The Ayeyarwady (or Irrawaddy) River

We took a short boat trip upriver from Mandalay and then took a ferry from Mandalay to Bagan.  In the end we knew one thing for sure.  The Ayeyarwady is a very busy river.  Local people, tourists and all manner of commercial goods were moving up and down.  Its a wide lazy shallow river with shifting sandbars but the traffic and the fishermen are busy non stop.

We clamoured from one boat to the next till we reached our ferry

Living quarters, extra fuel, shore settlement

An extended family living on the back of a barge

Collecting sand from the bottom..dredging? for concrete?

Pots going to market

Teak barges lashed together awaiting their load

Teak at a village waiting for transport, and the inevitable pagoda.  Teak logs are $1000 each

Sluicing for gold