Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Amara
amaragroup.net
.
Fourbeautiful teak boats with 5-7cabins forscheduled trips to
Bhamo, which are also available to charter.
Belmond
voyagesinmyanmar.com
.
Formerly known as Orient Express, Belmond oper-
ates two boats, the
Road to Mandalay
and
Orcaella
, and organizes cruises as far north as
Bhamo.
Pandaw 1947
pandaw1947.com
.
A luxurious sixteen-berth vessel built in 1947 on the
same design as the original Irrawaddy Flotilla Company's steamers.
INFORMATION AND TOURS
Exotissimo
70th St, between 28th and 29th sts 02 38786,
exotissimo.com
.
Mandalay
branch of one of the country's most reputable
tour operators
.
MTT
68th St, between 26th and 27th sts 02 60356.
The office of this government-run
travel agency is actually a fairly decent - not to mention friendly - place to head for advice,
and the booking of flight or ferry tickets.
Nice Style
25th St, between 82nd and 83rd sts 02 64103,
nicestyletravel.com
.
The
amiableteamatthissmallofficeareparticularlygoodatorganizinganythingfromflighttick-
ets to shared taxis to the airport.
Seven Diamond Express
25th St, between 82nd and 83rd sts 02 65865,
sevendia-
mondtravels.com
.
Another agency that has cultivated a good reputation with travellers, one
foundedontheirfair,competentsalesofflightandbustickets.Canalsoorganizesharedtaxis
to the airport.
Zone Express
68th St, between 26th and 27th sts 02 74651,
zone.mandalay@gmail.com
.
One of the better places in town for flight tickets.
ACCOMMODATION
First, the bad news - even more so than the rest of the country, accommodation in Mandalay
is, almost as a rule, horrendously overpriced. Foreigners are excluded from the very cheapest
places, meaning that you'll have to figure on at least $10 per head as a minimum; even some
of the places charging $30 per double (which seems to be the default lower-end rate now)
are atrocious. Moving a tiny bit up the price scale can result in a palpable increase in quality;
for something resembling a real hotel room, you're talking $90 or so, while the city's lux-
ury options (all located quite far from the centre) will see you fortunate to get change from
$200. Most travellers stay in and around the city centre, in the quadrant bordered by 84th St
to the west, 27th St to the south, 83rd St to the east and 23nd St to the north; there are some
mid-range options further south, and a couple in the partly rural area way up north on 14th
St. Lastly, many places now claim to have wi-fi, though don't rely upon it.
