Evergreen Explorer Magazine

Between blue hills and golden temple spires winking in the sun's warmth, the magnificent Irrawaddy River meanders through Mandalay and the heart of Myanmar. Exploring this country by river is ideal for easy access to the iconic sites, and the luxurious Irrawaddy Explorer makes for a cool and calm retreat. The Irrawaddy has always been a transport artery, and its banks are a passing scroll of Burmese history, culture and a thousand smiling Buddhas. You barely have to cruise half a day downstream before the first treat arrives. River of Life The chance to explore Myanmar's daily scenes as well as monuments is one of the delights of cruising here. Life unfolds along the riverbanks. At destinations such as Mingun, Bagan and Magwe, you can plunge into street markets teetering with buckets of water-splashed vegetables, bundles of sugarcane and betel leaves, and nose-twitching dried fish. You can investigate thanaka, the tree bark used to create the white cosmetic paste smeared on Burmese women's faces. Markets are a great way to learn about the fresh, and often fruity, Burmese ingredients. The cuisine is a highlight of any visit, from noodles to rich curries, grilled river prawns to the odd joys of fermented tea leaf salad, or Shan-inspired papaya salad. South of Bagan, the Irrawaddy flows on between great sandbanks and green farmland. Village life is an always- changing spectacle of fishing villages and farmer's fields, orange-robed monks and flaking temples, trundling oxcarts and floppy-eared cattle. At graceful religious centre Salay, yet more picturesque monasteries (one contains Myanmar's largest Buddha, made of lacquer covered in gold) are interspersed with sedate colonial-era buildings. Southern Charms The Irrawaddy's plains around Bagan are a remarkable sight, dotted with 2,000 pagodas dating back to the 11th century, some burnished with gold, many in picturesque ruins. Some remain active village temples. Whatever way you admire them, it will have you feeling like Indiana Jones. An oxcart ride provides roughshod beauty and encounters with school children and passing monks. A hot-air balloon ride is a serene float above a glorious, mountain-fringed landscape. Among highlight temples is Shwezigon Pagoda, the forerunner of all Burmese- style pagodas, with its golden stupa and small surrounding shrines; Ananda Temple with its four giant Buddhas; and terraced Shwesandaw Pagoda with its unbeatable sunset views of one of the world's greatest architectural ensembles, patch-worked in farmer's fields and red-earth tracks, and backed by purple hills – simply incredible! Beautiful Bagan White pagoda of Hsinbyume, Mingun Burmese woman weaving 3 | Explorer Magazine

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