Overlooking the sweeping landscape from a bird's eye view also affords you a panoramic vista that stretches right out to the horizon, where the mystical land meets the banks of the
Irrawaddy river. Step inside the cool of the pagodas and stupas to find statues of the Buddha as well as intricate frescoes and carvings that envelop you in spiritual calm.
But their habitat lies in the country's central dry zone, a low-lying plain astride the
Irrawaddy River where water shortages are rife in the hot season.
The
Irrawaddy River is "our mother" and is at risk of being lost "to the greed of a superpower," he said.
THE DEAL An evening cycle to the Red Mountain estate is featured in Steppes Travel's Highlights of Myanmar itinerary, a 13-day whistlestop tour that combines Yangon, Mandalay and Bagan, with a boat ride on
Irrawaddy river and a lakeside idyll at Inle.
In 1934, when the British built the Ava Bridge, spanning the
Irrawaddy River between Sagaing and Ava (or Inwa) close to Mandalay, the poet Nandawshay Hsaya Tin composed a lament for the sampan rowers who'd be put out of work.
We'd be on that boat for the next three days in hopes of seeing
Irrawaddy River dolphins and their amazing interactions with the local fishers.
Some hostels in Bagan offer a cruise of the
Irrawaddy River during sunset for a minimal fee.
This threatens the breeding grounds of the endangered Ganges and
Irrawaddy river dolphins.
Status of the
Irrawaddy river dolphin Orcaella brevirostris in Chilka Lake.--J.
The RV Mekong Pandaw, built in 2002, is a replica of the heritage paddle steamers that sailed the
Irrawaddy River from the 1860s to the 1940s.
