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Irrawaddy cruises on the brown lazy
water coming in from the
mountains of the north is a
picturesque pleasure.
Passing pagodas and temples
which are set just behind
the riverbanks opens the
view into old Asia.
Although the river brings
life to Bagan little of the
water is used for
irrigation. This is the “dry
zone” of Myanmar, receiving
only some torrential rains
during monsoon and the other
time of the year it’s dry
and dusty but the river
brings the water 24/7.
A Ayeyarwady cruise
tells virtual
stories about Buddhism and
the deep devotion plus the
creative people who ruled
this area since more than
thousand years, it’s a
natural wonder created over
years.
This life giving
stream comes from the icy
glaciers of the high
mountains at Kachin state
which are offshoots of the
Tibetan Himalayas.
There are actually 3 main
sources this are the Mai Kha
and Mali Kha streams which
are joined by the waters of
the Chindwin River near
Mandalay.
Naturally myriads of other streams
empty into this great
waterway along the journey
to the Andaman Sea, a part
of the Indian Ocean.
The first people who tried
to find the real sources of
the mighty river where
English botanists who made
some expedition into the
wilderness during colonial
times, the most prominent
was Mr. Kingdon Ward who
made some expeditions around
1945. |
