We picked up the pilot at the mouth of the Yangon River and on a flood tide began the relatively slow journey some 25 nautical miles up the river with, at times, only 2 metres of water below our keel; the ship’s screws churning up the silt of the river bed turning the water a rich reddish-brown and providing the terns and gulls with rich pickings (See photo) to our berth in the commercial port at Thilawa Port & Sez.
The Balmoral is the largest cruise ship so far to have visited Myanmar and Yangon. Anything bigger will not be able to navigate the Yangon River, which may yet save Myanmar from the ‘casual tourists’ – I’ll say no more since most of you will know my comments and views on some of the bigger cruise ships.
No fancy cruise terminal but a very warm and enthusiastic welcome awaited us as we came alongside with thousands of teak logs awaiting shipment and referred to by our waiter as “toothpicks in the making!”
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