Pandaw Launches The Mekong: from Laos to China Cruise

Pandaw River Expeditions has become the first Western operator to reach China’s Yunnan Province via the Mekong River.

The RV Champa Pandaw, which has 14 teak-finished staterooms, was specially built to withstand the strong currents and challenging navigational conditions of the Upper Mekong and deliver Southeast Asia’s first “four country” river expedition.

Running from October to April, Pandaw’s 14-night The Mekong: from Laos to China cruise operates upstream and downstream between the Lao capital Vientiane and Jinghong in China, via moorings in Thailand and Burma.

Champa Pandaw is the latest edition to Pandaw’s growing fleet of unique, colonial-era ships. Built and finished to the highest levels of engineering and craftsmanship 17 of the ships currently ply Asia’s waterways, including the Irrawaddy, the Chindwin and the Mekong rivers.

“It has been a long-held dream of ours to offer travellers the chance to journey on a Pandaw ship on the Upper Mekong all the way to China, so today marks a major milestone in our history,” said Paul Strachan, Pandaw’s Founder. “We have faced many challenges developing this new and exciting route into Yunnan Province and I would thank all our team and partners for their part overcoming the difficulties to make it happen. Exploring the Upper Mekong on a four country river expedition from Laos to Thailand, Burma to China is a fascinating and unforgettable off the beaten track adventure, and passengers make the trip knowing that they entering exciting new territory.”

Highlights of Pandaws’ four-country river expedition include the Golden Triangle, spectacular defiles, the Tat Kuang Si waterfall, and the very emerald green waters of the Mekong in China's Yunnan province. The journey includes overnight stops in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Chiang Saen and Jinghong.

Tony Deng, Managing Director on China Kindness Tour, Kunming, Pandaw’s partner in China, said, “The arrival of the Champa Pandaw marks the beginning of a new era on Mekong River, and its an honour to be playing a part ... Bigger than the entire country of the Netherlands or Denmark, with a population of 45 million, Yunnan Province has so much to offer the traveller, from glorious mountain scenery, fabled cities such as Lijiang, Dali and Zhongdian, also known as ‘Shangri-La’. It is also home to over 50 ethnic minorities.”

Built in a specially created shipyard on the Burmese Mekong, the Champa Pandaw was designed with ultra-low draft and extra powerful engines generating 1400 horsepower, almost twice the power of other ships in the Pandaw fleet.

See also: Myanmar Tourism Update by Minister of Tourism and Hotels - HD Video.

See other recent news regarding: Pandaw, Cruises, Mekong