 |
|
Superstitions Meet Mr. Stone, the 10th passenger. He sits on a chair looking remarkably like a stone. Don't be surprised to see passengers talking to him. He needs to be seated, included and fed just like anyone else. Nine just isn't the number of people you should travel with. |
He remarked
with awe on the country's many golden towers and named the place 'The
Golden Land'.
The crowning
glory of this golden land - the vast Irrawaddy River.
Many years ago the river carried entourages of ancient kings and explorers
and was perhaps the country's most travelled route.
While royal entourages may be rare today, the scenery alongside the river
has remained almost untouched by the last hundred years of human history.
The extensive river, which starts high in the Himalayas on the fringes of Tibet and southwest China, has been the lifeblood of the country for centuries, dominating the lives of those living along its banks.
Whether viewing the unfolding scene through the window of your cabin, the sweeping windows of your ship's dining room, or from its spacious sundeck, you will be absorbed by scenes of life along the river bank.
Observing people at work and at play, against a backdrop of dense jungle and teak forests, magnificent temples and ancient villages, is to follow a course of hundreds of years of history.
The Irrawaddy's two largest ports are at the capital Yangon, where the cruise on the 'Delta Queen' begins and at Pathein, a town 190 kilometres west of Yangon, where passengers disembark and head to the beach.
One of the southwestern region's best-kept secrets is Ngwe Saung, an isolated beach on the Gulf of Bengal, two hours west of Pathein.A walk along the 14 kilometres of isolated beach will take you along a piece of coastline that time hasn't touched.
