I am just starting to research and plan a trip to Myanmar in March-ish of 2018. My plan is to redeem Delta Skymiles to cover the cost of the flight for my husband and I. Can't get a flight into Mandalay so will probably do a roundtrip to Bangkok and then do an Airasia etc trip in and our of Myanmar. We will have somewhere between 10-14 days in Burma before returning to the US. The idea currently is to fly into Mandalay and then fly out of Yangon. Some requirements are Green Hill Valley Elephant Sanctuary by Kalaw and Ngapali Beach. I have been speaking with Myanmar Shalom about a travel itinerary. I haven't decided if I will use them for a full itinerary or just to book transfers from city to city. I was just wondering if anybody have any suggestions of "DO NOT MISS" things in Bagan, Mandalay, Yangon etc. I don't believe I will have enough time for Inle Lake and am not too disappointed by this. So I guess my questions are:

1. Any Do Not Miss items?
2. If you didn't use a travel agency to help; how did you get around in these cities? Taxi's? Cars for Hire from your hotel? Avg Cost?
3. Food? Average daily food budget?
4. Anything you think would be helpful that i haven't typed above.