Irrawaddy River - Mandalay to Bagan

Early early arrival at the Mandalay waterfront for the Malikha fast ferry to Bagan	The luxury cruise ship RV Pandaw II getting an early southbound start as well	Dawn over the Irrawaddy River as we sail away from Mandalay	Soon, Sagaing comes into view
Pagoda-covered Sagaing Hills just before sunrise	Large riverside temple at the north end of Sagaing (N21 54.93/E096 00.07)	Cruising past Sagaing early morning	The New Sagaing Bridge emerges from the haze
Paddling across the Irrawaddy to Sagaing, early morning	Sunrise over the Irrawaddy as we pass Sagaing	Dennis emerges from his sleep for the chilly sunrise	Dennis with sunrise on the Irrawaddy River
Irrawaddy sunrise, Sagaing	Sagaing	Sagaing	Large bamboo raft being towed down the Irrawaddy River past Sagaing
Rafters gathered around the early morning cooking fire	Serpentine road climbing Sagaing Hill	Boat traffic at Sagaing	Sunrise on the Irrawaddy River, Sagaing
Sunrise on the Irrawaddy River, Sagaing	Sunrise with a small boat on the Irrawaddy River, Sagaing	Irrawaddy sunrise with a small boat	Sagaing, early morning
New Sagaing Bridge over the Irrawaddy River on a misty morning	Riverside pagodas of Sagaing	Sagaing Hill and waterfront	Sunrise
Golden pagoda catching the suns first rays	Panoramic view of the Sagaing Hills from the river at sunrise	Pagoda on the top of one of the hills in Sagaing	Sagaing
Sagaing	Sagaing hilltop pagoda with the full moon	Sagaing hilltop pagoda with the full moon	Sagaing
Irrawaddy sunrise	Passengers of the Malikha Ferry on deck as we pass Sagaing	Dennis on the Malikha as we pass Sagaing	Sagaing on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River
Flag of the Union of Myanmar with the Sagaing Hills receding into the distance	The New Sagaing Bridge over the Irrawaddy River	The New Sagaing Bridge over the Irrawaddy River	Sunrise with the east bank temple at the New Sagaing Bridge
Temple near the east end of the New Sagaing Bridge	Barges unloading their timber on the banks of the river near the Sagaing Bridge - probably to transfer to rail	The New Sagaing Bridge over the Irrawaddy River	Malikha approaching the New Sagaing River Bridge just after sunrise
Sunrise with the stupas of the temple by the Sagaing Bridge	The New Sagaing Bridge over the Irrawaddy River	The New Sagaing Bridge over the Irrawaddy River	Sagaing Bridge
The New Sagaing Bridge over the Irrawaddy River	Sunrise with palm trees on the banks of the Irrawaddy River	Flag of the Union of Myanmar and the Sagaing Bridge	The old Ava Bridge, just downstream of the new Sagaing Bridge
Ava Bridge	Ava Bridge at sunrise, Irrawaddy River	Ava Bridge at sunrise, Irrawaddy River	Ava Bridge at sunrise, Irrawaddy River
The old and new bridges across the Irrawaddy River linking Inwa and Sagaing	Small boat on the Irrawaddy River	Boat with the reflection of the early morning sun	Boat with the reflection of the early morning sun
Sunrise behind the ancient capital city of Inwa (Ava)	Inwa stupa with the early morning sun and boat	The Malikha is faster than the RV Pandaw II	The RV Pandaw's luxury cruise takes two days between Mandalay and Bagan
The Malikah fast ferry does Mandalay-Bagan in just over 10 hours	Passing the Malika II downstream from Inwa	Banks of the river in the dry season as we pass a village	Even our highly experienced captain got stuck on sandbars occasionally
Two Burmese women watch from shore as our boat passes	Irrigation pumping station on the Irrawaddy	Power lines crossing the Irrawaddy	Burmese fisherman pulling in his net
Fisherman and boy paddling up river	A friendly wave as the Malikha cruises past	Ywathitgyi, a riverside village with a golden stupa 2 hrs 15 min downstream from Mandalay	A boat sails upstream past a left-bank temple opposite Ywathigyi
A boat sails upstream past a left-bank temple opposite Ywathigyi	Temple opposite Ywathitgyi (N21 54.6/E095 46.1)	Just under 4 hours after departing Mandalay, the Malikha makes a brief stop in Myinmu	Burmese girl trying to make a sale during the Malikha's brief stop in Myinmu
The girls wade right up to the boat to sell their bananas	Myinmu, Myanmar	Myinmu is on the right bank of the Irrawaddy in a section where the flow is more east to west	The Malikha fast ferry from Mandalay to Bagan several days a week (we did Monday)
The cruise ship "Road to Mandalay" anchored off Myinmu. It's a former German Rhine cruiser built in 1964	Pulling away from Myinmu to continue downstream to Bagan	Boat off the Myinmu waterfront	Myinmu waterfront, Irrawaddy River
Baby blue tugboat pushing a barget upriver	Riverside village along the Irrawaddy	Passing a stupa 35 minutes downstream from Myinmu (N21 52.6/E095 28.9 I believe...)	Riverside village 45 minutes downstream from Myinmu
The sweaters and jackets come off as the day warms up	Riverside stupa 90 minues downstream from Myinmu	I elected to do the cruise because I enjoyed the Nile and Niger	...in hindsight, since we were on such a full and short itinerary, extra time would probably have been better spent in Bagan
Small fishing boats on the Irrawaddy River	Bamboo raft on the Irrawaddy River	Bamboo raft on the Irrawaddy River	The bamboo raft is being towed by a small boat
Riverside monastery three hours north of Bagan	Sand cliffs on the banks of the Irrawaddy River	Riverside village three hours upriver from Bagan	Temple and stupa along the Irrawaddy River
Riverside village about half way between Myinmu and Bagan	Riverside village about half way between Myinmu and Bagan	Riverside village about half way between Myinmu and Bagan	Riverside village about half way between Myinmu and Bagan
The cabin of the Malikha 2 Ferry	The boat ride didn't seem to be Dennis' thing...	Afternoon on the Malikha 2	Mandalay 1219.jpg
Substantial cargo vessel steaming up the Irrawaddy	Flag of the Union of Myanmar	Fishermen and a small hut on the riverside floodplain	Tugboat on the Irrawaddy River
Some kind of mining activity sifting through the river bottom sediments...	Boat on the Irrawaddy River	The luxury RV Paukan, another member of the six-strong Pandaw River Cruises fleet	Large tree on the banks of the Irrawaddy
In the wet season, the river widens to reach the distant trees	Left bank cliffs on the Irrawaddy River in range of Bagan	Temples of Nyaung U, the first signs that we're approaching Bagan	Red brick stupa on a sandy cliff by Nyaung U, the edge of the Bagan Archeological area
Boat paddling across the Irrawaddy River at Bagan	Wave from a man in a long-tail boat looking across at the fertile floodplain opposite Bagan	Small boat on the Irrawaddy River with the gold-covered stupa of Shwezigon Paya	Gawdawpalin Temple on the right seen from the river as we arriva at Bagan
Panoramic photo of Bagan from the Irrawady River	Malikha ferry arriving at Bagan around 10 hours after departing Mandalay	Boat traffic at Bagan	Boats pulled up along the waterfront at Bagan
Bagan Waterfront	Late afternoon sun on the Irrawaddy River	Oh no...not even off the boat and the post card sellers are out...	Large long-tail boat on the Irrawaddy River at Bagan
Setting up the gangplank for disembarkation	Very young boy bailing out a boat	Young long tail boat driver, Bagan	Bagan Welcoming Committee
Found our guide - Thu Ya Aung	The fast ferry Malikha 2 at Bagan	Malikha 2 - a good choice if you have time...fly if you don't	Malikha 2 at Bagan
Dennis has already made friends with the locals	...there's still time to get to a temple to catch sunset...