Page 166 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

164 SoutheaStern MyanMar Around MAwlAMyine
DIreCtory
Banks Mawlamyine has plenty of banks and ATMs, with Post office Mawlamyine’s large post office is housed in a
several on Strand Rd just south of the Mawlamyaing Strand building directly north of the State Governor’s offices on
Hotel, and more just north of Breeze Guesthouse. There is Baho St.
also an ATM at the Cinderella Hotel.

Around Mawlamyine
The countryside around Mawlamyine is full of quirky side-trips – Buddhist
Khayone Cave moonlights as a lively nat shrine; Bilu Kyun (“Ogre Island”)
contains nothing more fearsome than some really bad roads; and the vast,
unfinished Win Sein Taw Ya reclining Buddha seems more like a monk’s bid for
immortality than a holy shrine. Further afield, there’s the Thanbyuzayat war
cemetery and the remains of the infamous World War II “Death Railway”,
3 as well as the seaside pagoda at Kyaikkami.

Bilu Kyun

Despite its disquieting name, Ogre Island – Bilu Kyun – is actually something of a rural
idyll, rather than the haunt of man-eating giants. The largely Mon villages that dot this
bucolic 32km-long island are linked by a web of rutted tracks, with more buffalo carts
than cars. Islanders divide their time between fishing, growing rice and working in one
of many cottage industries, and it’s the chance to watch the latter that makes a visit
here so absorbing.
There are several stories behind how the island got its name – the most likely one is
that the head-hunting people who originally populated this area were pushed onto the
island by the arrival of the more sophisticated Mon, who (fearing their neighbour’s
proclivities) called it Ogre Island.
Workshops on the island produce a wide range of home-grown products, from
bamboo and banana-leaf hats to toddy (see box ooposite) and even rubber bands.
The small factories generally welcome visitors and there’s little pressure to buy, but as
most places are hard to find, it’s best to join a tour to get the most out of a day on the
island (see below).
At the time of research, a huge new bridge connecting Bilu Kyun with the southern
end of Mawlamyine was close to completion. Once finished, this island is likely to
change quickly.
arrIVaL anD DeParture BILu Kyun
Tours At the time of research it was not possible to stay on market. Ferries to Ka Lwi (Mon–Sat 2 daily; 1hr; K1500)
the island overnight. This, as well as the unreliable ferry at the northern tip of the island depart from the
timetable and slow island transport, means it’s probably northernmost of the two, while boats from the
best to sign up for the Breeze Guesthouse’s popular day- southern jetty head to Nat Hmaw (Mon–Sat 3 daily;
trip ($30pp, depending on group size), which takes in a 2hr; K2000), halfway down the island’s eastern shore.
good selection of the workshops and stops at a swimming An additional private ferry service operates every day
hole – all transport and food are also included. Most of the between the inconveniently located Chaungsone Jetty
mid-range hotels will be able to organize more flexible and Nat Hmaw.
private trips along the same lines, but you should agree a By long-tail boat There’s also a long-tail boat that sails
price in advance. straight across the channel to the island (daily 6am–6pm,
By ferry If you’re determined to make the trip yourself, departing when full; 20min; K3000) from a jetty on Strand
ensure you check the return ferry times in Mawlamyine Rd – the drawback here is that it drops you off at an
before you hop on a boat. Government ferries depart isolated section of the shore, rather than in a village, so
from one of the two jetties on Strand Rd next to the you’ll need your own transport from there.

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