Far East & Asia river cruising 79
“We were the first luxury river cruise company to operate in Myanmar and the early pioneers of tourism on the Irrawaddy”
GARY FRANKLIN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BELMOND TRAINS AND CRUISES
AmaWaterways is also launching its 56-passenger all-balcony, all-suite AmaPura this month as the company debuts its new programme of sailings along the Irrawaddy. This will be followed by AmaDara, on the Mekong next year. Viking River Cruises launched its fi rst vessel, Viking Mandalay, on the Irrawaddy last month offering 15-night packages comprising a 10-night voyage from Mandalay to Yangon and overnight stays pre- and post-cruise. Next year also marks Avalon Waterways’ debut on the Irrawaddy with the addition of Avalon Myanmar in September 2015. Having introduced Mekong sailings three years ago, the company is adding Avalon Siem Reap from next February. Pandaw is another river cruise line with ambitious expansion plans and a 10-strong fl eet of colonial-style riverboats in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia that will rise to 13 next year. In Myanmar, where it is already well established, the company is branching out with sailings along the lesser-known Chindwin River, which stretches through tribal lands up to the Indian border, and along the Kaladan River through Myanmar’s Arakan region. Sanctuary Retreats is also planning Chindwin sailings, joining Pandaw and Belmond – which as the former Orient-Express Hotels – is the longest-established luxury river cruise company in this part of the world, having based its vessel Road to Mandalay on the Irrawaddy for nearly 20 years. “We were the fi rst luxury river cruiser to operate in Myanmar and the early pioneers of tourism on the Irrawaddy,” explained Belmond Trains and Cruises managing director Gary Franklin. “In 2013, we launched Belmond Orcaella to cruise the Chindwin River and these longer cruises provide a deeper immersion into rural communities that, as yet, remain untouched by Western infl uences.” With the spate of new riverboat launches,
SANCTUARY RETREATS HAS A 10-NIGHT CHINDWIN SAILING FROM
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Franklin adds: “Tourism numbers are predicted to rise from three million to 20 million over the next fi ve years. There could be short-term challenges concerning airlift and hotel availability, but in time the lines will develop their own different itineraries.” Since the Mekong River fl owed onto the river cruising scene around fi ve years ago, it has been a huge catalyst for growth as more river cruise companies have followed each other
Facing page: An unexpected desert scene in Asia; a Thai longboat and the Inle Lake in Myanmar. This page: Yellow Mountain in China's Anhui Province; three strollers in Mandalay, Myanmar, and working on the Mekong Delta
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