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Best of Laos & Northern Thailand

Aboard RV Laos Pandaw with Pandaw

Departure Date

25 November 2024

Duration

15 Nights

Cruise Only From

£5,401pp

Cruise Reference

ART-0BEPA12

Cruise Overview

Explore the beauty and culture of Laos and Northern Thailand with Pandaw on our new and exclusive river and land tour.

Experience all that Laos has to offer along the scenic and serene upper Mekong where local life remains unchanged for centuries aboard your expertly crafted and luxuriously comfortable small Pandaw vessel.

We also venture high into the mountains of Northern Thailand to discover the rich culture and diversity of the hilltribe peoples that have inhabited this area for centuries.

This unforgettable 16 night adventure is sure to be the trip of a lifetime..

Cruise Itinerary

Aboard RV Laos Pandaw

Launch Year: 2015 Length: 44 Width: 9 Currency: USD Capacity: 20 Crew Count: Deck Count: 3 Cabin Count: 10

Seeing the quality of this ship it is hard to believe it was built in a hurry. There are no proper ship yards above the Khone Falls and we could not persuade our Vietnamese builders to assemble a ship trucked in in bits on the river bank. We tried our Rangoon builder and he also chickened out. By January 2015 we were taking bookings and selling out for November but still had no ship. Paul Strachan in a panic flew to Vientiane and took a taxi down to the river bank and boarded the first cargo ship we saw, a 40 meter barge used to carry heavy loads of cement and rice up to China. She had two 400hp truck engines and was just the thing for tackling the terrifying fast flow of the Upper Mekong .The captain was the owner and agreed terms with Paul. The owner agreed to stay on as skipper and is still there. He immediately took her up to the Golden Triangle, a week’s sail away.

The Golden Triangle is where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet and was the perfect place to convert the ship. The build team came over from Mandalay, a two-day bus journey across the Shan mountains. They made a camp on the Burma river bank opposite where she lay on the Laos. We hired a house on the Thai side to act as an office and could source material and supplies from Thailand. Amazingly we had the ten cabin ship finished on time for the maiden voyage on the 1st November 2015. Actually it was the first time we have actually had the ship finished on time! Normally there are still sparks flying as the first passengers come on board.

The ship has quality mountain bikes for your independent exploration.

RV Laos Pandaw Facilities

RV Laos Pandaw Includes

Cabin Details

The Pandaw stateroom is the most celebrated feature of our ships, combining splendid colonial-era character with exquisite contemporary comfort.

Finished in brass and teak, the main and upper deck rooms are a spacious 168 square feet (15.6 sqm), with the exception of the Zawgyi Pandaw which is 150 square feet (14 sqm). As the space is much loved by all our passengers, we have ensured that with each ship we build, the stateroom remains essentially the same. Be advised: our cabins do not have mini-bars, satellite TV's, internet access or telephones. Passengers tend to choose Pandaw in order to escape from the tiresome features found in international business hotels.

All our cabins are the same size and all contain Pandaw's signature amenities. Passengers can choose from the Main Deck or Upper Deck.

- Fruit and flowers on arrival
- Kimonos and slippers
- Spa-branded amenities
- Unlimited mineral water
- Free use of mini DVD player on request and selection of DVDs from our library (subject to availability)

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