Sagaing is south of Mandalay on the River Irrawaddy and was the first port of call on The Grey Traveller cruise from Mandalay to Bagan with Sanctuary Retreats. I couldn’t help but be impressed with the dazzling gold stupa even if the soles of my feet were burning! It’s customary to take off shoes and cover knees […]
Maybe I was charmed by the deep orange colour or the colonial history – I don’t know which ……but I do know the bar man on the cruise ship Ananda is a skilled mixologist. The cocktail is a blend and shake of gin, cointreau, bitters and lime juice named after the Pegu Club in old Rangoon……….. you […]
The Irrawaddy is at its lowest during April as the weather has been hot and dry for some months…in fact when I was there it reached a staggering 102F. With the water low the sand bars and river banks are revealed and on day three of The Grey Traveller’s Irrawaddy River Cruise we were invited to a BBQ dinner […]
My first excursion from Sanctuary Ananda cruise ship in Myanmar was to the town of Sagaing south of Mandalay on the Irrawaddy River and it was there I visited a monastic school. There are three types of education; private which parents pay for, public which is provided freely by the government and monastic where children are taught […]
On my third day of a Sanctuary Retreats Irrawaddy River Cruise I found myself at Tan Chi Taung where along with my guide Khin Nyein Thu I climbed high to a beautiful pagoda and golden stupa. Once I had oohed and ahhed at the shiny temple and views I got to see a traditional elephant dance put on […]
On the first day of The Grey Traveller’s trip on the Ananda cruise ship (Sanctuary Retreats) we explored Sagaing and Amarapura south of Mandalay. We had seen Sagaing and its beautiful temple and visited a monastic school. With monsoon season fast approaching the heat was fairly intense so when our wonderful guide Khin Nyein Thu brought us to the cooler […]
My opinion might be skewed or biased but this itinerary was carefully thought out and planned by Sanctuary to meet the needs and desires of The Grey Traveller and others aboard the Ananda. It was seven days of sheer bliss, education and exploration made possible both by Sanctuary and Khin Nyein Thu – our fantastic Myanmar guide. This is the […]
This was probably the highlight of a Mandalay to Bagan Irrawaddy River Cruise for me. My first introduction to the plains was by horse and cart, this is a great way to get up close and personal with the temples. Our local guide Khin Nyein Thu had organised this for us and it was a great way […]
Our Irrawaddy cruise started and ended in Mandalay and perhaps our visit to Mandalay Hill was the fitting end to our introduction to this fabulous country. Khin our guide led the driver through the back streets of Mandalay trying to avoid the New Year well wishers, for well wishers read children with buckets of water […]
Sin Kyun Village is one of the projects which Sanctuary Retreats supports, it was The Grey Traveller’s second day on a Mandalay to Bagan Irrawaddy River Cruise and our excursion was to discover a little more about local life. The concept of small group visits works for me as generally I don’t like organised tourism but to see this […]
