Dear Paul,

I recently completed my second cruise with Pandaw (the first up the Mekong and the Irrawaddy a week ago). I want to express my thanks to you and your staff for another great experience. Your staff are so well trained and everything just seems to tick along without a fuss.

Your efforts in getting tourism up and running in Myanmar are also to be commended. From the number of cruise boats on the Irrawaddy you have obviously pioneered a whole new industry for the country. I worked in Myanmar in 1990/91 (oil & gas exploration). I was great to see how tourism has developed since then.

We are already planning our next trip with Pandaw.

A few minor things that could be improved:

a) Pursur or guides to have maps of towns where the bikes are used. We had a bit of trouble finding our way around.

b) Link the main invoicing system to the Pursur's records on the boat. We had a $50 credit (bike booking refund) on the main invoice to use for on board expenses. The Pursur had no record of this. Not a big problem as we had a copy of our main invoice and he accepted our word on this.

kind regards
Geoff Cocks

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

Fabulous trip. Well beyond my expectations. Crew were amazing. Efficient friendly and lots of fun. I'll be back!