soccerref

Hi roaming_kiwi58,

thank you for reading the review and I'm happy that it has been of use. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions and have a great time.

Best wishes

Isabel

Hi Hilary,

Thank you. I'm glad that you found the review useful and I really hope you enjoy your journey as much as we enjoyed ours. I think it would be very difficult not to get great photos as everywhere is so photogenic and the people were happy to be photographed. We took over 2,000 between us........how different photography is now with unlimited digital pictures. I well remember cameras with films and the excitement of getting the developed ones back from the chemist's. We always had a few duds along side the good ones.....but I digress....

Happy cruising

Isabel

Minglabar, Janet,

I am glad I could be of help and I really hope you enjoy the experience as much as we did. One thing is for sure.........it will be a lot warmer in Myanmar than here!

Happy cruising

Isabel

Minglabar again from very cold Stoke,

I glad that you are finding the information helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask if there is anything else……..

We wore casual clothes the whole time although we did change for dinner each day. My husband wore slacks and a short-sleeved shirt, no tie or jacket, and I wore either a nice sun dress or trousers and a pretty top (sparkly on occasions!). I did take a pashmina into the dining room as the AC was very efficient and sometimes it felt a bit chilly.

Several ladies bought beautiful silk tops and longyis that they wore in the evenings.

IMG_6355 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

This is my DH and I with our charming dinner companions. Carol is wearing a longyi and silk blouse that she bought in one of the markets for a very reasonable price.

During excursions, I always wore ‘capri pants’ and a top with short sleeves. I carried a very lightweight cardigan just in case I needed to have my arms covered in the temple complexes. I found the 'capris' to be good as the bottoms didn’t get muddy.

My husband wore a ‘polo’ shirt and trousers with the bits that unzip if we went to temples. Otherwise he wore ordinary shorts. The cruise director will give guidance for appropriate dress during his evening briefing about the next day’s programme.

Minglabar from Isabel (it’s the only Burmese word that I learned too!!!)

Good Afternoon from Cornwall.

A wonderful review of your cruise and beautiful photos. My husband and I will be on this cruise in March so found it all very interesting. I should be grateful if you would answer a couple of questions.

1) Were most of the toilets ashore western or asian style?

3) Did you use much local currency? We are wondering whether to change $50 at the airport and whether this will be sufficient? Travel Marvel told us that there isn't any currency exchange on the boat - is this correct?

Thank you once again for such an interesting review and hope that you won't mind answering these questions for me.

Hello from Staffordshire,

I am so envious that you have this wonderful trip to look forward to. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

In answer to you questions.....

1. The vast majority of the toilet areas at the temple complexes had at least one western style toilet. The good thing was that most excursions were relatively short so it may not be necessary to 'partake' and this is from a lady of a certain age who has frequent needs.......nudge, nudge! I would recommend taking some toilet paper though, just in case.

2. We changed US$100 on board but we were told that the ship didn't carry a lot of money so, if you get chance, I would suggest you get Kyats at the airport. Our $100 was more than enough for the few purchases that we made.....2 boys' football kits, a necklace, a fridge magnate, some post cards and locally made greeting cards, a few small tips for tuk-tuk/transport drivers and guides....and we had enough to leave an extra tip for crew members. There was a box on the reception counter and we put in what we had left.

One othe thing - we got e-visas by applying on line at the Myanmar consulate website. This was quick and easy to do although costing £70pp. These were processed at Yangon airport on arrival.

I hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have anything else that I can help with.

Minglabar (Burmese greeting) from freezing Stoke and happy sailing.

My husband and I have done 2 guided land tours in India and love the country but it is a very different experience from travelling in the US and Europe.

Both our tours involved a train journey. The first was in 2011 and was from Mysore to Chennai in southern India. The second was in 2012 and was part of a ‘Golden Triangle’ tour. We had been transported by coach for our tour of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur but finished the journey with a 7.5-hour trip on the ‘Shatabdi Express’ service from Ajmer to Delhi.

Both trips were experiences but well worth doing as long as you are open to things being different from home.

Below are photographs of our 2012 trip. Although quite crowded, the seats were relatively comfortable and the food was included in the ticket price. The curries were, for me, extremely hot and spicy but our tour guide added extra chillies to his!!!! The toilets were a bit of a challenge but manageable for the amount of time we were on the train.

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The station at Ajmer.

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Our cases being taken to the train.

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Our carriage......not all classes of carriage have seats!!!

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Inside the carriage.

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The menu......we boarded in the afternoon so had the evening tea and the dinner.

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This was evening tea.

I was very glad that we had done guided tours in India as, although we are experienced travellers, the ‘Indian way’ is very different from most countries that we have visited. It is very busy, noisy and a bit hap-hazard so it was comforting to have our tour guide to sort out problems.

Enjoy you trip.

I have flat feet and need to wear orthotics. I hope that I can manage the temples barefoot, but can I keep my own orthotic sandals or clogs in the bin as long as they are only worn on board?

I'm sure that will be fine. If you have 2 pairs of your orthotic shoes you could keep one pair for wearing on the ship and one pair for wearing on shore.

Hi Mauzac,

thank you for your kind comments. I didn't get chance to walk the bridge but wish we had had time as it would have enhanced the experience even more.

I do hope more people get the chance to visit this wonderful part of the world.

Thanks for sharing your pictures. Looks like an amazing trip. Many of the places you visited is on our itinerary as well. One question though...I saw in your pictures many of your group, both men and women, wearing shorts. I had read that knees and shoulders were supposed to be covered. Was that a problem?

Hi Twototravel,

I'm glad that you found the photos of use. We were advised to cover knees and shoulders at religious sites so many of our fellow passengers carried a thin cover-up and a few of the ladies and gentleman used shorts with a zip-on part or brought a longyi to put on during the temple visits. It was hot so it was good to wear cool and comfortable clothes for most of the time.

It was mandatory to remove shoes and socks during visits to all the pagodas and temples. The 'wet wipes' were very nice to use before putting shoes back on at the end of the visits.

Enjoy your trip.

We just signed up to take a river cruise on the Irrawaddy in Burma with Vantage n Jan 2018. This will be our first trip with Vantage. Our previous river cruises have been with Viking and Grand Circle. Anyone have experience with Vantage or Burma?

Burma is amazing. We did a river cruise with APT from Yangon to Mandalay last October and loved every minute. I have posted a full picture review on the 'Asia' forum in the PORTS OF CALL section. It is about halfway down the list. Although it isn't a Vantage tour, you may find some useful hints and tips.

I posted there in the hope of generating interest in this beautiful and relatively unspoiled country.

Cruise Day 15. Saturday 12th November 2016

MANDALAY to BANGKOK to LONDON

A.M. Overcast and hot with long sunny periods.

P.M. Hot and sunny

We got up as usual and had coffee as we finished packing. After breakfast, we vacated the cabin at 08.30 and put out our cases. it was amazing watching the porters carry the cases up to the busses.

IMG_0532 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

As we were not leaving the ship until 11.00 we spent a pleasant couple of hours on the sun deck chatting and having a last cuppa.

We were called to board the bus promptly at 11.00 for the hour-long trip to the airport. The drive was interesting as we passed through the outskirts of Mandalay and through the countryside by the river so we got to see a bit more of the area.

The journey home was uneventful.

We were left with wonderful memories and over 2,000 photographs of a fabulous, intriguing and exciting experience.

PS. if you have managed to complete reading this epic I congratulate you. Please don't hesitate to ask questions and I will do my best to answer them.

IMG_5488 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6307 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

The sunset was spectacular. Our boatman then rowed us back under the bridge to watch the sunset. We took over 100 photographs as it was so memorable.

IMG_5512 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5530 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

It was a bit of a scramble to get back ashore as all the boats were trying to get to the jetty at the same time and it was getting dark.

Thankfully, when we got to the jetty there were plenty of strong hands to help me out of the boat and Zaw was waiting to guide us to the bus.

IMG_5580 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

The ride back to the ship was interesting because we had not been ashore in the evening before so we were able to be nosy and see inside some of the homes, cafes and other buildings as well as marvelling at the driving skills of the Mandalayans!

We had a final dinner said goodbyes to people before retiring to bed.

We left the workshop for the 20-minute drive to the U BEIN BAMBOO BRIDGE. This beautiful bridge is over 200 years old, over 1 km long and it stretches across a wide lake and our visit turned out to be the most spectacular experience of the whole trip for me.

IMG_5473 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

There were hordes of sightseers on the lake bank and lots of souvenir stalls, fast food outlets and hawkers. It was a bit intimidating trying to follow our guide through the crowds to get to the rowing boats at the very rickety jetty but it was worth it.

IMG_6284 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6287 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Terry had pre-arranged enough rowing boats for our tour group to have one per couple and, after a bit of a struggle to get in, we set off across the lake.

The sun had come out and the clear quality of the light brought out the colours of the wood and the sparkle of the lake.

IMG_5495 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6311 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

We were rowed out into the lake and then under the bridge as the sun sank lower and silhouetted the people crossing the bridge creating stunning pictures.

IMG_6295 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

We were taken to the 5* MANDALAY SEDONA HOTEL for lunch. The parts of the hotel that we saw were beautiful - a water feature at the entrance, a huge reception area, clean toilets, a spectacular swimming pool and gardens area and a pleasant dining room. The only let down was the food which, although of reasonable quality, was lacking in variety and quantity and was nowhere near as good as the lunches we have been having on the ship.

After an hour at the hotel we were taken back to the ship for a while (we did a bit more packing) before setting off at 15.00 for the afternoon excursion.

We had a 30-minute drive out of town to ANDAPURA, one of many 'old capitals' of Burma. It was quite shocking to see how poor the housing was.....many families lived/existed under a tarpaulin....and to see the cows and horses tethered along the central reservation.

IMG_6251 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6259 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6278 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

We were taken to a silk and cotton weaving workshop where we watched the girls skilfully using the looms to create the most intricate of patterns using the finest silk threads.

There was a shop selling fabrics, longyis and clothing at fairly reasonable prices.

IMG_6262 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6267 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6268 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

The last morning stop was at the KUTHODAW PAGODA where we saw 'the world's largest book' which was the Buddhist tenants written in Sanskrit on enormous stone tablets. Each tablet was housed in its own small temple and these were arranged in rows around the main temple.

IMG_6208 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6215 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6218 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6216 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6210 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

There was a scale model of the site which showed the huge number of 'tablet temples' and how they are arranged symmetrically around the central temple.

IMG_6222 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Again, we had about 30 minutes to explore on our own after the initial briefing by our guide.

Our 4th stop was the GOLDEN PALACE MONASTERY which was built originally for one of the Burmese kings and the spectacularly carved wooden exterior would have been covered with gold leaf. This, unfortunately, has been destroyed by the weather but the interior glows as the surfaces are still completely covered with gold leaf.

We had 30 minutes to explore independently. We've now got used to the hawkers and to bargaining. The ones we met in the Mandalay area would accept kyats (pronounced chats) or US$.

IMG_5446 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5433 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5435 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

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IMG_5440 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

The 2nd stop was at a place that Terry called 'the Aladdin's cave' which was a tapestry weaving and wood carving workshop. It really was a treasure trove of magical creations and the skill and dexterity of the girls sewing the tapestries was breath-taking.

Lots of people bought items here and I got 2 lovely purses for US$7.

IMG_6182 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6187 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6189 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

From there we moved on to the 'GOLD LEAF QUARTER' where the process of making gold leaf was demonstrated. It is a very long process with the workmen taking several months to beat the lumps of gold into the delicate leaves and it is still all done by hand. The workshop was what I imagine a mediaeval smithy must have been like with the constant sound of hammering and the heat. The skill and strength of the workmen was most impressive.

IMG_6195 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6196 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6197 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Our first stop was at the MAHAMUNI PAGODA to see the solid gold Buddha image.

The complex was very big and busy with the usual souvenir stalls along the path to the sacred area.

IMG_6152 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5415 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6153 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Terry took us round and explained the significance of various images and artefacts before we went to see the Buddha. Unfortunately, there were so many people crowding round so we really didn't get a good view but what we did see was impressive.

IMG_5401 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5411 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5395 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Cruise Day 14. Friday 11th November 2016

MANDALAY

A.M. Overcast and hot.

P.M. Overcast and hot with showers and long sunny periods towards evening.

We woke up to find that we were parallel docked with 2 other river cruise ships so we didn't have a view from our cabin window except into another cabin. It will be interesting walking through the foyers of the other ships when we want to get off.....I like being nosy!

We have an 'all day tour' today including lunch at a hotel.

Our excursion began at 09.00 with a drive through the large, busy city centre of MANDALAY. We saw such a variety of housing from ramshackle sheds, wooden homes, slum high-rise complexes and beautiful colonial style homes. The streets were full of motorbikes, open sided busses and cars and the pavements were crammed with small shops, street food vendors and cafes. The shops ranged from the most primitive open fronted spaces to high-end emporiums with everything in between.

IMG_6192 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6150 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6180 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6149 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

We drove through several 'artisan' areas where every building housed people working on producing the same type of items.....marble religious statues, furniture, pottery.......etc.

IMG_6178 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6176 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

From there we drove back into the village to see the MINGUN BELL which is the 'largest ringing bell in the world'. It was gigantic and had a very mellifluous sound when hit with the wooden sticks.

IMG_6128 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6133 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Our last stop was at the MYATHEINDAN PAGODA which was a frothy white confection of a building - a bit like an elaborate wedding cake.

The only downside to the excursion was the very persistent souvenir sellers.

IMG_6141 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6135 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6136 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Once back on board we played scrabble before getting ready for the evening farewell cocktail party where we had chance to thank the crew members.

During lunch we sailed to MINGUN

IMG_6112 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6109 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

The majority of the passengers were walking to the sites but Terry had arranged Tuk-Tuks for the less mobile among us which was great......

IMG_5320 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

It was nice to see the bustling village as we drove through to visit the MINGUN PAHTODAWGYI which is an enormous part built Pagoda which was never finished due to damage caused by 2 earthquakes.

IMG_5307 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6119 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5327 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

The last morning stop was at the KAUNGHMUDAW PAGODA which had an unusually shaped dome and a very sparkly interior. Once again there were souvenir and fast food stalls along the pathway. We spent 40 minutes and could look around on our own or go with one of the guides.

IMG_5285 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

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There was a disembarkation briefing as soon as we had returned to the ship for lunch where we were given information about our departure arrangements.

The second stop was at the hill top Pagoda SON OO PU NYA SHIN where there were magnificent views across the town and Irrawaddy River. It was very slippery on the tiled floor especially since we had just had a heavy shower.

There were several small souvenir stalls but we didn't have time to do any shopping.

IMG_5208 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5240 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

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The third stop was at a silversmith's workshop and retail outlet.

We had 45 minutes here and, as there was no official presentation about the silversmiths' jobs, we just wandered around and saw the men at work. It was as if we had gone back 150 years in time because all the processes were done by hand with primitive tools and no mechanised operations. There were some lovely products on sale in the shop and I think a few people bought jewellery?

There were toilets which, although western style, were very basic.

IMG_5275 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_5268 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Cruise Day 13. Thursday 10th November 2016

SAGAING and MINGUN

A.M. Thunder during the night. Overcast and hot with heavy showers

P.M. Overcast and hot with sunny intervals with showers.

IMG_6046 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

As we were walking to our coach at 09.00 for another round of pagodas and temples we were delighted to see a bride and groom preparing for their marriage. They happily posed for us.....

IMG_5215 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

Sagaing is a big town so we were in our bus groups all morning. It was interesting driving through the suburbs and seeing slightly more affluent housing before we reached the MONASTERY FREE SCHOOL.

The school was large with over 1000 pupils varying in age from 4 to 13. Some were monk and nun novices and others were just from poor families. We were greeted by children from a couple of classes who sang songs and then we sang for them. We then had some time to look around and hand out the stationery gifts that many passengers had brought.

IMG_6067 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

IMG_6068 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

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The rest of our group went on to the MENUE BRICK MONASTERY

IMG_5128 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

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and THE INWA 'LEANING TOWER'.

IMG_5146 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

On the way back we could see the school children playing a football match against pupils from another school. I’m so glad that I didn’t have to was the strips after the game!!

IMG_5195 by isabel Rushton, on Flickr

The evening entertainment was a show of tradition dancing performed by members of the Mandalay School of Fine Arts. It was nice to be able to sit outside as there were very few bugs and the performance was excellent.