Boat trip Mandalay to Bagan
Oct 7th, 2011, 06:29 PM
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Boat trip Mandalay to Bagan
I am currently planning on taking the slowwww ferry from Mandalay to Bagan - the one the locals take (that takes about 14- 16 hours). Would like to hear from anyone else who has taken this boat. At the back of my mind is taking the Shwekeinnery - the faster tourist boat. From reports that I have read, the slow boat is alot more interesting with lots of photo ops but just not too sure if I can hang out 15 hours in a plastic chair. Thanks
Joan
Joan
Oct 8th, 2011, 03:02 PM
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Oct 9th, 2011, 08:28 PM
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Great article, lcuy!
The thing the author has in common with everyone else whose accounts I've read of the trip is that the trip took much, much longer than scheduled. Most of the other accounts I've read people were fairly miserable awaiting repairs on the boat and wanted nothing more than to get off the boat and continue on their journey in a more reliable conveyance. But if you have a sense of adventure, don't have a strict timetable of when you need to get somewhere, it might be an amazing experiencer, as it was for the author of the article.
The thing the author has in common with everyone else whose accounts I've read of the trip is that the trip took much, much longer than scheduled. Most of the other accounts I've read people were fairly miserable awaiting repairs on the boat and wanted nothing more than to get off the boat and continue on their journey in a more reliable conveyance. But if you have a sense of adventure, don't have a strict timetable of when you need to get somewhere, it might be an amazing experiencer, as it was for the author of the article.
Oct 9th, 2011, 10:16 PM
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I completely agree with Kathie. While they are an interesting way to travel, boat schedules in Asia are always pretty unreliable (or should I say, "flexible"?).
Last year we traveled on the ferry from Siem Reap to Batambang in Cambodia. The official timetable is 3-4 hours, yet we took 5 hours, and a few weeks earlier, Fodorite Kristina had a 12 hour odyssey on that route.
Last year we traveled on the ferry from Siem Reap to Batambang in Cambodia. The official timetable is 3-4 hours, yet we took 5 hours, and a few weeks earlier, Fodorite Kristina had a 12 hour odyssey on that route.
Oct 10th, 2011, 04:28 AM
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I originally thought of traveling by boat from Mandaly to Bagan, but decided against it based on what I had read about the trip on Thorn Tree and here. Flying doesn't cost much more than the boat, although my flight gets in about the same time as the boat, as there is only a late afternoon flight from Mandalay to Bagan.
Oct 11th, 2011, 05:53 AM
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Shelleyk - there is an 8:00am flight from Mandalay to Bagan - I have just booked on that flight. Figured that would give me almost a full day in Bagan that way rather than another in Mandalay.
Oct 11th, 2011, 01:03 PM
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After checking the Air Bagan winnter timetable, I asked Santa Maria for the 8:00am Air Bagan flight specifically. They came back saying the only flight (on January 9th) on Air Bagan was at 4:30pm.
So what I did was drop the final night (the 4th night) in Mandalay and booked an extra night in Bagan....
So what I did was drop the final night (the 4th night) in Mandalay and booked an extra night in Bagan....
