For those of you contemplating taking Just You's Irrawaddy Cruise, Glen (one of our fantastic Tour managers) wrote a blog about the trip that departed in February. Why not take a look and read about his experience in this unforgettable destination;

https://www.justyou.co.uk/en-gb/tours/burmas-irrawaddy-cruise/#TourTab79899 

Kindest regards,

Julia

All the best,

Bob

Glen's blog is excellent.  I did the land-based tour in February and had a fabulous time.  His photo's are fantastic and they brought back many happy memories.

I would urge anyone interested to book this trip before it all changes,

Like Bob I am also jealous of the balloon ride I have wanted to one for years and not had the chance.

Thanks again

Julie

I was being too nice to JY in my post - I am really pretty annoyed over this.  JY need to revise their policy of not facilitating balloon rides on their tours.  I have been told that I can arrange them in my own free time, but this is just not feasible - and JY know this - as on those tours when we are in places where there are balloon rides, there are always excursions on during the times when the ride can be done (i.e. early morning) so they do not facilitate us even booking them ourselves as we would have to opt out of an included excursion - again, which often is not possible as the tour is going on elsewhere afterwards.  It is ridiculous that because of one accident years ago in Egypt that they have stopped balloon rides on all tours - just about every other tour company still offers them! Rant over.

Cheers,

Bob

I totally agree with everything you have said. I would love the opportunity of doing a balloon ride and Burma would have been ideal. Perhaps Just You will have a rethink.

Regards Julie

Cheers,

Bob

Hi Julie,

I was being too nice to JY in my post - I am really pretty annoyed over this.  JY need to revise their policy of not facilitating balloon rides on their tours.  I have been told that I can arrange them in my own free time, but this is just not feasible - and JY know this - as on those tours when we are in places where there are balloon rides, there are always excursions on during the times when the ride can be done (i.e. early morning) so they do not facilitate us even booking them ourselves as we would have to opt out of an included excursion - again, which often is not possible as the tour is going on elsewhere afterwards.  It is ridiculous that because of one accident years ago in Egypt that they have stopped balloon rides on all tours - just about every other tour company still offers them! Rant over.

Cheers,

Bob

> just about every other tour company still offers them!

Indeed. I was in Burma last January/February with another travel company which did offer a balloon ride over Bagan as an option selectable before we left the UK - one of the reasons which influenced my choice of company. Burma may still be underdeveloped, but its tourist infrastructure is now first-class, and the balloon rides were no exception. The pilots were trained, and received their licences, in the UK (the Bristol centre, I think), and the balloons and ancillary equipment were all sourced from the UK. It was all handled very professionally.

This was my first balloon flight, so I was a bit nervous beforehand, but any anxiety was soon dispelled on the day, and at no time did I feel unsafe. The flight was a wonderful experience, and the sight of all the temples distributed across the plain was unforgettable.

We were collected from the hotel at 05:30 for a dawn flight and we were deposited back at the hotel again at 08:50, just in time for a late breakfast before departure at 09:30 for the day's sightseeing, so fitting this into the  schedule was not a problem - and shouldn't be for JY either.

Jim

http://tinyurl.com/BalloonBagan  - although this does not really do it justice.

Cindy

Thank you for sharing your slideshow. It looks amazing.

Regards Julie

Good to hear you had such a good experience in Burma, it really is a fabulous country.

Keep travelling,

Bob

PS Thanks Cindy, nearly everyone I know has done a balloon trip and loved it...sniff...

Many thanks for the 'Balloons over Bagan' slideshow. I was in Bob and Julie's group in Burma last February and, like them, would loved to have had the opportunity to experience a hot air balloon ride at Bagan. I have done one before, in Egypt, when I saw the sun rise over the Nile and the East Bank. I have to say that it was a wonderful experience, and it's definitely something that I'd like to do again if the opportunity arose.

Unfortunately the H&S police seem to be calling the tune on this one because of a single accident in Egypt. If one takes this to its logical conclusion, it's a wonder that JY haven't cancelled coach tours due to an occasional road accident involving coaches in the past! That's how daft this policy is, and as long as pilots have received the proper training and accreditation from an internationally approved agency, I can't see any reason why this policy cannot be reviewed. Please JY, think again on this one!

Mike

I have never done a balloon ride and am sure that I would be a dare devil and do one if it was on offer.

Jaya

I enjoyed reading about this river cruise.

I have already booked the Burma tour for next year. I am sure it isn't as relaxing as a river cruise but I am really looking forward to it

Kind regards

Di

you may get the opportunity to do a balloon ride over the outback in Alice Springs, a fantastic experience but do go easy on the champagne we wouldn't want you taking one of your famous tumbles would we, mind maybe the H&S police have stopped that also since I did it in 2013, it is ridiculous but as long as its with a reputable company and all H&S rules are adhered to and disclaimers signed etc there is no problem, if they stopped all air travel after a rare air crash we'd never get to see any of the world would we

Regards

Dave