Pandaw River Expeditions is to introduce two new ships to service its routes in Burma – the Kalay Pandaw and Kindat Pandaw – which will run itineraries to Mandalay and Rangoon respectively.
The company, which is making a point of using more intimate vessels, has drawn attention to the remarkably shallow draft of its new ships: both of which draw no more than 75cm.
The shallow draft means that the ships can operate within new areas of the river and for more of the year offering a more comprehensive calendar of Burma cruises.
The Kalay, which holds just five cabins, will sail on the Chindwin River, previously only available during monsoon season. The itineraries will run from Monywa and Homalin, which now has flight connections to Rangoon, Inle and Mandalay.
Monywa is a three-hour drive from Mandalay, with the connection included in the price of a cruise.
The 20-cabin Kindat will run a weekly service on the Irrawaddy between Mandalay and Bhamo, far to the north of Burma close to the Chinese border.
At its furthest point Bhamo is 1,000 miles away from Rangoon.
Pandaw River Expeditions operates cruises in Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma however, in December 2013 the company’s Saigon Pandaw sank while being towed on the Mekong River.
The 30-cabin vessel was undergoing a repositioning operation to Burma at the time and there were no deaths or injuries.
For more information on Burma cruises see http://www.pandaw.com/