Mergui Archipelago cruising in Burma (Myanmar)

Cruising on board a classic 1960's motor yacht

Burma's Coast and Islands

The Mergui Archipelago with its 800 islands is one of those areas that remain almost totally unvisited by foreigners. Though now some live-a-board dive boats and yachts venture with special permission into the southern islands from their bases in Thailand, the bulk of the archipelago has remained unvisited since colonial times. During that period when the archipelago was first charted, most of the islands were named after colonial civil servants, a number retain these quaint names to this day.

The local population is Mokkein, often called sea gypsies and sometimes called pirates. During the Burmese socialist period the Mokkein controlled the smuggling routes and would prey on shipping. Nowadays they have reverted to fishing and fish curing. They are a people with their own language and culture who entirely live on the sea and have evolved a remarkable way of life. We will visit Mokkein islands such as Lampi in the Sullivan Islands. The ship carries kayaks and snorkelling equipment for free use.

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Map of the Mergui Archipelago cruise with Pandaw, Burma (Myanmar)

The Andaman Explorer

The Andaman Explorer was built as the MV Atlantic Guard in 1963 in Norway as a Norwegian coast guard vessel. She is 61 meters long with her original Rolls Royce engines. The hull is built to 'ice class' with extra thick plates and she has the power to withstand north Atlantic storms or chases out to sea. Very handy when cruising in tropical waters! She retired from coast guard duties in 1998 and was acquired by one Doctor Bogazzi, an Italian oligarch whose family owns the Carrara marble quarries. Dr Bogazzi lavished many a million on the ship, now renamed the MY Marina, completely refitting her with eleven very generous suites. Much of the ship is floored with Carrara marble, pleasantly cool under foot for those who go unshod.

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Family and Friends Charter

You can make your own itinerary and take your own time to explore the things that interest you, your family and friends. There is plenty for younger family members to do ashore or afloat. Consider the mega yacht Andaman Explorer that wends it way around the lagoons and atolls of the one thousand island Mergui Archipelago. Explore a unique marine world by Zodiac, kayak or snorkeling with your own family and a few close friends.

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The Mergui Archipelago

The Mergui Archipelago is a group of 800 islands with coral reefs and white sand beaches in the Andaman Sea off Burma's southern coast. The virtual isolation has given the islands and the surrounding waters a great diversity of flora and fauna and the clear waters are a dream for snorkelling. Though several of the larger islands are home to small communities of Moken 'sea gypsies', the vast majority are uninhabited and largely untouched by humans.

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Images of the Mergui Archipelago

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Pandaw Cruises - Andaman Explorer in the Mergui Archipelago, Burma (Myanmar) image library

Images of the Andaman Explorer

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Pandaw Cruises - Andaman Explorer in the Mergui Archipelago, Burma (Myanmar) Click Here to view more photos

FELLOW TRAVELLERS SAY

"We've done the Irrawaddy River and been to Bagan and Mandalay. We wanted to see a different side of Burma, away from the temples and tourists. These islands are beautiful and remote – an escape from modern-day life with no phone or Wi-Fi signal. A true digital detox."

by Sara Macefield for The Telegragh

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