Kathie and Cheryl are off on another SE Asian adventure
 

We fly tomorrow. We will try out two new airlines trans-Pacific: Asiana and All Nippon, and will fly Thai intra-Asia. Our first destination is Bangkok, but only for a quick overnight, before we fly to Mandalay. We will spend a few days in Mandalay, re-visiting Sagaing and visiting some Buddhist ruins in the vicinity of Kyuak Se. We will then be driven to Monywa where we board a Pandaw ship on the Chidwin River and sail north to Homalin. After our week on the Chidwin river, we will fly to Yangon for a few days before returning to Bangkok. We have a week in Bangkok - time to catch up with old friends, visit temples and eat marvelous food.

We have meet-ups with Nicky (Smeagol) in Yangon, with Hanuman and family in Bangkok and with Bob and Karen (Rhkkmk) in Bangkok. We plan to eat at all three Bangkok restaurants listed in the top 50 this year: Gaggan, which is now the top restaurant in Asia, Nahm and Bo.lan.

I will write a detailed report upon our return, particularly of our time in Burma/Myanmar, but I will add notes to this thread as I have internet access.

I knew it was coming soon and it's great that it's finally here. I'm sure we'll chit chat when you get back. Be safe, eat well, and have a ball!

Let me know how Nahm turned out. It's too bad that I didn't get there last December/January even with 3 weeks in BK. I'll try to get there on this upcoming trip.

Happy Travels!

Kathie and Cheryl, safe travels to you and may the journey be enlightening and fulfilling for you. I cannot wait to hear about your adventures.

Thanks you to both for your good wishes.

Safe journey, looking forward to drinks on the 15th :)

Safe travels, and I look forward to reading about your trip!

Following along... Have a great time!

Have a wonderful trip! Looking forward to hearing all about it, especially the cruise.

Thanks all. I promise a detailed report upon my return. And Happy Birthday to Carol on Saturday. Where will you be on your birthday? I'll be boarding our cruise ship in Burma!

Have fun! Wish we could be there with you and the other Fodorites.

Have great time!

Thanks, friends.

And happy birthday to BillT on Saturday.

Safe travels. Will be anxious to hear about the cruise. Trying to talk Bob into doing one. We are looking forward to seeing you two in a few weeks

Looking forward to reading about the Pandaw cruise. Enjoy your trip.

Bon voyage, travel safe and we look forward to our GTG later this month.

I wondered when you would get back to Myanmar. Bon Voyage!

Have a great time. Looks like you have some v. special restaurants lined up.

Enjoy your birthdays, Kathy and BillT. I will actually be at home this year. We leave for 3 weeks in Switzerland and Germany on the 19th, but Tulsa is before that. It will be a quiet celebration which is just fine with me! Friends from Germany arrive the day after my BD.

Happy travels to you both. If you're on board Pandaw for your birthday let them know, cake could ensue !

Have a safe and fabulous trip. Meeting and visiting our fodorites friends has now become the norm in our travels too and I love it. Sounds like a dogster inspired trip thru Burma and am also very interested in the boat ride. Take lots of pics Cheryl!

Aloha!

Maybe Bob can trail us in a horse buggy as we cruise the Chidwin Karen and Linda haha.

A buggy with a soft seat

Bon Voyage -- and smooth trans-pacific flight to you today! (One of these years, will finally lure you into flying an "up-front" trans-pac with our sensational Singapore Airlines out of SFO...) Proud of you, Kathie and Cheryl; savour your times. Should you decide during your holiday on a last-minute flight to our fine home of Singapore, well, you do know the airline (and hotel). Best to you and all, Robert

Thanks to all of you - what a great Fodors send off!

I'll post here as I can.

Have a great trip Kathie! Thanks again for taking that Kyat off my hands :) I flew ANA back from Burma, two of the nicest flights I've been on! Looking forward to reading about your trip- enjoy!!

Safe travels, Kathie and Cheryl! Looking forward to the trip report to follow and Cheryl's wonderful photos!

Have a safe and a great trip Kathie ! You may also usher in democracy in Burma while you are there. The general elections will be on and this time hope the Generals will allow a democratic process to take place.Hope the long impoverished country gets its fair share with is overdue.

Have a wonderful trip. Looking forward to hearing about the cruise.

Just checked the Pandaw for what is included in your trip (and ours next month)
" local beer and local spirits"
Watch the gangplank disembarking-hate for you both to end up in the putty.
Have a great time,like everyone else I will be watching this thread with great interest...
SS

You must arrive soon??

Hello everyone! Checking in from the Bangkok Air Lounge at BKK, ready for our flight to Mandalay. Got a few hours of sleep at the Novotel here at the airport. We flew Asiana from Seattle To Seoul. Most uncomfortable Biz seats I can remember! Service was lovely, champagne was good, but it doesn't make up for terrible seats. Thai flight from Seoul to BKK was good , as always.

needsmore, I am anticipating that our transpacific flight on ANA will be much better than our Asiana flight was!

SS, which Pandaw cruise are you on? I expect the embarking/disembarking from the little villages on the river will be a bit of an adventure!

Inquest, I will be very interested to see what we can of the elections. We will be on the cruise on election day - I'll be interested to see what evidence there is of the elections out in these little villages we will be visiting.

I'll check in from Mandalay if we have an ok internet connection.

Thanks for letting us know you arrived on Asian soil safely. Sorry to hear about your transpacific flight but hope all will be better from this point forward. Looking forward to hear about your experiences in Burma during this historic time.

Glad you and Cheryl arrived safely (despite the disappointing seats in biz) and I hope you have a great time on your return to Burma. Looking forward to reading all about it.

Kathie, best wishes on your birthday are you doing anything special?

Billt

Sorry your long biz flight wasn't all that great. Following along...

I will be curious to read about your ANA experience. Mine have been so-so in biz. I know lots of folks don't care for UA, but the lie flat seats at least give me assurance that I will get some sleep! Flying biz to Frankfurt in a couple of weeks, and then first class (FF tickets) to London (on the way to BKK) for the holidays. Zzzzzzzz's are a given...��

Simpson, I did ANA Yangon-Narita-O'Hare in June, and NRT-ORD leg was on lie flat- quite comfortable, even for me flying with second degree burns on my legs and swollen knees/ankles (no walking for me!)
Yangon to Narita was not lie flat, and not as comfortable, but with working legs it would have been very pleasant :)

Needmore... my ANA experience has always been biz on the NRT-BKK and BKK-NRT legs. They are not lie flat seats. Service was OK, but why oh why do they turn on cabin lights about 1.5 hours before landing and the are NOT doing beverage or meal service!! Grrr

Checking in from the Rupar Mandalar in Mandalay. The RM has added a block of a dozen new rooms - very nice. Unfortunately, the pools are under (re)construction, so no refreshing dip after a hot day of touring.

We spent today at Sagaing. It was a good return visit. We were struck by how many more tourists are here now, vs. 2011. I wouldn't say that the places we visited were crowded, but while we had the 40-caves temple entirely to ourselves with just a few locals making offerings, this time we saw at least 8 couples, each with their own guide, at that temple.

Tomorrow we are going to Kyauk Se and are looking forward to this new (for us) place.

A couple of further comments on my complaint about the Asiana flight: United is the airline people love to hate. BUT - they have lay-flat sats which makes a huge difference. I'd trade that Asiana flight for my old United flight any time. I will say that Asiana changed the plane for that flight not long before the actual flight. I think if we had been on the plane we were supposed to be on rather than that old Airbus it would have been much more comfortable.

BillT, we board the Pandaw for our 7-day cruise on my birthday - which I consider to be a great gift!

It's a pleasure to be back in Burma. The quiet at the Rupar Mandalar is lovely. Driving through Mandalay made me especially grateful that our hotel is outside of town.

If I have enough bandwidth to post after our return from Kyauk Se, I will do so. Otherwise, I don't expect to have internet access until we get to Yangon after our cruise.

I appreciate everyone's good wishes - thanks!

Looking forward to hearing about your future adventures. Take care!

Simpson, now that you mention it, they did turn the lights back on rather early, however it was for breakfast which they served about 30 mins after the lights went on. I'd say only 1/2 of biz was full, so possibly more attentive service (or I got that cause I looked a hot mess and was wheeled on to the plane ;) ) I'm guessing the lie-flats are only for trans-pac flights then!