Page 152 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

150 SoutheaStern MyanMar ThaTon
Sunrise, and the standard rooms ($40) only have shared hotel offers the same level of comfort and service as its
bathrooms. $40 sister property, Mountain Top, but with a less convenient
★ Golden Sunrise Golden Rock Rd T09 598 723 301, location and correspondingly lower prices. Make sure
Wgoldensunrisehotel.com. Located in a peaceful garden you get off the truck at Yathetaun truck stop, otherwise you
a 10min walk down the road from Kyaikhto, Golden face a long and very steep descent with your bags. Closed
Sunrise’s creative rooms and common areas incorporate lots May–Oct. $90
of natural features, and the gardens are filled with Mountain Top Near the Foreigners’ Registration
twittering birds. There’s a pleasant, rustic-looking Office T09 871 8392, Wmountaintop-hotel.com.
restaurant on site. $47 With comfortable, nicely designed rooms arranged on a
Sea Sar Just off the main road T09 425 353 566. steep slope, sunrise views over blue-green mountains
Tucked away behind Sea Sar restaurant and set around a and a pretty garden restaurant, this hotel is
lawn, the bungalows here are clean, decent and certainly understandably popular with well-heeled foreign
better value than some of the budget competition. travellers. $135
However, the cheapest rooms are in a separate block just Yoe Yoe Lay Mountaintop plaza T09 872 3082,
down the road. These have fans and cold-water bathrooms Wyoeyoelayhotel.com. On the opposite side of the plaza
3 only – and plenty of grime. No discount for single to the main approach, close to the Golden Rock itself, this is
occupancy. $15 the cheapest foreigner-friendly accommodation in the
area. The least expensive doubles are laughably small, with
ON THE MOUNTAIN shared bathrooms and no windows, and at night the rush
Golden Rock Near Yathetaun truck stop T09 871 of pilgrims and the loud chanting can make it noisy – but
8391, Wgoldenrock-hotel.com. Set in lush grounds then you did come to Golden Rock for the pilgrims. Closed
a 45min walk downhill from the mountaintop, this May–Oct. $84
eatInG
Kinpun has plenty of eating options, most of them touristy Burmese–Chinese places lining the road to the trail. Locals
gravitate towards the small restaurants away from the main junction. As you might expect, food options on the
mountain are more expensive and limited than in Kinpun. The cheapest are the canteens that cluster between the Golden
Rock and Kann Pa Sat, but there are one or two more interesting options around.
KINPUN ON THE MOUNTAIN
Kaung San Kyaiktiyo Rd T057 23671. On the path A1 Opposite the Foreigners’ Registration Office. With
leading to the mountain, Kaung San serves up tasty tables dotted around a pleasant tree-filled yard, A1 serves
Burmese and Chinese dishes. Although the service can up decently priced Burmese soups and salads, along with
be a bit brusque, their jin thouq (ginger salad) is Chinese stir-fries. A meal will set you back around K3000.
excellent. Prices for hot dishes start at K1500. Daily No alcohol. Daily 6am–9pm.
6am–9pm. Mountain Top Restaurant Mountain Top hotel T09
Mya Yeik Nyo Overlooking the truck terminal. One of 871 8392. With white tablecloths, candles and a wine list, the
Kinpun’s more atmospheric restaurants (thanks to their patio here may feel a tad incongruous with the setting, but it’s
romantic lighting), with friendly staff and good food. the most appealing place to eat on the mountain. The dishes
A Burmese curry and rice set costs K3000, with other dishes on their Burmese–Western menu start at $6, and a full three-
starting from K2000. Daily 4am–9pm. course meal will set you back around $20. Daily 6am–10pm.

Thaton

Formerly an important Indian Ocean seaport and capital of a tenth-century Mon
kingdom (see p.358), THATON is a sleepy little place today. With the port silted up
for centuries and the city walls long gone, all that remains of Thaton’s past is a
collection of inscribed tablets discovered in the precincts of the main, and
impressively large, pagoda, Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda. Nonetheless, Thaton is still a
rewarding place to spend the day wandering through its neat streets and poking
around the lively market, part of the attraction being that very few foreigners stop
here. Energetic types may wish to climb up the covered staircase to Mya Thapaint

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