Boat Journey down Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady River

Myanmar is one of the new cool travel destinations. A place that certainly will not disappoint you. One of the most memorable trips is to take the slow and shaky train from the city of Mandalay to the northern town of Naba from where a bus goes to the town of Katha where you go on board a large ship for the 16-hour sailing (in your private cabin) down the mighty Ayeyarwady River back to Mandalay. It’s a great trip as the boat stops at many villages along the way.

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Boating down the Ayeyarwady (or Irrawaddy) River sounds like Myanmar’s version of The Love Boat. It could be, but it certainly is not what I have in mind. But let’s first look at the river.

This river is big. It flows from its sources in the Himalayan glaciers of Upper Myanmar all the way south through the Ayeyarwady Delta and into the Andaman Sea. A distance of about 2,170 km. The river is home to the endangered Ayeyarwady dolphin and the Ayeyarwady river shark. The delta near the Andaman Sea is fertile and home to many species including the sambar deer, wild boar, Asian elephants, leopard, Bengal tiger, crab-eating macaque, wild dog, otters, saltwater crocodiles and many exotic animals.

Let’s get back to the boat. A large China-built passenger boat drifts down the Ayeyarwady River fairly regularly but infrequently from Myitkyina in the northern Kachin State down south to Mandalay. You can board the boat in Myitkyina, the most northern town on this route, or a bit downstream at Bhamo or further down at Katha (Myitkyina and Bhamo are often suspended). Getting to the point of boarding is challenging.  Expensive flights go from Yangon or Mandalay to Myitkyina or Bhamo. However, boarding at Katha requires a long and bumpy bus or train ride from Mandalay. This is where the fun starts!

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ONLINE IN
Globerovers Magazine July 2016

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ONLINE IN
Globerovers Magazine July 2016