- hand side of the river.

The festival lasts 18 days and is held according to the Lunar Calendar of Myanmar. It begins on the first Waxing Moon day of Thadingyut and ends a couple of days after the Full Moon. On the final day of the festival there is a boat race. Each race is between three boats each containing around 100 people each. The actual Inle Lake is located in the heart of the Shan Plateau 900 metres above sea level. It is 22 km long and 10 km wide. Even if not heading to the Inle Lake for the festival, visiting the lake on your travel s to Myanmar is definitely worth it. Spending a day on a scenic boat trip along the lake you will discover many different ethnic people and experience their daily life.

In 2013 the festival takes place between the 05th and 22nd October. So if you are travelling to Myanmar during this period it would definitely be worth trying to co-ordinate your tour to Myanmar to include a stop at the Inle Lake. There is plenty of accommodation to meet a range of budgets but booking early is advised due to the high demand in of Myanmar and the new destination to visit.

The famous caves of Dong Hoi, Vietnam

A little known town just south of Hanoi Dong Hoi is quickly becoming a must visit town. Not for the town itself but located just a short drive away are two recently discovered caves, Paradise cave and Son Doong Cave. Son Doong Cave is now the largest cave in the world. There are also remote and pristine beaches where you can unwind and enjoy this stunning location.

A short flight away from Hanoi is the small town of Dong Hoi the capital of Quang Binh Province. It can also be reached by train or a short drive from Imperial city of Hue. It has largely been left as an off the beaten track location. Although there is not much in the town itself the surrounding area is one of limestone karsts, rivers and mountain scenery and of course the local and world famous caves.

Paradise cave known to the locals as Thien Duong Cave was discovered by the British Cave research Association in 2005 and located in the Phong Nha - Ke Bang park's conservation area and is around 40 km from Dong Hoi airport and the flight takes just over 45 minutes.

Although just 200 metres above sea level, the cave is 31 km long and the longest dry cave in South East Asia. The name paradise cave was chosen due to its spectacular stalactites and stalagmites. With naturally primitive features Thien Duong Cave looks like a landscape painting with a series of white crystal stalactites resembling glass pillars and many other spectacular formations. The cave was thought to have formed over 400 million years ago from the streams flowing through the area and was made a UNESCO world heritage site in 2003.

Paradise cave is not the only cave in the area. Son Doong Cave was discovered in 1991 by local Vietnamese villagers and when the British Cave Research Association conducted a survey in the area in 2009. They concluded the cave was over 5 times as big as paradise cave. The biggest chamber of the cave is over 5 km long, 200 m high and 150 wide. Following their expedition Son Doong Cave has become the world's largest cave and stretches all the way to the Laos border.

For those worried about accommodation in Dong Hoi there has been more and more hotels and guesthouses opening up to cater to a variety of budgets. The area is seeing more and more tourism and that is great news for the local population. The area has an additional benefit of also being on the coast. There are plenty of resorts just a few minutes from Dong Hoi airport all along the Nhat Le Sea some with private beaches which have not yet seen a mass of tourism. That said there are all the facilities that you would expect if you are looking for some down time at the beach. You can try your hand at windsurfing, canoeing, water skiing or even jet skiing. For those on a romantic getaway there are variety of restaurants serving local and western food.

All in all for something different add Dong Hoi into your travel plans. The area has it all forests, pristine beaches, mountains and two of the most impressive caves in the world. It is also a great idea to visit now when on a tour in Vietnam before the area quickly develops into a mass tourism market.