Had a great trip;

took 9 days

flew up to Khamti on the twice a week prop flight

did daily trips on boats as far as Kalewa, than mini bus as the boat is 12+ hours an runs thru the night, mini bus was 6

stayed in; Thamnthi, (un named GH- 7,000 kyat), Homalin, Mawliek, (met U Thint Zin, a great old guy an full of interesting info), Monwya

Comparison; the Irrawaddy is much more interesting as a river trip and Katha is a must stay

the villages along the Chindwin are really cool and friendly people, but the river scenery is not as good, very dry and flat much of the way

The least expensive gh was in Mawliek --5,000 kyat, most expensive was in Mandalay but a great room for 36,000 kyat

50% of the time, no attached bathroom an no shower but bucket. NO TOURISTS for 6 days!!!

Most of the places only had electricity from 6-9:30 or so but it was fairly cold at night an had to sleep under a blanket

If you want to really experience Maynamar and the people an not just see tourists places ( Mandala, Bagan Inle lake, Yangon) i recommend it!! this trip is way off the tourist trail. :-)

Planning on a motorcycle trip back up thru the Chin state in late Nov.

Must have been great !

Getting my memories back when I took the boat from Bhamo to Mandalay. One of my best travel experiences ever. This is really off the beaten path.

Have fun !

Yea, i did the Irrawaddy river last April

Those gorges south of Bhamo are fantastic!!

In dec i went from Yangon by bus, trains and boats to Kwathoung and exited back to Thailand.

Travelled the river from Homalin to Thamanti last year to attend the Naga festival at Layshe and couple of sights amazed. Firstly the sheer amount of teak stacked up ready for China no doubt and secondly the absolute expanse of the bamboo rafts that were being prepared complete with living accommdation. The entire structure would have to be 40x75mts and 8mts deep are then poled downstream to be sold in their entirety. Pretty impressive.

If you plan on visiting the likes of Kanpalet and Mindat in Chin make sure to take the dirt back road between the 2. Doable on a bike in the dry season and nothing but remote villages all the way and you get to zig zag down a pretty steep hillside where you'll see a British made bridge from way back across the river then you make the way back up to reach Mindat at the top of the ridge.

Enjoy

Anybody care to add a few pictures ?

Mahseer's pics of the festival he attended last year were impressive. Richards are also spectacular!

not just Bamboo but the amount of teak heading down river;

this is the area /route i want take, https://goo.gl/maps/gSZemT3uPUB2

Have heard alot about Mindat from various people but only 1 person has been where i want travel;

I prefer the route less traveled LOL

So Many areas in Myanmar that get less than 100 people/year!!

These are my Myanmar photos, http://phuket.zenfolio.com/f125862719

Here a few snaps rom the Kampalet-Mindat back roads.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B07GFssfG1GaE4

To explain a couple:

The hazy photo shows the track you negotiate to reach Mindat which lies at the top of the ridge.

The 4 girls in front of the van were just starting to walk up that same track but were happy for the lift.

The horizontal stone slabs are graves.

The lady in green sorting corn is believed to be the last of the Moon tribe to be facially tattoed.

The slaughter was in Mindat. Beasts were mithun and meat shared amongst the villages.

Just finished up editing the pic;

Shots of U Bein Bridge at sunset; starts at shot 98 if you don't wish to see previous shots of Mandalay,
http://phuket.zenfolio.com/p645703194

Chindwin River trip;
http://phuket.zenfolio.com/p839166104

This is the trip planned for nov; NEW route!!!

https://goo.gl/maps/gSZemT3uPUB2