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Chindwin & Upper Irrawaddy: 22 nights in remotest Burma

The scenery on this cruise is spectacular and we are welcomed with astonishment by the many remote communities through which we passed. Achieving our goal of Homalin over 600 miles from the Chindwin’s confluence with the Irrawaddy we return downstream all the way to the ancient city of Pagan just below the confluence. Then we continued a further 700 miles up the Irrawaddy past Mandalay to the great 2nd Defile, just short of the out of bounds city of Bhamo. This is the most northerly navigable point on the Irrawaddy and gateway to China.

Twenty nights on a river cruise may seem a long time but the majority of our passengers on these expeditions are regular Pandaw passengers and happy to spend so long in the convivial atmosphere of a Pandaw. No two days were the same with varied scenery and diverse cultural sites. This expedition is the most popular of all our cruises and as we only run one a year tends to book out quite early.

Note this expedition takes place during the Southeast Asia monsoon season which is the only time we have sufficient water levels to attempt these remote rivers. It may rain but not continuously. River banks may be muddy and slippery. This is a real expedition and the itinerary subject to sudden changes due to water levels or other local conditions.

Departure Dates

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Deck Plan - Pandaw II

Select a stateroom using the deck plan below. Click once to select a stateroom for two people, again for single occupancy and once more to clear your selection. Your choice will be reflected in the pricing table below the deck plan:

Prices (per cabin)

Cruise prices per cabin are displayed below, along with the selection you have made from the deck plan above.

Cabin Type	Price	Cabins	Subtotal
Upper Deck Twin Sharing	$12,840.00	0	$0.00
Upper Deck Twin Single Use	$7,490.00	0	$0.00
Main Deck Twin Sharing	$10,700.00	0	$0.00
Main Deck Twin Single Use	$6,420.00	0	$0.00
Subtotal			$0.00

Additional Charges	Price	Travellers	Subtotal
Fuel Surcharge	$0.00	0	$0.00
Port Taxes	$0.00	0	$0.00
Subtotal			$0.00

Total			$0.00

Twenty nights on board Pandaw II

4 September 2009: Rangoon (Yangon)

Arrive at Yangon Internaational Airport and transfer to the four star Chatrium Hotel for an overnight stay. Late afternoon visit the Shwegagon Pagoda for a sunset viewing. Dinner in the hotel.

5 September 2009: Rangoon to Kalemyo

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Kalemyo, the gateway town for the Chin State. We explore Kalewa with its markets and quaint wooden architecture.

6 September 2009: Kalewa to Kindat

Stop for morning walk at Balet, a charming and typical river community.

7 September 2009: Kindat to Paungbyin

Kindat was as far as the old IFC steamers ventured outside of the Monsoon season. This part of the Chindwin valley is very sparsely populated and villages are few and far between.

8 September 2009: Paunbyin to Sithaung

We pass the mouth of the Yu River which drains the Kubu valley. Sitthaung was the final resting place of a number of IFC steamers scuppered there in 1942.

9 September 2009: Sithaung to Toungdoot

Toungdoot or Hswang-hsup in Tain, is an ancient Shan enclave which in British times still has a ruling prince or sawbwa complete with palace and court.

10 September 2009: Toungdoot to Homalin

We pass the Uyu River worked by gold washers on the way to Homalin, the furtherst navigable point on the Chindwin for vessels of our size.

11 September 2009: Homalin to Mawlaik

Mawlaik replaced Kindat as the administrative capital. Like other towns of the Upper Chindwin, they can only be reached by boat so cars are few.

12 September 2009: Mawlaik to Mingkin

Mingkin with its Konbaung court style teak monasteries are sumptupusly decorated. Mingkin may be described as the Luang Prabang of the Chindwin.

13 September 2009: Mingkin to Monywa

Entering the Lower Chindwin where the river widens and the forested hills fall away to farmland we pass a number of attractive villages. We will explore Monywa and time permitting make a quick trip to the Thanbodi Temple with its million Buddha images.

14 September 2009: Monya to Pagan

Cruise all day to the great Lower Chindwin plain.

15 September 2009: Pagan

Tour a selection of the most significant of the 3,000 Buddhist monuments found at this World Heritage Site. We will visit lacquerware manufacturers. Sail in the afternoon and moor overnight at Thein Gone village to visit the new school and the monastery.

16 September 2009: Yandabo Village

We head upstream to the Chindwin confluence and stop in the evening at Yandabo. Here we visit the Pandaw School built with donations from past Pandaw passengers.

17 September 2009: Ava and Amarapura

In the morning we travel to Ava and explore the ruins, visiting Bagaya Kyaung, a 200 year old royal monastery made of teak with elaborate wood carvings. In the afternoon we travel to Mandalay for an orientation tour of the city area visiting the Mahamuni Pagoda and sunset at Amarapura U-Bein Bridge.

18 September 2009: Mingun Pagoda and Bell

We cast off early and stop at Mingun to see the largest working bell in the world and the unfinished pagoda that is the largest single mass of brick building in the world. We also visit the Mingun Old People's Home originally established with the assistance of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in the 1930's.

19 September 2009: Kyaung-Myoung Potteries

Visit the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-Myoung. We enter the Third Defile and sail upstream all day stopping at Khan-nyat village with its many Buddhist monasteries and an orphanage we support.

20 September 2009: Tagaung Ancient City

Explore by foot the ancient city of Tangaung viewing the fortifications. In the evening we climb the Pagoda Hill at Tigyang with its stunning views of the Irrawaddy.

21 September 2009: Burmese Days

We reach the enchanting colonial town of Katha, setting for George Orwell's Myanma Days. Katha was the final resting place of the old flotilla and here over a hundred ships were scuppered in 1942.

22 September 2009: Shwegu

We continue upstream to Shwegu and Kyun-daw a midstream island of monasteries and countless small pagodas. Cruise through the 2nd Defile, the most dramatic of the there gorges with cliffs towering over the narrow channel.

23 September 2009: Inn-ywa

Delightful walk through some of the oldest wooden village houses in Burma.

24 September 2009: Khanyat

Visit a Buddhist orphanage and the grave of an English officer assasinated here during the Pacification of Burma (1887).

24th September 2010: Mandalay to Rangoon

Disembark at Mandalay docks and transfer to Mandalay airport for your flight to Rangoon. On arrival at Yangon Airport you will be met and transferred to the Chatrium Hotel for an overnight stay. Afternoon coach trip to the Scott Market and colonial Downtown area. Dinner at a local restaurant.

25th September 2010: Rangoon

For those not on early flights, there will be an opportunity of a visit to the World War II cemetary at Htaukchan. There will be transfers through the day to the airport for international departures.

Price Includes: Airport transfers, two nights accommodation at the Chatrium Hotel in Yangon (one night at beginning of cruise and one night at end of cruise), all internal flights within Myanmar, all meals on board, beverages (water, tea and coffee), all local alcoholic beverages.

Price Excludes: International flights, imported beverages

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