Published April 7, 2016
If you are planning to travel between Bagan and Mandalay, and you have time to spare, I recommend taking the slow boat ride to get there.
It was a really pleasant ride and so nice to spend the hours taking in the fresh river air vs sitting in a bus or plane.
I arranged the boat ticket through my hotel (about $35) and got a taxi ride to the pier by 5:30 in the morning. I was taking the boat from Bagan to Mandalay but there is also an alternative route going from Mandalay to Bagan.
It was still dark out and a little cold so I settled into a comfy chair inside of the boat and grabbed a warm blanket that they make available for all passengers.
By the time the sun started to come out around 6:30 in the morning, we were well on our way and I grabbed a seat outside to watch the view.
It was a pretty gorgeous sunrise with other cruise boats floating by.
Cruise Boat on the Irrawaddy
And a scattering of fishing boats out on the river.
Fishing Boats on Irrawaddy
Breakfast and Lunch is served on the boat and is included in your ticket. They serve a really basic breakfast with a boiled egg and croissant and you can choose either fried rice or stir fried noodles for lunch. They also have some refreshments available for purchase on the boat. The bathroom facilities were totally decent and way better than expected.
Along the ride you’ll see a number of river side villages – most with a golden pagoda visible from the boat.
Pagodas on the Irrawaddy
Huts on the Irrawaddy River
There were mostly foreigners on the boat but 1 Burmese family and their adorable baby were passengers on the ride and the baby kept us all entertained with funny faces throughout the voyage.
Burmese Baby
The staff was all extremely kind and the voyage flowed really smoothly.
We arrived in Mandalay around 5pm. The views sailing into Mandalay were beautiful with the pagodas and buddhas along Sagaing glowing against the sunset.
View of Sabag