Third Time and Still Charmed: Kathie and Cheryl take a Pandaw Cruise
Dec 16th, 2015, 09:57 PM
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Kathie, we have just returned home this week from our 4th Pandaw cruise since 2003, this time on the new Laos Pandaw on the upper Mekong from Vientiane to Luang Prabang and the Thai border.
As you and Cheryl obviously love Burma, and have been on the Chindwin with Pandaw, you would enjoy this new Pandaw route that only began operating last month.
We did the upriver journey, through spectacular mountainous country, lots of rapids to negotiate (successfully, thanks to a brilliant Lao Mekong captain and mate), for the most part the villages were small, mainly mid- and highland hill tribes after we left the mainly Lao areas after Vientiane. I could have stayed in Luang Prabang for a month, though, instead of 2 days.
We also did a very good pre-trip extension to the Plain of Jars.
Laos Pandaw has 10 double cabins, so it's intimate travel, but the usual nice people who are repeat passengers on these boats make nice company. It's quite a club now, and very loyal to Pandaw and Paul Strachan, who most of us have come to know quite well.
There are new programs in the pipeline: southern Laos along the middle Mekong; downstream from Yangong and along the Myanmar coast in the Andaman Sea; upstream from Luang Prabang into China is happening in Feb 2016 for a couple of cruises.
We love traveling with these people, as once a route like the Irrawaddy or southern Mekong gets overcrowded, they hare off and pioneer new areas.
One of the other interesting trips we did a few years ago (no longer operating) was the Rajang River in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, into the territory of the Dayak long house people. It ended because too many customers were put off by the timber trade, which is rapacious to say the least, but we travelled a lot more widely in Sarawak, Sabah and Kalimantan, and really enjoyed being on the river in a bit of Pandaw comfort. I believe Paul is re-introducing this route in 2017.
Re Laos, you will be pleased to know that internal flights with Lao Air do not require kissing the ground on disembarkation, as the turbo-prop aircraft are brand new. Not an armrest ashtray in sight.
You might also like to investigate some remote water expeditions in Melanesia, PNG, Indonesia and the Pacific. We sailed around these areas ourselves when we were young, but have been revisiting with small commercial operators recently, having sold our boat and submitted to the requirements of the aging process.
As you and Cheryl obviously love Burma, and have been on the Chindwin with Pandaw, you would enjoy this new Pandaw route that only began operating last month.
We did the upriver journey, through spectacular mountainous country, lots of rapids to negotiate (successfully, thanks to a brilliant Lao Mekong captain and mate), for the most part the villages were small, mainly mid- and highland hill tribes after we left the mainly Lao areas after Vientiane. I could have stayed in Luang Prabang for a month, though, instead of 2 days.
We also did a very good pre-trip extension to the Plain of Jars.
Laos Pandaw has 10 double cabins, so it's intimate travel, but the usual nice people who are repeat passengers on these boats make nice company. It's quite a club now, and very loyal to Pandaw and Paul Strachan, who most of us have come to know quite well.
There are new programs in the pipeline: southern Laos along the middle Mekong; downstream from Yangong and along the Myanmar coast in the Andaman Sea; upstream from Luang Prabang into China is happening in Feb 2016 for a couple of cruises.
We love traveling with these people, as once a route like the Irrawaddy or southern Mekong gets overcrowded, they hare off and pioneer new areas.
One of the other interesting trips we did a few years ago (no longer operating) was the Rajang River in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, into the territory of the Dayak long house people. It ended because too many customers were put off by the timber trade, which is rapacious to say the least, but we travelled a lot more widely in Sarawak, Sabah and Kalimantan, and really enjoyed being on the river in a bit of Pandaw comfort. I believe Paul is re-introducing this route in 2017.
Re Laos, you will be pleased to know that internal flights with Lao Air do not require kissing the ground on disembarkation, as the turbo-prop aircraft are brand new. Not an armrest ashtray in sight.
You might also like to investigate some remote water expeditions in Melanesia, PNG, Indonesia and the Pacific. We sailed around these areas ourselves when we were young, but have been revisiting with small commercial operators recently, having sold our boat and submitted to the requirements of the aging process.
Dec 17th, 2015, 09:29 AM
#62
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Thanks, maree, the new Laos trip is one that interests us as well. It is good to hear that you enjoyed it so much. Pandaw does have quite a variety of new cruises lately. Someday, I'd like to take the Nagaland cruise, and the new Andaman Sea cruise sounds lovely. Our ship had just 5 staterooms, and we loved sailing on such a small ship!
Dec 19th, 2015, 05:13 AM
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Kathie, I think people are beginning to pick up on the fact that travel by water is a whole other thing.
Mike and I have owned boats for all of our life together, our children have grown up on and around the oceans, and this week when we returned from Laos and Thailand, our son had put our last boat on a truck to its new owner 2000km away.
The sale will allow many more Pandaw passages in the.future. Perhaps we will meet up on one?
Mike and I have owned boats for all of our life together, our children have grown up on and around the oceans, and this week when we returned from Laos and Thailand, our son had put our last boat on a truck to its new owner 2000km away.
The sale will allow many more Pandaw passages in the.future. Perhaps we will meet up on one?
Dec 19th, 2015, 08:04 AM
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We could well meet up on a Pandaw cruise, Marree. We certainly plan to take another. The latest email from Pandaw described a new ship they have purchased and a new itinerary around Indonesia, which looks great.
Dec 10th, 2016, 07:23 AM
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Julie, yes, the Chindwin Cruise is the one we did last year. Here is the link to this year's cruise:
http://www.pandaw.com/expeditions/ch...alin-7-nights/
Note that another Fodorite, SilverSwimmer will be going on this cruise this season.
The itinerary reads the same as last years, but note that the ship stops at different villages each cruise other than a couple of special stops like Mingkin (for the carved teak monastery). Indeed, at one stop, our guide went into the village before we did to get permission to bring us into to the village.
Let us know what you decide. We are still debating about which cruise to book for November, 2017.
http://www.pandaw.com/expeditions/ch...alin-7-nights/
Note that another Fodorite, SilverSwimmer will be going on this cruise this season.
The itinerary reads the same as last years, but note that the ship stops at different villages each cruise other than a couple of special stops like Mingkin (for the carved teak monastery). Indeed, at one stop, our guide went into the village before we did to get permission to bring us into to the village.
Let us know what you decide. We are still debating about which cruise to book for November, 2017.
Dec 10th, 2016, 09:14 AM
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Note that the are using a slightly larger boat on this cruise this year, with 10 cabins rather than the 5 on the Kalay. I contacted Pandaw about the Kalay (for a different cruise) and they are now using it mostly for family groups who want to book the whole ship.
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