From online research and the last 2 editions of the Myanmar LP guides I take it that there are no fast boats from Swegu to Bhamo, only from the opposite direction. Can anyone who has been there within the last 12 months or so confirm this?
If it is possible, how long does it take? I would assume it is longer than the 2.5 to 3 hours going from Bhamo to Shwegu stated in the guides since it would be going upstream.
can't confirm it...but you would think that is there are fast boats downriver between the Bhamo and Swegu then they would also have to go upriver.....
One would think. The latest LP guide edition (12th) states that there are fast boats from Bhamo to Shwegu. But in the Shwegu section states that "foreigners are technically barred from fast boats" and only lists IWT ferries from Shwegu to Katha (no mention of any boats to Bhamo). The previous edition (11th) does mention fast boats between Shwegu and Bhamo both ways.
It may simply be another example of LP's inexactness that drives me crazy. But, I wanted to be sure before planning a trip to Shwegu. We just want to visit Shwegu from Bhamo, spend the night and then head back to Bhamo and catch a flight to Mandalay. We don't want to continue on to Katha.
Possibly the LP book lists them as ^fast^ boats simply because they are travelling with the flow of the River as opposed to a boat going against the flow of the river which is obviously going to take Longer! There is definitely a boat from Katha to Bhamo if that is any Help? Don't know if it goes via Shwegu Though! If so then it must almost certainly travel in both directions.
Possibly the LP book lists them as ^fast^ boats simply because they are travelling with the flow of the River
I don't think so because in the Bhamo section they make a distinction between the "fast boat" and the IWT Ferry as it is shown in a table with separate columns for IWT Ferry and Fast Boats to Shwegu. Both the time and price are different too. The table shows the fast boat as taking 3 hours to Shwegu and the IWT Ferry as 6 Hours.
In the Katha section the current edition show a table and that there is an ITW Ferry from Katha to Shwegu and Bhamo, but in the "Express Boat" column it shows N/A for both. Maybe it has something to do with going against the current and fast/express boats cannot manage it. Just guessing though.
I guess I will have to wait and see what information I can find when I am in Myanmar. I might try calling the hotels and guest houses to see if they know.
I was in Katha in April and the ITW ferry was still running then. To be honest , I didn't notice if any boats went via Shwegu or not but they were definitely running to Bhamo. The problem in April is that the river had almost dried up because it is the end of the dry season and this affects were some boats can or can't Go! After the rainy season has finished the water level is much higher and that makes it easier and faster for boats to travel the various routes.
We would rather not take the IWT Ferry from Shwegu back to Bhamo since it takes twice as long (6 hours). We will be there mid-January 2017. The water level won't be as low as April, but it will still be low.
Anyway, I'm not getting much response and it is pretty clear traveling to Shwegu and back from Bhamo is rarely on people's itinerary. I will see what I can dig up between now and January before I decide if Shwegu and maybe even Bhamo makes it in to ours.
I guess the reason it isn't on many people's itinerary is because the areas around Bhamo are considered as current conflict Zones! For example, you can't travel north from Bhamo by boat (which used to be a popular thing to do)or by road anymore, only by flying. I intended to go to Bhamo earlier this year by boat from Katha, but it would of meant having to double back by boat to leave Bhamo, or fly out of Bhamo, which I didn't want to Do! I'm not sure if you can leave Bhamo in any direction by road, so I wasn't prepared to waste lots of time getting there when I had no idea of how I was going to get away from the place. Katha is worth a visit if your in that part of the country. Good luck.
Thanks chris1965. I will post back if I found out more about the boat and if we actually make it to Shwegu.
Difference between 'fast' boat and slow boat (ferry) has nothing to do with direction of travel or water flow...they are 2 different types of boats. Both boat types will go slightly slower upstream than down.
Thrive - anything in the LP editions is out of date before they even go to print.
Try asking on Trip Advisor as there have been a few posts on there re the fast boats between Bhamo and Mandalay (and the various stops on the way).
If fast boats go downriver, they HAVE to go upriver again...how else can they continue to send fast boats downriver....??