Kaladan

DISCOVER
ASia
India – Myanmar
The River Road to Myanmar
21. October – 5. November 2012
Ribexpedition with the support of other partners – will experience the challenges of this undiscovered beauty, while sailing 1200km on the Kaladan River.
Using special inflatable boats with aluminium bottoms, the Expedition will pass through India and Myanmar Sustainability, however, is an important criterion for the success of the project. Follow-up visits to the communities along the river are therefore planned by the participating expedition crew.
The expedition, also called “The river road to Myanmar)”, is planning to reach the Golf of Bengal. From its source in Mizoram, India, the Kaladan River flows into Chin and Rakhine states of Myanmar The expedition will be the first, since 1946, to navigate the full length of Kaladan River India has extended co-operation in development to Myanmar as part of its ‘Look east policy’.
This friendship has opened up many opportunities between the two neighbours. Also, there is a streak of similarity in the diverse ethnic cultures that have developed along the corridor of Kaladan River in India and Myanmar. Our expedition will be the first, since 1946, to navigate the full length of Kaladan River and witness this unique cultural mix. (Burma). It forms the international border between India and Burma.
Kaladan empties into the Bay of Bengal at Sittwe (town) in Arakan State in Myanmar. It is estimated that above a million people live in townships along the Kaladan River.
The expedition will be the first, since 1946, to navigate the full length of Kaladan River
India has extended co-operation in development to Myanmar as part of its ‘Look east policy’. This friendship has opened up many opportunities between the two neighbours. Also, there is a streak of similarity in the diverse ethnic cultures that have developed along the corridor of Kaladan River in India and Myanmar. Our expedition will be the first, since 1946, to navigate the full length of Kaladan River and witness this unique cultural mix.

In Sittwe we will reach our destination, the Golf of Bengal, where we will return the water collected at the source into the Indian Ocean.
Here the Expedition is not finished since we have to bring back the Boats to India. We will travel again North for 2-3 days to finish our Expedition on the Indian/Myanmar border.
Logistic and permissions is a big challenge. Armin Schoch a S/E Asian travel expert is working on the Myanmar side, where Apal and Zorba are in contact with the Indian officials. We humans are explorers by nature. The quest for discovery, both old and new, is part of what separates us from rest of the animal kingdom.