Page 102 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

100 The DelTa anD wesTern MyanMar
The Delta and western Myanmar

West of Yangon stretches Myanmar’s Delta region, an endless swathe of
pancake-flat, emerald-green paddy fields irrigated by the waters of the
Ayeyarwady and its innumerable tributaries, which empty through
2 mangrove-fringed creeks into the waters of the Andaman Sea. Lying just a
few metres above sea level, the Delta’s rich alluvial soils are among
Myanmar’s most agriculturally productive, while its rivers provide much of
the country’s fishing catch. Up the west coast, the land dries out and steep
mountains begin to form a natural barrier between the ocean and the Bamar
heartland. Here you’ll find some of the best beaches in the country, plus the
fascinating but troubled city of Sittwe. To the north lie the remarkable
fortified temples of Mrauk U and the wild Chin State – which is only now
opening to foreigners.
Much of the Delta was devastated in 2008 when Cyclone Nargis (see p.376) ripped
through the densely populated flatlands, leaving around 130,000 people dead and at
least a million homeless, although surprisingly little physical evidence of the cyclone’s
destructive passage now remains.
Most of the region remains firmly off the tourist trail despite its economic
importance, with hardly any foreign visitors getting past the region’s enjoyable capital,
Pathein, and its two nearby beach resorts – the cheerful, local-leaning village of Chaung
Tha and the more upmarket and foreigner-friendly Ngwe Saung.
Further north up the coast, remote Rakhine State (also spelled “Rakhaing”) was
formerly the independent kingdom of Arakan (see box, p.120) and preserves a
strong sense of its own identity, culture and history quite separate from the rest of
the country. As with the Delta, the state remains largely unexplored by foreigners
save for a pair of headline attractions: the seductive beach of Ngapali and the
remarkable temple-town of Mrauk U (which is reachable by boat via the absorbing
but unsettled city of Sittwe).
Northeast of Mrauk U lies the huge Chin State, which recently opened up for the
first time in decades to independent tourists. Remote, mountainous, forested and little
known, the largely Christian Chin State is a world away from the Bamar mainstream.
The Chin people who call the state’s steep valleys home are best known for their (now
obsolete) custom of tattooing spiderweb-like patterns onto the faces of women, but
there’s more than just ethnographical interest here. Mount Victoria (Nat Ma Taung)
is Myanmar’s highest mountain south of the Himalayas, and there are untold
possibilities for adventure tourism.

Travel restrictions p.103 Ngapali activities p.116
Mawdin Point p.105 Kings and crocodiles: a brief history of
Pathein parasols p.106 Arakan p.120
Meinmahla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary Rohingya repression in Rakhine p.121
p.108 Mrauk U: “Monkey Egg” p.124
Chaung Tha activities and excursions Exploring Mrauk U’s temples p.126
p.109 Chin village trips p.132
Ngwe Saung tours and activities p.110 Hiking between Mount Victoria and
Floating above Ngapali p.114 Mrauk U p.137

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