Our philosophy

Our tours are made for travelers who like to step off the beaten track, who wish to have an authentic insight into the country and who want to know about the everyday life and culture of the people of Myanmar. Acting socially and ecologically is important to us and is a substantial part of our cruise.

 

 

 

Our commitment

The cruises of RV Mandalay are more than just touristic. We offer our workers good, social employment. We employ experienced professionals, but do job and vocational training onboard as well. We want to create career prospects for young people and give them the possibility of gaining work experience in the tourism sector.

We pay fair salaries and ensure our crew get year-round wages, not only during the high season. We assume the costs of medical care and provide a retirement plan. We also reinvest profit into social projects and ensure our crew members get the best vocational training.

 

 

 

Our story

In Myanmar everything came together: A fascination for river cruises and water transportation, the dream of ship building and an enthusiasm for Myanmar and its warm-hearted people. The initiator of the cruise ship RV Mandalay is metalworker and construction engineer, Daniel Bäumlin from Bern, Switzerland. Since 2014 he has taught practical metalwork to Burmese metalworkers at the Center for Vocational Training, (CVT) in Yangon.

At the beginning of 2015 the idea of building his own cruise ship grew in strength, until in summer of 2015 the construction started. In autumn 2016 the RV Mandalay was ready to weigh anchor. In between of course there was a year rich in experience and everyday adventure.

 

Crew

The crew of the RV Mandalay consists of the captain, two seamen, an engineer, the cook, his kitchen-help, three stewards and the cruise director, Sybille Kunz, a native from Switzerland. She speaks French and German fluently, has very good Spanish, Italian and English, and is learning Burmese.

The captain, a local from Mingun, has been sailing for 12 years through the sandy waters of  the Ayeyarwady River. The chef de cuisine worked in the famous "Le Planteur" in Yangon. He's a passionate cook, and all his delicious dishes are freshly prepared on board.

Min Min cook

Saen Tho  housekeeper & waiter

Koh Thu deckhand

Ju Ju waitress

Aung Moe Hein chef de cuisine

Thein Swe Oo captain

Kyaw Min Thu deckhand, mechanic

Pho Tha deckhand

Anna carpenter

Daniel project manager

Sybille cruise director

Further projects: Practical course for metalworkers, CVT Yangon

The Center for Vocational Training (CVT) in Yangon was founded over ten years ago by the Swiss. It offers apprenticeships to young people of Myanmar based on a Swiss model of apprenticeship. It supports young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds who would normally have little access to a good education. CVT provides training for cabinet makers, electricians, metal workers, commercial assistants and hotel and gastronomy employees. Daniel Bäumlin and his Swiss team teach practical classes to metalworkers for four weeks every winter.