Travel Blogs
Hornbill Festival - Where Nagaland Comes Alive
17 tribes, 10 days, one unforgettable celebration of heritage Nestled in the hills of Northeast India , the Hornbill Festival offers a journey ....
Love Carved in Marble: The History Behind Taj Mahal
When we think of the Taj Mahal in India , it often evokes a sense of awe and wonder. Its breathtaking architectural design, adorned with intrica....
Ha Long - The Descending Dragon
Ha Long Bay , located in the northeastern part of Vietnam , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its stunning natural beauty and unique ....
Land of One Million Elephants
Luang Prabang , nestled in the lush, mountainous landscape of northern Laos , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a jewel of Southeast Asia . Th....
Hanoi Hilton
The Hanoi Hilton was a prison in Hanoi , Vietnam that was used during the Vietnam War to house American prisoners of war, mainly downed pilo....
Confucius & the Temple of Literature
One of the spectacular sites to visit in Hanoi on our Halong Bay & Red River Cruises is the Temple of Literature or Van Mieu. Originally built i....
Siraj-ud-Daulah - The Last Independent Nawab of Bengal
Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah was born in Murshidabad, Bengal, in 1733 to an aristocratic Mughal family. His parents, father Mirza Muhammad Has....
Kindness defeats the Killing Fields: Falling in love with Cambodia and its determination to escape the horrors of the past
By Nigel Planer For The Mail On Sunday 21:01 30 Jun 2018 I'm in a village square in the middle of Cambodia ; a teenager is showin....
Oudong - A page out of history
Cambodia is a land of verdant forests and ancient temples. A centuries-old city in this spectacular country is one that champions both time-worn....
Insights into the Khmer Empire Under Jayavarman VII
Jayavarman VII (c. 1181–1218) was a great conqueror of the Hindu-Buddhist Angkor Empire, the predecessor state to modern Cambodia . He gained in....
French Colonial Vestiges in Laos
The French colonial influence is easily witnessable in the cities we traverse on river cruise expeditions through Laos . One is Vientiane , ....
An Irrawaddy Voyage
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder By the 1920s, travel to Burma became all the rage. To give an idea of the destination's popularity,....
Battlefield of Plassey - The Lower Ganges
The Battlefield of Plassey – A priceless piece of history in the Lower Ganges The quaint village of Palashi along the Hooghly River in the Lower....
The Delta
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder When we launched a Pandaw river expedition across the Irrawaddy Delta in 2017, I was being a bit naughty....
The Business: how did they run the Irrawaddy Flotilla?
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder Having struggled over the past twenty-five years to keep a few boats running on the Irrawaddy river it d....
The Flotilla at War
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder The Irrawaddy Flotilla may be remembered for opening up a great and rich country to trade and travel, an....
The Irrawaddy Steamer
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder By the late 1880s, the Irrawaddy Flotilla was the single most important instrument for the opening of Bu....
The Irrawaddy Commander
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder To captain an Irrawaddy ship is no small challenge. Still without charts and few navigational ....
Bhamo: City of Rumour
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder Bhamo, a town on the very frontier of the Chinese enigma, where caravans incessantly come and ....
Katha and The Upper Irrawaddy
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder The only way to arrive at Katha is by water, which can take three days by express steamer or a week on....
Bengal's Proverbial 'Little Europe' - The Lower Ganges
The proverbial 'Little Europe' by the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river still holds impressions of waves of European culture. Rampant with historical inf....
Varanasi, India's Spiritual Capital
Varanasi , India's foremost religious destination that also goes by Benaras, Banaras or Kashi, stands on the banks of the river Ganges, held mos....
Khmer Rouge Killing Fields
One of the darkest times in the history of the modern era took place in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, following immediately after the end of t....
The Ethnography of North Vietnam
The Red River delta to the north of Vietnam is highly populated, with over 17 million inhabitants sharing 15, 000 sq km (5, 800 sq miles) of spa....
Issues in India
No one said going back into India would be easy. Having pioneered Ganges cruising ten years ago we had some experience of the challenges....
World Heritage Site Status for Pagan
It was extraordinary that Pagan did not have World Heritage Site status, all the other great historical sites in South-East Asia, like Angkor or....
The Ganges: A Celestial River
By Dr Donald M Stadtner Much time and energy in the 19th century went to discovering the sources of the world's great rivers . Much publici....
Birdlife on the Mekong River
Cruising on the mighty Mekong River , one experience out of the many that you can look forward to is bird- watching. World Wildlife Fund has ....
Laos Tribes We Visit Along the Way and Other Attractions
Join our Laos Mekong river cruise to experience the village life and interact with tribes populating small riverside villages. The governmen....
Burma: when the fairy tale is over
Filmmaker and historian Alex Bescoby makes the case for why even in these dark days it's more important than ever to consider a visit to Burma. ....
A Glimpse into the History of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) refer to two island groups – the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands – located east of the Indian main....
Into Open Seas: Pandaw Breaks Out To The Andaman Islands
Pandaw River Cruises is all about new experiences on new frontiers, which is why we are delighted to announce our latest adventure - to the Anda....
Britain's Longest Retreat - A trip up the Chindwin River
By General Mike Riddell Webster The Japanese first bombed Rangoon on the 23rd of December 1941. Between then and late April/early May 1942,....
By the Old Moulmein Pagoda
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder BY THE old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea, There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she....
Sadie Whitelocks Naga story
It suddenly dawned on me, after spending a couple of days cruising up the Chindwin River through the heart of Burma, that we hadn't seen a singl....
A Walk in the Mergui
By Paul Strachan, Pandaw Founder We flew down from Yangon to Myeik or Mergui on one of Myanmar's many fancy new airlines to join our coasta....
An Eden of Islands - the Explorations of Dr Helfer
Felix Potter, author of the Myeik Heritage Walking Tour, is a historian currently researching for a book on the region. In this article Felix de....
Greeneland meets Vietnam - The Quiet American
As part of our occasional series on the great reads in Pandaw's onboard library, Colin Donald considers the classic novel of the dying days of L....
Remembering Hoa Binh - Heaven and hell in a Vietnamese river town
Pandaw's highly popular 10-day Halong Bay and Red River expedition is not specifically designed for the Vietnam War buff, who will find ple....
Laos, the final frontier
No visitor to the Laotian capital Vientiane should leave without visiting Pha That Luang, the 45 metre tall golden stupa four miles from th....
The flowers of Yunnan: in the land of the plant hunters
When in 2016, Pandaw became the first Western river expedition operator to break into Southern China , we were following – as befits our comp....
'The Turmoil of Burma' in 1949: The constant conflict of Myanmar
Click Here to read 'The Turmoil of Burma' in 1949: The constant conflict of Myanmar on TIME by Lily Rothman and Liz Ronk.....
The Old King's Ghost
Read Alex Bescoby's account of his extraordinary three-year adventure researching the rise and fall of the Burmese monarchy with U Soe Win. ....
Pandaw's Vietnam Cruise Is Unlike Any Other
Click Here to read travel writer Sandra Scott's testimonial blog of her Halong Bay and the Red River cruise on the 18th March 2017 on-board the ....
A trip up the River Chindwin, Myanmar
Click Here to read Stephen Horsfield's testimonial blog of his The Chindwin river cruise in November 2016 on-board the RV Zawgyi Pandaw.....
Halong Bay and the Red River - Filming of the Pandaw Production
Blog by Spencer Butt, Pandaw IT Manager, filmed together with David Lumsden, Pandaw Art Department. Firstly, I must thank all of our guests....
History of oil production in the Irrawaddy valley
In 1998 Burma took its place among the world's gas exporters and now gas is produced from several offshore gasfields and piped to domestic consu....
What Went Wrong with the Andaman Explorer by Pandaw Founder, Paul Strachan
I am getting lots of emails from Pandaw regulars asking what happened with the Andaman Explorer , the classic 1960s motor yacht we bought last y....
Shocking truth - the scourge of electrofishing
As explored previously in in this blog Mekong's Xayaburi Dam , the $3. 5bn hydroelectric installation due for completion in 2019 has been h....
Jungle Atlantis - Who built Angkor... and why?
In the fourth in our occasional series on essential books for Pandaw passengers, Colin Donald recommends Charles Higham's The Civilisation of An....
First on the Mekong: Pandaw's inaugural voyage from Saigon to Angkor, 2002 by Barry Broman
It is no exaggeration to say that the British empire was built by the sweat of Scotsmen, especially Burma and particularly the Irrawaddy Flotill....
Reflections on the Chindwin by Pandaw Founder Paul Strachan
'The Chindwin is the loveliest of rivers. . . ' so wrote my late friend Alister McCrae of his 1930s trip up the great tributary as a young assis....
Between land and sea - The Irrawaddy Delta
Pandaw's latest adventure is a voyage to the heart of the Irrawaddy Delta, one of Burma's most colourful and distinctive corners. As well as ful....
Cruising down the river
One of our favourite ways to travel is cruising along the rivers of South East Asia on a Pandaw river boat. No dragging suitcases from plac....
Vietnam and Cambodia by Pandaw
Camilla Gomes, UK, blog and video of her experience in Vietnam and Cambodia with Pandaw Cruises. This was my first time at that part of Asia ....
PANDAW CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME - IN BURMA: How Pandaw Founder, Paul Strachan gives back to Burma by funding rural healthcare and education
The Pandaw Charity was established in response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2008, converting their ships into floating hospita....
Watch our new video for a taste of the Pandaw experience
Nobody knows the great rivers of Asia like Pandaw, and nobody goes further than we do to explore new lands to bring you new experiences and new ....
Back to the future: How heritage is key to Rangoon's prosperity
Rangoon – City of the Future. Anyone who has been to the place might choke on those words, as Burma's main port and biggest city is - let's face....
Out of the woods: Can Burma's great forests be saved?
Sailing through the green heart of Burma on the country's great rivers, the last thing on Pandaw passengers' minds is a shortage of trees. E....
Ancient Salay
Pandaw expedition managers are constantly carrying out reconnaissance on the routes we sail in search of undiscovered treasures for our guests t....
Two days mini cruise from Bagan to Mandalay - Video Blog
Watch Jenny & Sebastian Ritter's video blog from their Pandaw Pagan-Mandalay Short Cruise in October 2016. Please note video is in German. We....
Fire over Burma: Field Marshal Slim's classic WWII memoir
For the third in our series on the must-read books in Pandaw's library, Colin Donald recommends Defeat Into Victory, a general's-eye view of the....
Decline and fall: Orwell's Burmese Days
For the second of our selection of the essential reads on Pandaw country, our guest contributor is self-confessed "Pandaw junkie" Charlotte ....
Damned if they do? The great Xayaburi debate
Almost everyone who has joined a Pandaw expedition appreciates the importance of preserving Asia's great river valleys. We want the same unspoil....
Extra, extra! Pandaw adds more dates as Laos becomes firm favourite
We pride ourselves on our flexibility at Pandaw, so when a product proves as big a hit as our Laos Mekong expedition, we do everything we can to....
A Stunning shot of Yandabo Pottery Village taken by Saw Yan Naing
A Stunning shot of Yandabo Pottery Village taken by Saw Yan Naing, a waiter on board the RV Kha Byoo Pandaw capturing the spirit of this ....
Pandaw Staff Picture Prize Winner and Photo - 10th October 2016
This week's Pandaw Picture Prize goes to this shot of a beautifully presented and (we hear) delicious tiramisu, taken by its creator Aung Htet P....
Pandaw - First Tour Operator to sail on The Mekong into China
Pandaw River Expeditions has become the first Western operator to reach China's Yunnan Province via the Mekong River, when the RV Champa Pandaw ....
Rite of passage: Champa Pandaw conquers first big challenges
There's something very exciting – not to say nerve-wracking – about the maiden voyage of a new ship. Dispatches from our new build supervisor Ca....
Read all about it - Introducing Pandaw's best book selection with Golden Earth
As you might expect in a fleet founded by a former publisher and Southeast Asian art scholar, all Pandaw ships carry well-stocked bookshelves an....
New season, new adventures - Pandaw welcomes two additions to our fleet
These are exciting days for Pandaw, as it's not often that we have two major new ship building and refitting projects running at the same time, ....
VIP visit: Cambodian Prime Minister steps aboard Mekong Pandaw
Everyone who boards one of our unique ships gets a warm Pandaw welcome, whatever their background, and that includes the Prime Minister of Cambo....
Experience is all: Pandaw founder shortlisted for top travel award
AUG 22, 2016 – Pandaw is delighted to announce that Paul Strachan, who launched Pandaw River Expeditions back in 1995 with his wife Roser, is on....
Think you know Burma? Not until you've seen the Chindwin
While the Chindwin River looms large in the story of Burma , its magnificent length (1200km) and unique presence are undersold by its classifica....
Dolphin delight: New opportunities to see the Mekong's favourite inhabitants
We have exciting news: Pandaw's special relationship with the Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is about to get a great deal closer on t....
Born in the jungle: Meet the man playing midwife to our brand new Champa Pandaw
In the Golden Triangle , the remote spot deep in the Southeast Asian interior, near where Thailand, Laos and Burma meet, Captain Duncan....
Lion-ised in Hanoi: Pandaw passengers get the warmest of Vietnamese welcomes
It's often hard to tell Pandaw passengers' photos of their experience from those of the professionals paid to provide glossy images for promotio....
In the pirate's lair: MY Andaman Explorer uncovers the roots of British Burma
Regular Pandaw guests know about our fascination for the rich history of British rule in Burma, on whose legacy our pioneering company was built....
Finding flavour: The top Aussie chef who transformed Pandaw's gourmet galley
Enjoyed Pandaw's onboard food offering recently? If so, you should know who to thank. His name is Stuart Hickman, a 47-year-old Welsh Aust....
New Horizons - Pandaw's maritime revolution
After 21 years of innovation on the great rivers of Asia, Pandaw is about to enter a whole new chapter in its extraordinary story, venturing int....
Happy ending - how a veteran Vietnam War protestor found peace with Pandaw
We're delighted to share this fabulous online album of a Pandaw Indochina adventure, compiled by Lynn Bains , who joined our Classic Mekong ....
River Cruising in India
The Indian subcontinent is huge and there are so many ways to explore it. Whilst many visitors to India choose to travel by road, rail or plane,....
Itineraries for 2017 and 2018 are now on sale
Our 2017 and 2018 river cruise itineraries are now on sale. We are now also offering a pre-bookable wine package on all Pandaw-operated cru....
Venture on an expedition into the Brazilian Amazon
Our Sales & Marketing Manager Sven Zika recently experienced our new partner program in Brazil - Rio, Iguacu and the Amazon. This blog gives ....
Changing Rangoon
Rangoon (Yangon) – the former capital of Burma (Myanmar) , the biggest city in the country and its most important business hub is undergoing eno....
5 Stars - 4 Ships - 3 Rivers - 2 Countries
5 stars - 4 ships - 3 rivers - 2 countries - launched halfway around the world for my first taste of luxury river cruising and a glimpse of Brit....