Hello Paul,

Back in Aus after a really great trip to Burma and Singapore.

As far as Orient Pandaw and her crew are concerned - they were all terrific and very attentive. Cannot fault the service. The food was excellent and plentiful - most travellers vowing diets on return to Australia! You have done a great job to create such a loyal crew. Our tour guide for the 8 days was "Tom". He was excellent. Loved the ship and it really created the atmosphere of the old days on the Irrawaddy. The shore excursions were very well organised and they certainly kept us on the go. Must admit that I am not sure that I want to see another Pagoda for a while!

Myanmar has a lot of work to do on infrastructure. In general the cities seem to work Ok although the traffic in Rangoon was something else. Some of the riverside villages still do not have water pumped from the Irrawaddy. The rubbish alongside the roads and on the river banks was not pleasant to see - apparently no local administration to organise (and pay for) rubbish collection and disposal. But it does detract from the overall impression of Myanmar. Some thoughts for you:

The 6 hour bus trip from Rangoon to Prome to join the Orient Pandaw was excruciatingly long. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a flying boat from Rangoon harbour to the river at Prome!

As the river was quite low it was a bit off putting to see all the rubbish on the banks as we made our way to embark on Orient Pandaw. Would it be feasible to have this area cleaned up prior to embarkation?

Mandalay Airport. A huge structure where nothing works - they really have to do something about it. I doubt if an airline like Singapore Airlines would want to put Mandalay on their schedule with the state of the facilities there.

Whilst on the cruise, we were shown the film that you made entitled "The Forgotten Fleet" I would love to get a copy of this - can you let me know where that could be obtained?

We now have at the back of our minds that in the future a cruise from Mandalay to Bhamo at the end of the wet season (river full) say end August/early September sounds a good idea - perhaps in a couple of years or so.

Best wishes

Graham

Dear Mr Strachan,

I would like to thank you and your organization for a wonderful holiday cruise. Thank you also for allowing us to inspect the new "Baby Pandaw", with whom we fell in love, at first sight.

As you are probably aware, we had a medical emergency on our trip. Your purser, ERICK" did a remarkable job in supporting one of the passenger on board during a frightening and difficult time. Erick was available 24 hours for them and I am sure he must have lost quite a lot of sleep. The extra load he shouldered in no way affected the rest of his job which he managed with charm, humor and efficiency at all times . I think all passengers would agree that he is an outstanding man.

Every member of your staff deserves a mention for their hospitality skills from your captains to your sailors and waiters.
Our impression was that nothing was ever a chore for any of them.

I should also mention our guide Kyaw Soe Latt. I believe Soe is an agency employee. I would highly recommend him for future employment. His knowledge, sense of humor and ability to gauge the interests of a group were excellent.

Please pass on our best wishes to your crew and I wish you everyone in your organization a peaceful an prosperous 2014.

With kind regards

Helen Salmon

Hi Angela,

Just let you know the return journey went very well. I was a little worried but all was well.

The cruise was fabulous and I documented it on Facebook for friends. They said I should do travel documentaries! Anyway,needless to say I think you may have some future cruisers.

I can't praise the crew highly enough. One charming waitress almost gave her sole attention,she is delightful. The purser was excellent. They were all great

Thanks
Ed Barry