“Delta Queen”, Myanmar River Cruises
“Delta Queen” cruises overnight from Yangon to Pathein three times per week. The trip is sold in conjunction with transfer by coach to Ngwe Saung Beach. Once in Pathein passengers are transferred to Ngwe Saung by air conditioned coach one and a half hours away. The steel hulled vessel is 148 ft. long with a beam of 28 ft and a draft of 5 ft. Purpose built for plying the waters in the Delta region of the mighty Ayeyarwaddy (Irrawaddy) River. With three decks consisting of 14 comfortable air-conditioned cabins with share shower and toilet facilities.
Ayeyarwady Division
Location: The Ayeyarwady Division lies
between north latidude 15°30’ and 18°30’ and between east longitude 94°15’ and 96°15’.
Climate: The southern part has a monsoon climate of tropical region and the northern part has Savannah climate of tropical region. The hottest months are April and May while the coldest are December and January. The rainy season lasts from May to October.
The Ayeyarwady Division is mostly a delta region and covering an area of 35 138 km˛!
Population in 2002: over 6.5 million
The region is called: “The biggest granary of Myanmar!”
The principal crop is paddy. Almost 1.5 million hectare paddy fields are cultivated, which is about 90% of the total agricultural lands in this division and out of this, 16% double cropping during the dry season! Other prominent crops are maize, sesame, groundnut, sunflower, beans and pulses and jute, chilli, betel leaf, betel nut, coconut, banana, mango etc…
Fishery business is important. The Division produces fish, prawn, fish-paste, dry fish, dry prawn and fish sauce which are distributed to the whole country.