Eks,

Just about to turn off the comp at my office and start my weekend!

We flew AirAsia to Yangon since they were having the fly for free campaign, we only paid the tax, or something like that and ended up only paying about 2,000 Baht per person return. No frill flight, comfortable and experienced no delays. Since you can not connect to Shanghai immediately and will have to spend a night in Bangkok then why not? Another possible option for you is possibly one of the Myanmar airlines. I like Air Bagan, especially there jets - http://www.airbagan.com/cyclone_nargis.htm

I'll look for the report that I wrote but for some reason Fodors doesn't have it listed under my trip report. I'll search and report later from home Mam. In the meantime here's a link to my Myamnar pictures - scroll down to the "Myanmar" gallery: http://khun-pook.smugmug.com/

Oh I just checked with Amadeus and you can fly to Shanghai(PVG) on the same day if you go via Singapore. It will add a few hours to the flying time but you'll get there in one day and if your carrier permit or will not charge more then go for it.

Must go now..

Wait--do you mean fly from Yangon to Shanghai on one day? Remember I also need to get from Heho to Yangon that morning...

Once you answer, you are free to enjoy the weekend!

Hanuman: You have been released from duty for 48 hours. This is official. I have located the target and checked the coordinates. Overnight connections...will ponder and report back.

eks - I thought I had posted this somewhere, but can't find it. There's an afternoon China Eastern flight from Mandalay to Kunming if you'd like to go that way instead of via Yangon and Bangkok. You'd have to overnight in Kunming, but it would be a change from Bangkok.

Thursday: Many thanks. Do you know that I now remember reading this here a few months ago...the flight is China Eastern 2030, departing Mandalay at 2:40pm, arriving Kunming at 5:20pm. The next morning, China Eastern has a flight leaving Kunming at 8:20am, arriving Shanghai Pudong at 11:20am.

This presents an interesting option: A night at a hotel in Kunming vs a night near the Bangkok airport. The prices will probably determine which option to select..but all things being equal, Kunming sounds pretty tempting, even for a short time...

Thank you again for pointing this out to me..

Even better: The China Eastern flight from Mandalay to Kunming, connecting to Shanghai Air #9454 from Kunming to Shanghai, arriving the same day at 10:45pm. More than $600US one way, using FareCompare.com, but I expected a high price.

Now I just need to find flight times from Heho to Mandalay..

I know that there are several carriers flying domestic routes within Burma. Is there one more reliable than the others?

eks - you might also consider the flight time involved - with the time change that's a short flight to Kunming. Plus, the friends that took it the other way said the views of the Himalayas were "awesome" - you'd be going over the "Hump".

Excellent point! I have been thinking about this and will pursue. I have a (US) travel agent who booked the Pandaw cruise for us (he took Amex). Would he be able to book tickets on these two airlines--China Eastern and Shanghai Air? Can I book online?

Eks,

Try "Jeppesen International Trip Planning". They offer corporate rates for our company.

Thank you, Hanuman! You will receive a note in your file applauding your weekend duty!

Their site looks so......well, it does not look like a travel agency! But I suppose that is to be expected in our line of work. You know what I mean!

You are suggesting using them for the airline tickets, right? (Just double checking..)

eks - you might want to do a search here on buying airline tickets in China (e.g. http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...om-9588com.cfm). While I doubt you'll want to wait until you get there, which is the cheapest method, there are agencies like ctrip that are recommended.