Page 175 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

Myeik and around SoutheaStern MyanMar 173
hilltop pagoda and busy waterfront, Myeik is at the very least an interesting
place to explore. Entire neighbourhoods are given over to drying fish and the
making of ngapi (fermented fish paste), and you’ll have the chance to poke
around nearby shipyards and cashew-nut factories – although you’ll need a guide
to find most places.
It sprawls around the estuary of the Tanintharyi River, with Strand Road looking
out over the busy waterways to the Twin Islands (Padaw Taung and Pathet Taung),
now linked by reclaimed land and home to a large fish factory. As interesting as the
town of Myeik is, the real reason people come here is for the Myeik Archipelago to
the south (see p.174). These islands have been tempting explorers and adventurers
for decades, but until very recently they’ve remained largely out of bounds to
foreigners. Now, permit restrictions have been lifted and the first stirrings of a
tourist industry are emerging – although much of the archipelago remains very
difficult and expensive to get to.

Brief history 3
Like most of Tanintharyi, Myeik (formerly known as Mergui) was part of the Bagan
Empire until its collapse in 1287. From then until the mid-eighteenth century, the
town belonged to Siam, with a few short interludes of Burmese rule. The port
flourished as result of its location, poised between the Indian Ocean and the South
China Sea. Traders would travel from Myeik up the Tanintharyi River to
Tanintharyi town (the town, river and region all share the same name), 80km to
the southeast, and across the hills to Siam proper. After the Konbaung dynasty
sacked Ayutthaya in 1767, Myeik returned to Burmese rule, until the British
annexation of Tanintharyi in 1826.
(1km)
EATING MYEIK
Shwe Mon Family Restaurant 2
Shwe Yar Su 1 STRAND ROAD B ROAD C ROAD Yay Kan
Padaw Taung Dolphin Guesthouse 3 Baung
ACCOMMODATION
Eain Taw Phyu 2 Morning
Grand Jade 4 Bird's-nest Market
house
Kyal Pyan Hotel 1
White Pearl Guesthouse 5 MYIT NG E STREET
B ROAD
Ta n i n t h a r y i R i v e r STRAND ROAD Market C ROAD Clocktower Bus station SAGAWAR ROAD Myanmar (2km), (2.5km), & Bus Station (3km), Airport (4km) & Dawei (260km)
National
offices
Airlines
K A N P H Y A R R O A D
Main
BOGYOKE ROAD
Sun Far
KBZ Bank
Travels
Theindawgyi
PYI TAWTAR ST
Main N
Pathet Taung CHINTHE THONE AGD Bank Former District
Jetty
Commissioner’s Office
Night
Market KAUNG STREET Independence
Monument
STRAND ROAD BOGYOKE ROAD YOKE TAUNG STREET SAGAWAR ROAD 0 200
metres

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