14 Night Cruise sailing from Prome to Mandalay aboard Katha Pandaw.

We have five beautifully crafted Pandaw ships in operation that we built ourselves and four new ships currently under construction in Saigon. Each ship, hand finished in brass and teak by traditional craftsmen are in themselves objects of great beauty. The secret of our success is that on our ships, whilst luxury and comfort are discreetly present, it is the colonial character and friendly atmosphere that predominate. All our Pandaws have ultra shallow drafts and can travel to remote areas, which would be unreachable by other vessels, let alone overland.

Detailed Itinerary:

Day 1: Prome and the Ancient Pyu
Embark.

Day 2: Thayetmyo Frontier Post
This pleasant colonial town once guarded the border between Royal Burmah and British Burmah following the 2nd Anglo Burmese War of 1855 and many of the buildings including the covered market date from this period. We visit the market, see the colonial houses and ride out by horse and cart to see the countryside and golf links.

Day 3: Minhla Forts and Magwe
In Minhla and Gwechaung we visit the two Italian built forts constructed to keep the British at bay from Royal Burmah. We climb the Gwechaung hill for the view. In the afternoon we cruise on to Magwe where we climb the river bank and wend our way through a labyrinth of passages and paths to reach the magnificent Myat-thalon Pagoda.

Day 4: Sale Monasteries
Here we visit a number of teak monasteries including the Yout-saun-kyaung with its spectacular wood carvings; we also explore an area of splendid colonial-style houses.

Day 5: Pagan
In the morning, moor at the Tan-Chi-Taung mountain and ascend by WWII jeep. Afternoon, we tour a selection of the 3,000 listed monuments at this World Heritage Site, Pagan.

Day 6: Pagan Monuments
Further exploration by coach of the monuments follow by a lacquerware workshop and visiting the local markets. Sail in the noon to upstream and evening walk in Oh Ne Kyaung village to see the local life in this typical river side community.

Day 7: Yandabo
This very small rural village specialises in pot making. We visit the Pandaw School, built with past donations from Pandaw passengers.

Day 8: Mandalay and Amarapura
Passenger will take a tour of central Mandalay visiting the Mahamuni Pagoda and Shwe Nan Daw Kyaung teak carved monastery. Next we explore the ancient capital of Amarapura by coach and sampan and crossing the U Bein Bridge to see the paintings in a temple.

Day 9: Mingun Pagoda and Bell
We 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 Peoples Home originally established with the assistance of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in the 1930s.

Day 10: Kyaung-myoung Potteries and Khan-nyat Village
Visit the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-myoung where the famous 50 gallon water pots are hand made. We see all stages of manufacture from the throwing of the pots to the week long firing in huge kilns. 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.

Day 11: Tagaung Ancient City and Tigyang Hill
We explore by foot the ancient city of Tagaung viewing the fortifications, the shrine of Bo Bo Gyi a famous nat or spirit who protects sailors plying the river, and the archaeological area. In the evening we climb the Pagoda Hill at Tigyang with its stunning views of the Irrawaddy.

Day 12: Katha / Burmese Days
We reach the enchanting colonial town of Katha, setting for George Orwell's Burmese Days, and little changed since then. Of interest is the fire station's collection of IFC ships bells taken from sunken ships in the Second War.

Day 13: Shwegu and the Second Defile
Travel by local speedboat to view this the largest of the three Irrawaddy gorges.

Day 14: Downstream
We stop for a walk in a jungle village.

Day 15: Mandalay
Disembark at 2.00 pm at Shwe Kyet Yet Jetty, Mandalay.

River Conditions Warning!

The rivers you will sail on are subject to seasonal rises and falls of water level, in some places as much as 30 metres. Water levels can change dramatically overnight and a sudden rise can impede our progress upstream considerably and even prevent us from passing under certain bridges. A sudden fall can result in our being unable to get into certain places or go as far upstream as we would hope. Groundings on sandbars are not infrequent and are part of the excitement of any Pandaw expedition. Published itineraries are indicational only and subject to sudden change. In such events alternative itineraries will be provided and we do our best to ensure that if a stop is missed we make up for it with another stop. Passengers are thus forewarned and expected to be flexible and patient. River cruising in Asia can be a dramatic and adventurous experience - not like cruising the controlled waterways of Europe or America. Note also that we operate in areas with little or no developed infrastructure and subject to the strictures of local officialdom. Be prepared for this and it is all more the fun!