On the boat to Mandalay
Caroline Hendrie gets right to the heart of magical Burma on an inspirational river cruise
POINTY profiles of pagodas as far as the eye can see stand out against a peachy pink sky. As the sun sets and darkness falls, the temples disappear into the inky black night. No photograph can capture the scale or the magic of it all.
The 2,000 temples and shrines of Bagan, strewn across the floodplains of the Irrawaddy, are a marvel to rival Angkor Wat in neighbouring Cambodia, yet there are none of the crowds.
The former British colony of Burma (renamed Myanmar by the military junta) is Asia’s most inward-looking country with no history of welcoming tourists, making it a destination as challenging as it is exotic.
Although tourism has increased in the past five years, numbers of international-standard hotel rooms have not kept up with demand. Add to this main roads ranging in quality from ‘acceptable’ to ‘extremely poor’ and it makes sense to include a cruise on the Irrawaddy River as part of any tour.
Several operators offer a few nights sailing between Bagan and Mandalay, along with nights in hotels, road travel and internal flights, which can be a bit hit and miss.
But now APT, escorted tours and river cruises specialists, has added Burma to its portfolio. It has 17-day holidays that take in all the must-sees, where the consistency in quality of your accommodation and meals is guaranteed and you have to unpack only once.
How do they achieve that? By making RV Princess Panhwar your spacious floating hotel for all 14 nights of your holiday. You’ll sail the Irrawaddy between the capital Rangoon and a former royal capital, Mandalay, exploring ancient sites, meeting local craftspeople and observing daily life on the river along the way.
On board there are lectures on Burma’s history and culture by local guides and a traditional puppet show and other entertainment.
Highlights of the cruise include visiting the Ananda Temple – constructed in 1105 and the best preserved of all the temples at Bagan – and watching the sun set over the plain, and also strolling across the beautiful U Bein bridge over Lake Taungthaman. It’s three-quarters of a mile long and is supported by 1,000 wooden posts.
You can also add a sheet of gold leaf to the Mahamuni Buddha in Mandalay and visit Rangoon, somewhat rundown, but probably the finest remaining example of a British colonial city in Asia.
As you travel through this mysterious land you’ll find highquality handicrafts – lacquer ware, silks, umbrellas, wooden toys and jewellery. Buy some and you’ll not only have souvenirs of a memorable trip, you’ll also be helping local communities.