CHINDWIN & THE UPPER IRRAWADDY

My wife and l would like to put into words our immense thanks and gratitude for providing us with such wonderful memories of our adventures in Burma that will forever be ingrained in our minds.

From our initial enquiry with Fred River Cruises to being personally escorted to the airport for our return journey home we cannot thank everyone enough.

Without seeing another tourist for days at a time the respective cruises provided us with a wonderful experience of the true way of life in the remote villages along the river banks, all of which which were filled with the loving hospitality of the ever smiling Burmese people.

We cannot thank those involved enough for giving us such a wonderful memorable experience. Absolutely every member of the crew and guides were wonderful and attentive, always happily putting themselves before all the passengers.

It would be unfair to mention any one person as everyone deserves our thanks and gratitude and to pick out an individual we feel would dilute our appreciation for others.

The everyday thoughtful touches together with attention to detail also made for an amazing experience.

Our thanks also goes out to the administration staff at Fred River Cruises and the Pandaw overseas offices in putting together our flights, wonderful hotel stays, transfers and the very attentive and helpful post guide that we had at Yangon.

We also feel that you should be aware of the massive contribution and the positive impact of your "Private Dining" option had made to my wife.

She suffers from Agoraphobia - an anxiety disorder which is characterised by the symptoms of anxiety in situations where she can perceive the social environment around her to be uncomfortable and at times will go at great length to avoid situations. This disorder together with her being hard of hearing can result in her using much of her energy to combat her disorder when for example being seated at a table with other people. By sitting on our own at meal times meant that she was able to preserve her energy for the tours and activities etc, where she is then able to enjoy mixing and interacting with all the other passengers.

By the way as with all the other guests, even though it was chilly at times all of us enjoyed the outside dining.

All the above has prompted us to book a further Pandaw river cruise, this time the 14 night Upper Ganges, together with a pre and post stay extension.

Again a big thank you to everyone involved in providing such a wonderful experience that far exceeded our expectations.

Best wishes
James Bamsey