Vantage World Travel

The Chindwin: Homalin to Pagan - 13D/12N

The unique Pandaw river expedition concept evolved in Burma from the vestiges of the colonial Irrawaddy Flotilla Company. The ships were built in Burma we learned to master river navigation at its worst. These lessons were applied to the other rivers of Asia. Burma, after 1987 renamed by the regime Myanmar, is the largest mainland South-East Asian country and with the greatest variety of scenery from Himalayan peaks to tropical beaches. We have yet to meet a visitor to Burma who does not feel that this is the most beautiful, friendly and culturally interesting Asian country ever visited. Most of the population lives in three great river valleys encircled by impenetrable horseshoes of mountains. River life dominates the country and still to this day forms the main system of transportation, irrigation and from its rich fishing grounds the principal protein source for the majority of the population. In the great Chindwin, Irrawaddy and Salween valleys two millennia of Buddhist art, architecture and archaeology survive, including of course the 3000 standing monuments at Pagan. There is no other Asian country with so vast and varied a range of cultural sites. Almost everywhere there are temples and monasteries, festivals and ceremonies. The Burmese are a deeply pious people and Buddhist activities dominate every aspect of life. The Burmese are a very warm and friendly people who since Independence in 1947 have suffered terrible impoverishment and deprivation. We do our best to support the local domestic economy and make sure our suppliers and contractors are small local businesses. We are very careful to make sure our clients’ money falls into the right hands. Sanctions and the politically correct refusal of most NGOs and international charities to work in the country has served to exacerbate deprivation and entrench the regime further. Passengers that visit Burma develop an emotional connection to the area. They have funded the building of many area schools and made outstanding contributions after Cyclone Nargis struck in 2008. Most of the Burmese our passengers encounter tend to agree with this assumption. These cruises are the most acclaimed luxury vacations on the Irrawaddy river.
On the Chindwin you will pass through some of the most dramatic and exciting river-scapes possible. Jungle cascades into the fast flowing, muddy rivers and not far to the west, across the steep mountain ranges, lays India. Of great interest are a number of unpublished art treasures around Mingkin, which includes the oldest teak carved monastery in Myanmar. This expedition will only be offered during the monsoon season, but it will not be rainy all the time. River banks will be muddy and slippery. On the positive side the rains do keep the heat off and the atmosphere of cruising through tropical downpours can be romantic in the extreme.

Departure: Set Date, usually in August

The Pandaw II

Built: 2001. Safety: Smoke detectors in all cabins and public places, emergency lighting and generator, fire pump, hydrants and hoses, fire extinguishers, life jackets for all on board and life rafts. Amenities: On board laundry, bakery, fully equipped galley and refrigeration units; air conditioning for all inside areas.

Itinerary

• Day 1 Rangoon - Arrive Yangon International Airport and stay overnight at Chatrium (or equivalent 4 star); sunset visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda.
• Day 2 Rangoon to Pagan - Early morning flight, followed by a coach tour of the main monuments. Ship will depart from Pagan at 1700.
• Day 3 Lower Chindwin - Cruise all day through the great Lower Chindwin plain.
• Day 4 Monywa - Arriving in the busy port town of Monywa will be a bit of a shock after the peace and remoteness of the Chindwin. We will explore the town and time permitting make a quick trip to the Thanbodi Temple with its million Buddha images - a sort of Buddhist Disneyland!
• Day 5 Mingkin - Mingkin was rediscovered by Paul Strachan in 1987 and described in some detail in his book Mandalay: Travels from the Golden City. It remains for Paul the most art historically interesting site in Myanmar (more so than the now spoilt Pagan) with its Konbaung court style teak monasteries sumptuously decorated. Mingkin may be described as the Luang Prabang of the Chindwin.



• Day 6 Mawlaik - Mawlaik replaced Kindat as the administrative capital but ironically the Myanma refused to move there from upstream Kindat. It was mainly settled with the company houses of the by the Scottish owned and run Bombay Myanmarh Trading Corporation in the 1920s and 1930s. There are many splendid ‘Dak Bungalows’ set around a verdant golf course. Mawlaik and the other towns of the Upper Chindwin can only be reached by boat so cars are few. There is a dreamy otherworldly quality to such places and truly one feels that one has travelled there in the Pandaw time machine!
• Day 7 Paungbyin to Sitthaung - Pantha was an important oil refinery belonging to the Indo-Myanmar Petroleum Co (Steel Brothers). We pass the mouth of the Yu River which drains the Kubu valley that provided the route for a Lieutenant Grant to march to the relief of the Manipur garrison when the chief commissioner of Assam was massacred in a local rebellion. Sitthaung was the final resting place of a number of IFC steamers scuppered there in 1942 in an ‘act of denial’ from the advancing Japanese who were a matter of hours behind. We hope to find remains of these ships as we have in the past at Katha on the Irrawaddy. It was from here that the survivors of the Japanese invasion marched out to Tamu on the India border.
• Day 8 Sitthaung to Toungdoot - Toungdoot or Hsawng-hsup in Tai, is an ancient Shan enclave which in British times still had a ruling sawbwa complete with palace and court. It will be interesting to see what has become of the royal family and their home and to see these Shan people so far from their Tai-Shan homelands.
• Day 9 Toungdoot to Homalin - We pass the Uyu River worked by gold washers on the way to Homalin, the furthest navigable point on the Chindwin for vessels of our size. Alister McCrae wrote of his visit there 1935 ‘I loved the atmosphere of quiet and peaceful living there. At night I could hear greylag geese as they came in to the flooded land around us from far away north’. Bird in 1897 says little other than that Homalin is the headquarters of a township, but has very little trade’. Until we get there and explore the place there is not much we can say!
• Day 10 Homalin and return downstream
• Day 11 Return downstream to Kalewa
• Day 12 Kalemyo to Rangoon - Travel 20 miles from Kalewa to Kalemyo the gateway to the Chin State and fly by private air charter to Yangon. Overnight Chatrium Hotel. Time permitting there is a tour to the Downtown area and Scott Market.
• Day 13 International Departures - If time permits we can arrange a visit to the War Graves at Htaukchan.

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