Page 118 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

116 The DelTa anD wesTern MyanMar Ngapali aNd arouNd
NGAPALI ACTIVITIES
Various watersports can be arranged through Ngapali Water Sport Center (see below), and
you can also generally arrange snorkelling through some of the hotels for around K35,000 per
boat for a half day. The best area is thought to be around pearl island, at the southern end of
the beach, which has a good array of fish but hardly any coral. Some hotels can arrange other
activities like kayaking, boating and fishing, while local sailors also offer trips out to sea and
hang out on the stretch of beach between the Memento and Thande hotels. You’ll also find
2 various massage shacks here (around K8000/hr), but there’s very little privacy.
OPERATOR
Ngapali Water Sport Center Airport Rd T09 4957 trips (from $119 plus $25 equipment rental), as well as
7070, Wngapaliwatersport.com. Arranges diving snorkelling, kayaking, fishing and local tours.

★ Sandoway Resort On the hotel strip T043 come with a hefty surcharge, and there are no in-room
42233, Wsandowayresort.com. One of Ngapali’s TVs), while the superb facilities include one of the
longest-running places, open fifteen years but still biggest and nicest pools in Ngapali, as well as an
looking minty fresh. The resort feels like a miniature attractive library, spa and beachfront restaurant. There is
self-contained village, full of twists and turns amid the also a superb little in-house cinema. To top it all off,
densely tree-studded grounds. There’s a range of you’ll struggle to find a more perfect stretch of beach
attractively furnished rooms (as usual, sea-view rooms than the one out front. Closed May–Oct. $200
eaTInG
There’s plenty of seafood in Ngapali and it’s generally pretty good, but if you want more local Burmese dishes, then
prepare for something very bland and lacklustre because most places are catering purely to a tourist market. There are
plenty of restaurants along the main road, which are mostly small, family-run affairs without much to distinguish one
from another. For something a bit different, you could try the cluster of impromptu beach-bar shacks and little wooden
cafés strung out on the beach between the Memento Resort and Thande hotel, which are particularly pretty after dark.
Best One Mya Pyin T043 42042. There’s a fairly classic with lemon leaves and assorted coconut-flavoured curries.
selection of seafood available here, but it’s cooked with a Mains K4000–5000. Daily 8am–10pm.
little more attention to detail than elsewhere and served Pleasant View Restaurant Mya Pyin T043 42224,
with more panache. If you need a break from rice, opt for Wpvrngapali.com. Ngapali’s most appealing restaurant is
the tuna steak with home-made chips. Mains K4000– set on a little rocky islet just offshore, and is connected to
5000. Daily 9am–9.30pm. the beach by a short wooden bridge – sometimes, getting
Excellence Lin Thar T043 42249. This is a big, attractive here involves wading through a few centimetres of water
wooden pavilion restaurant with friendly service and a when the tide is coming in, though a free boat is provided
typical Ngapali menu focusing on fish – mainly Burmese- when the water gets too high. Food is a bit pricey (most
style, but with a few Thai dishes and token Western options mains K5500–8000) but generally good, featuring a mix of
(mains around K3000). The set three-course fish menus Burmese, Thai, Chinese and Western dishes (fish and
(K7000) are guaranteed crowd-pleasers. Daily 7am–10pm. seafood only). Daily 9am–9pm.
Htay Htay’s Kitchen Lin Thar T043 42081. A bit more Two Brothers Mya Pyin, opposite the Amata Resort T09
stylish than other places hereabouts, this place comes 4965 3655. Cute little rattan-roofed restaurant with friendly
complete with romantically moody lighting and flowers on service and a menu bursting with assorted seafood, including
tables. The seafood-leaning menu features the usual Thai lobster, crab, oyster, squid, prawns, octopus and other fruits of
and Chinese dishes, along with a good selection of Burmese the waves. Mains are generally K4000–5000, though there
options ranging from smoked fish soup to fishball salad are some more expensive seafood options. Daily 6am–9pm.
DrInKInG
Memento Resort Main Rd. The breezy little outlet here Yé Hlay Bar Aureum Palace Hotel, Main Rd. Cute bar in an
(raised on stilts over the beach) is a pleasant spot for a drink old wooden boat right next to the sand. The drinks list features
– and a lot cheaper than many other places along the sand. cocktails only, for a pricey K7000, but you can get two-for-one
Daily 8am–10pm. deals during the daily 5–7pm happy hour. Daily 2–10pm.
FROM TOP NGAPALI BEACH (P.113); MRAUK U FERRY (P.133) >

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