Page 178 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

176 SoutheaStern MyanMar Myeik and around
THE BIRDS
at dusk each day, clouds of swiftlets stream into an anonymous house on Strand road. The
suburban-looking home, its windows boarded over, is home to a bird’s-nest farm – one of
Myeik’s weirdest industries. The story goes that a flock of swifts moved into the roof of the
house. The entrepreneurial owner, realizing the value of his new tenants, moved out and
turned his house into a man-made “cave”, where the swifts could build their valuable nests, and
he could sell them to Chinese gourmands keen to enjoy a bowl of bird’s-nest soup.
Landlords hoping to repeat his success have built structures without windows to replicate
the darkness of the birds’ natural homes, and play recordings of swifts’ calls each day around
dusk, which you’ll hear throughout Myeik and kawthaung, in the hope of attracting the birds.

for Bond-style glamour. No Myanmar visa necessary. $100 Myanmar Andaman Resort Macleod Island
Boulder Bay Eco Resort Boulder Island T01 380382, T09 797 627 627, Wwww.myanmarandamanresort
Wboulderasia.com. Newly opened eco-resort in the .com. Designed along eco-lodge lines, this attractive
3 southern part of the archipelago. The cottages here are small hotel and its established dive centre offer beach
understated and comfortable, while the beach out front is bliss. Accommodation is either in luxurious cottages or
worthy of a hundred stars. Activities on offer include in even more impressive rooms ($360), and rates
diving, snorkelling, village visits and island hopping. Closed include transfers, meals and most activities. Closed
May–Oct. $480 May–Oct. $300
eatInG
Each evening a night market sets up on Strand Road south of the boat jetty from 5–10pm. It’s an attractive place to eat,
with views out to the Twin Islands, and the food is mostly focused on skewers, fried rice and salads – a meal will cost
around K2000. There’s also a small morning market (daily 6–11am) off C Rd, just south of the Kyal Pyan hotel. Dodge
your way past the fish-sellers at the entrance and you’ll find a range of delicious snacks on sale – try the kawb moun, a
coconut-heavy batter cooked in an iron bowl until the edges are crispy and the centre is still moist.
Shwe Mon Family Restaurant Chinthe Thone Shwe Yar Su Strand Rd, 1km north of the town centre
Kaung St. A traditional Burmese curry buffet is on offer T05 941986. This is a well-regarded seafood restaurant
all day, every day here, but you’ll need to arrive early to and beer station, with a menu that basically comprises
have much of a choice. Their pennywort salad is every creature that’s ever paddled in the ocean. Among the
excellent, and a curry and rice combo will cost around more unusual offerings are giant mantis prawns and
K2000. Daily 10am–8pm. horseshoe crab eggs. Mains K2000–6000. Daily 3–11pm.
DIreCtory
Banks There’s a branch of AGD Bank on Bogyoke Rd, near exchange. KBZ Bank on Pyi Tawtar St also has an ATM.
the Independence Monument, with ATM and foreign

Kawthaung

If you’re in KAWTHAUNG, in the extreme south, you are likely to be focused either on
getting to Thailand or starting the long journey north to Yangon. The small town isn’t
especially exciting, but there are a few things to see if you find yourself stuck here
between connections.
While Kawthaung’s outskirts sprawl along the coastline, the centre of town is
compact and easy to navigate on foot. As you arrive at the jetty you’ll see the
clocktower, 100m inland – Airport Road curves uphill southwest of here, and the main
market sits a block to the north. It’s possible to stroll around the southernmost point of
mainland Myanmar at Bayinnaung Point (originally named Victoria Point by the
British, and renamed after the Burmese king who sacked Ayutthaya in 1564) and to
the north of town is the 555 Viewpoint, which offers great views of the islands and away
across the border to Ranong.

138-177_Myanmar_B2_Ch3.indd 176 30/06/17 2:20 pm