Page 170 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

168 SoutheaStern MyanMar ThanbyuzayaT and around
chapel, and must instead use a designated “Lady Worship Area” to the side of the
main one.
arrIVaL anD DeParture KyaIKKaMI
By bus and pick-up Buses to Kyaikkami depart from (K1000; hourly; 3hr). From Thanbyuzayat, pick-ups leave
outside Mawlamyine’s main market, on Lower Main Rd from the clocktower (K300; hourly; 1hr).

Ye

The quiet, rural town of YE is a surprising little place. It’s well off the usual
tourist trail, and while you can tick off its major sights in a day, it’s worth staying
a little longer to devote time to more relaxed pastimes, like cycling out into
the countryside.
The town centres on an attractive lake, which you can circumnavigate in half an hour
3 or so. At one end, a small footbridge leads to a temple that’s been suspended on stilts
over the water. Locals visit the lake each evening to feed handfuls of multicoloured
popcorn to hundreds of large carp, which gather in swarming masses with their mouths
agape, like shoals of toothless piranhas.
Ye is only a short way inland from the coast, but its beaches tend to be shallow and
slightly muddy – if you’re desperate to lay out your beach towel, keep heading south
towards Dawei and Myeik.
Ko Yin Lay
• Daily 6am–7pm • Free • Motorbike taxi from Ye K35,000
A twenty-minute drive north of Ye is Ko Yin Lay, a low hill otherwise known as
“Banana Mountain”. While it doesn’t have as many banana plants as the name
suggests, it does have four very large sitting Buddha statues arranged around a tower
– and an equally large reclining version was under construction at the time of
research. The sitting Buddha statues are hollow, and you can climb the nine flights
of stairs inside for lovely views out over the surrounding countryside. There are
several other smaller temples on the same site.
arrIVaL anD DeParture ye
By bus Buses to Ye will drop you off at the bus station, a By train There’s one very slow train to Dawei per day at
K500 motorbike taxi ride from the town centre. 10.30am, and just two trains per day to Mawlamyine.
Destinations Dawei (4 daily; 4hr); Mawlamyine Destinations Dawei (daily; 8–10hr); Mawlamyine
(8 daily; 4hr). (2 daily; 6hr).
aCCoMMoDatIon
May Shan II Guest House Strand Rd T09 870 1427. Starlight is a league above everything else in Ye. The
You should only come here as a last resort, as this lakeside small rooms are painted in calming buttercup colours
guesthouse is a bit overpriced. Rooms with shared and have pretty bunches of flowers. Breakfast each
bathrooms cost less at K15,000, but all of them look older morning on the terrace overlooking the lake is a delight.
than they are. The sign outside is in Burmese script only, A huge amount of travel-related information is available
and breakfast isn’t included. K35,000 here, and staff can organize day-trips to nearby beaches,
Starlight Guest House Strand Rd T09 2557 13253, villages, mangrove swamps and other attractions. Book
Wstarlight-guesthouse.com. Run by Dave, an ahead. K30,000
American, and his charming local wife, the welcoming
eatInG
Rot Sar Restaurant Strand Rd. Tasty and spicy Thai– stir-fried vegetable dish (mains K15,000) will provide
Burmese dishes are served up in this very simple, fairy almost an entire garden’s worth of greens – and certainly
light-illuminated setting beside the tranquil lake. The your five a day. Daily 9am–9pm.

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