เนื่องจากกลุ่มเพื่อนชาวต่างชาติจากอเมริกาจะเดินทางมาไทย และต้องการไปเที่ยวล่องแก่งต่อที่ รัฐกระฉิ่น ของพม่า พวกเขาได้ให้ข้อมูลไว้ว่าต้องการไป ตามข้อมูลด้าล่างค่ะ แต่เนื่องจากไม่สันทัดเรื่องการเที่ยวไปพม่าโดยรถทัวร์ไม่รู้ว่าต้องเดินทางไปด่านชายแดนไหน ด้วยรถอะไร และจากชายแดนมีรถทัวร์ต่อไปเป้าหมายที่พวกเขาต้องการหรือไม่ ขอรบกวนชาว บลู ช่วยด้วยค่ะ ขอบคุณค่ะ
Malikha River
The Malikha River is one of the upper headwater streams of the Irrawaddy River, which is the central river of Myanmar. The river is located in the northern Kachin state. The main rafting section looks to be a pretty mellow trip through some pristine jungle-like vegetation with little population and probably minimal legal/political hassels. We would put in near Putao and end at the city of Myitkyina. The total length from near Putao to Myitkyina is 346 km (215 miles), dropping from 400 m to 135 m elevation (0.77 m/km or 4.2 ft/mile; but with 0.94 m/km or 5.2 ft/mile in the initial 240 km) with estimated January flows of 3000 cfs near the start (at the end of Putao valley) and 12000 cfs to just before the Maykha confluence. We would be going in the dry season, with pleasant spring-like weather in there (~76oF high and ~50oF low - see Myitkyina).
There are some local guys at Putao Trekking House who offer short raft runs on sections of the upper part near the town. The guy I'm in contact with (Chetry) hasn't floated most of the Malikha river downstream. While he thought it would be "boring" probably based on the short upper section that he's familiar with, he apparently hasn't viewed the Google Earth imagery of the river farther downstream, which shows much more whiteater action, especially in the initial 220 km. Also, he doesn't have much experience with long rafting trips. I estimate the river to be class II and III difficulty in general, with one or two IVs, and with long sections of pretty mellow water, especially in the lower parts. It should be very clean and beautiful passing much of the way in a canyon/gorge, but with some huge beaches in places.The end of the trip is a litlte past the Maykha River confluence where it becomes the Irrawaddy. The trip on the water would be about 12 days with maybe 3 days getting in there, rigging, hiking around a bit near the put-in. We would buy provisions/etc in Myitkyina. You should note that political circumstances can change. For example the Kachin area was closed to tourists over a year ago (ethnic conflict), but is open again as of last year (according to Chetry).
Maykha River
The other main upper branch of the Irrawaddy is the Maykha River, which has a much higher gradient in steeper/higher mountain, and many more rapids. This is a pristine river but the access is more difficult with no roads to the put-in points. The total length from the Pannadin put-in to Myitkyina is 337 km (209 miles), dropping from 940 m to 135 m elevation (2.4 m/km or 13 ft/mile; but with 2.9 m/km or 16 ft/mile in the initial 220 km to Chipwi) with estimated January flows of 3000 cfs near the start (after confluence with the main source stream from Tibet) to 12000 cfs to just before the Maykha confluence. I spoke to Scott Lindgren about it last year at the C&K awards - he did the first descent of this river about 10 years ago and he thought it would be a great raft trip. There are definitely lots of class III and IV rapids. It was even listed as a commercial trip for $8000 but I don't think any such trips ever materialized. It can still be viewed as an offering at least at two websites (MyanmarTravel; and Ultimate Descents). While I would prefer to float this river, it would be extra challenging due to the rapids and also would involve a 20-30 km trek to the put-in with all the rafting gear, which can be tough. So it wouldn't be the more relaxing GC-style trip that appeals to a lot of folks. You can see the GE trace and a little video of some less-than-competent Russians running the tougest rapids on this river (in what was probably the second descent) at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBcsW2D83KM
Nujiang-Salween
The biggest river in Myanmar and one of the most intriguing to paddle is the Salween. It flows through roadless canyon nearly its entire 1100 km length in the country, and although a huge river, has very low gradient and only occasional rapids. But interestingly, the rapids continue to within 150 km of the mouth, with a big set at the end. Flows at the mouth range from ~50000 cfs at the end of the dry season (Apr) to 350000 cfs in the rainy season (Sep), while at its entrance from China it flows between ~20000 cfs (Apr) to ~140000 cfs (Aug). The river forms the border with China in the uppermost part, and the border with Thailand for a long section farther down. The whole river - or just various sections - would be fun to float, but whether tourists are permitted to do so is questionable. I'm not even sure anyone has ever rafted the entire river. The entire 1100 km need not be done in one trip - it is possible to float sections of it.
While I'm looking into paddling the entire Salween in Myanmar, another section that I'm looking into doing is the part of the river in China that flows into Myanmar - which would be a convenient trip since the rafts and other gear will be coming from China (Guangzhou) anyway. There's a very nice-looking 313-km (195 mile) section starting at the city of Nujiang and going down to the border. We would continue 109 km into Myanmar to a road bridge. These sections might even be a first descents. It is possible to start a bit closer to the border as well, near the Baoshan highway bridge. The first section from Nujiang to Baoshan highway bridge is 126 km with 1.2 m/km gradient (7 ft/mile) and lots of rapids but a road nearby. The second 187 km section to the Myanmar border has 0.76 m/km (4 ft/mile) gradient but still lots of rapids in the lower part and not much road nearby. The final 109 km section in Myanmar has 0.82 m/km (5 ft/mile) gradient and good rapids. Flows would be ~20000 cfs in January - lowest water of the year. I attached the GE traces of these sections below.
There are some issues to overcome with doing this trip, the most difficult of which are making sure we can get passport entries for the cross-border trip, and getting the permits from local authorities to float the river there (a long time ago I was in contact with White Pearl about this - I'm in contact with another Chinese boater in Yunnan now). Consider this something I'm just looking into that you can take a peek into about as well. Once finished with this trip, we'd be close to Myitkyina where we would go for the ~12 day raft trip on the Malikha River. You can read a little about the sections just upstream at the following website (but note that we would be starting at the end of or after this section, so no expected class Vs):
http://www.shangri-la-river-expeditions.com/1stdes/salween/salween1996.html 
สอบถามการเดินทางจากไทยไปรัฐ กระฉิ่น ของพม่าโดยรถทัวร์
Malikha River
The Malikha River is one of the upper headwater streams of the Irrawaddy River, which is the central river of Myanmar. The river is located in the northern Kachin state. The main rafting section looks to be a pretty mellow trip through some pristine jungle-like vegetation with little population and probably minimal legal/political hassels. We would put in near Putao and end at the city of Myitkyina. The total length from near Putao to Myitkyina is 346 km (215 miles), dropping from 400 m to 135 m elevation (0.77 m/km or 4.2 ft/mile; but with 0.94 m/km or 5.2 ft/mile in the initial 240 km) with estimated January flows of 3000 cfs near the start (at the end of Putao valley) and 12000 cfs to just before the Maykha confluence. We would be going in the dry season, with pleasant spring-like weather in there (~76oF high and ~50oF low - see Myitkyina).
There are some local guys at Putao Trekking House who offer short raft runs on sections of the upper part near the town. The guy I'm in contact with (Chetry) hasn't floated most of the Malikha river downstream. While he thought it would be "boring" probably based on the short upper section that he's familiar with, he apparently hasn't viewed the Google Earth imagery of the river farther downstream, which shows much more whiteater action, especially in the initial 220 km. Also, he doesn't have much experience with long rafting trips. I estimate the river to be class II and III difficulty in general, with one or two IVs, and with long sections of pretty mellow water, especially in the lower parts. It should be very clean and beautiful passing much of the way in a canyon/gorge, but with some huge beaches in places.The end of the trip is a litlte past the Maykha River confluence where it becomes the Irrawaddy. The trip on the water would be about 12 days with maybe 3 days getting in there, rigging, hiking around a bit near the put-in. We would buy provisions/etc in Myitkyina. You should note that political circumstances can change. For example the Kachin area was closed to tourists over a year ago (ethnic conflict), but is open again as of last year (according to Chetry).
Maykha River
The other main upper branch of the Irrawaddy is the Maykha River, which has a much higher gradient in steeper/higher mountain, and many more rapids. This is a pristine river but the access is more difficult with no roads to the put-in points. The total length from the Pannadin put-in to Myitkyina is 337 km (209 miles), dropping from 940 m to 135 m elevation (2.4 m/km or 13 ft/mile; but with 2.9 m/km or 16 ft/mile in the initial 220 km to Chipwi) with estimated January flows of 3000 cfs near the start (after confluence with the main source stream from Tibet) to 12000 cfs to just before the Maykha confluence. I spoke to Scott Lindgren about it last year at the C&K awards - he did the first descent of this river about 10 years ago and he thought it would be a great raft trip. There are definitely lots of class III and IV rapids. It was even listed as a commercial trip for $8000 but I don't think any such trips ever materialized. It can still be viewed as an offering at least at two websites (MyanmarTravel; and Ultimate Descents). While I would prefer to float this river, it would be extra challenging due to the rapids and also would involve a 20-30 km trek to the put-in with all the rafting gear, which can be tough. So it wouldn't be the more relaxing GC-style trip that appeals to a lot of folks. You can see the GE trace and a little video of some less-than-competent Russians running the tougest rapids on this river (in what was probably the second descent) at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBcsW2D83KM
Nujiang-Salween
The biggest river in Myanmar and one of the most intriguing to paddle is the Salween. It flows through roadless canyon nearly its entire 1100 km length in the country, and although a huge river, has very low gradient and only occasional rapids. But interestingly, the rapids continue to within 150 km of the mouth, with a big set at the end. Flows at the mouth range from ~50000 cfs at the end of the dry season (Apr) to 350000 cfs in the rainy season (Sep), while at its entrance from China it flows between ~20000 cfs (Apr) to ~140000 cfs (Aug). The river forms the border with China in the uppermost part, and the border with Thailand for a long section farther down. The whole river - or just various sections - would be fun to float, but whether tourists are permitted to do so is questionable. I'm not even sure anyone has ever rafted the entire river. The entire 1100 km need not be done in one trip - it is possible to float sections of it.
While I'm looking into paddling the entire Salween in Myanmar, another section that I'm looking into doing is the part of the river in China that flows into Myanmar - which would be a convenient trip since the rafts and other gear will be coming from China (Guangzhou) anyway. There's a very nice-looking 313-km (195 mile) section starting at the city of Nujiang and going down to the border. We would continue 109 km into Myanmar to a road bridge. These sections might even be a first descents. It is possible to start a bit closer to the border as well, near the Baoshan highway bridge. The first section from Nujiang to Baoshan highway bridge is 126 km with 1.2 m/km gradient (7 ft/mile) and lots of rapids but a road nearby. The second 187 km section to the Myanmar border has 0.76 m/km (4 ft/mile) gradient but still lots of rapids in the lower part and not much road nearby. The final 109 km section in Myanmar has 0.82 m/km (5 ft/mile) gradient and good rapids. Flows would be ~20000 cfs in January - lowest water of the year. I attached the GE traces of these sections below.
There are some issues to overcome with doing this trip, the most difficult of which are making sure we can get passport entries for the cross-border trip, and getting the permits from local authorities to float the river there (a long time ago I was in contact with White Pearl about this - I'm in contact with another Chinese boater in Yunnan now). Consider this something I'm just looking into that you can take a peek into about as well. Once finished with this trip, we'd be close to Myitkyina where we would go for the ~12 day raft trip on the Malikha River. You can read a little about the sections just upstream at the following website (but note that we would be starting at the end of or after this section, so no expected class Vs):
http://www.shangri-la-river-expeditions.com/1stdes/salween/salween1996.html