An Update on Myanmar and the Beaches in Myanmar: Ngapali and Ngwe Saung: My Trip: December 2006 – January 2007
(an update for Mazzaroo who had requested it).
My trip to Myanmar over the holiday period, December 06 – January 07 was wonderful. I flew to Rangoon via Singapore. From Singapore I took the budget airline Jetstar. A two hour flight was pleasant with reasonably good food on the flight. The airline was however quite strict about the weight (especially of the hand luggage). I was 3 kgms over and my son was 1 kgms over and I was fined for the excess and our hand luggage taken into the hold(after taking out my cameras and any other valuable or fragile items – after which my hold-all was practically empty!!). We arrived in time, around 10:00 am. There wasn’t much hassle with regards the formalities at the airport; quite straight –forward. There were separate booths for Burmese Passport Holders and for the other Passport Holders. No need to change your USD 200 as before. It is a bit chaotic once you get to the hall at the Arrival Building with many wanting to help you with your luggage or get you a taxi. One needs to keep an eye on the luggage and be polite but firm if you don’t need a taxi. If you need a taxi, be polite, firm and be prepared to bargain. There are many many offers.
Money: I budgeted at USD1 = Kyats 1000.00 (actually, I got USD1 = K1275.00)
American dollars in large denominations, at least $ 50 but preferably $100 notes in mint or very near mint conditions of the latest issue as possible, described as “the large head” - the larger portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the $100 note as opposed to the previous issues with the smaller portrait of the same gentleman [known as “the small head”]. Euro’s and Singapore Dollars are acceptable, but more difficult to transact. The UK pound is calculated at ￡1 = 1.5 USDollars! and you would still find it even more difficult to transact. Don’t even think about dumping other currencies either.
While flights and hotels are charged in US Dollars, for food and drinks (unless you prefer to eat and drink only at the hotels - which charge in USD) and other transport you would be transacting in Kyats (K).
Yangon: Patches of Yangon can be dark at night – power shortages! I wouldn’t elaborate more because other than there are now much fewer military cars and army personnel about the city (they’ve all moved up north to Nay Pyi Daw) it hadn’t changed much, apart from the prices which had climbed from 5 to 6 figures. Still the busy major economic hub of Myanmar. I guess it will become the New York if the Nay Pyi Daw is to be Washington DC. In any case, Yangon has history, The Shwedagon Pagoda, the Sule Pagoda, the Kaba Aye Pagoda and other historically and culturally significant pagodas and sights.
Ngapali: On the West Coast of Burma on the Bay of Bengal/Indian Ocean in the Rakhine State. It is about an hour’s flight from Rangoon.
It is very picturesque with clear – very very clear blue waters, fine white sands with palms and some mangrove trees. The beach has a very gentle, even and regular inclination with groups of rocky outcrops which adds to the beauty of the beach as well as making interesting features. The rocky out-crops happens to be in groups so you get wide stretches of sandy shore in between. Fun to explore when the tide’s out. Especially early in the morning after the tide’s been in, when it is strewn with sea shells!. An amazing sight when compared to the beaches in Thailand which are commonly strewn with modern paraphernalia, such as broken bottles, coke cans, paper, tissues, condoms etc.
At the top end (northern end) is a cliff projecting out to the sea, marking the boundary from further beach -stretches northwards, but with shorter stretches of sand. Towards the southern end is an isthmus of beach to a small “island” known as the Paradise Island where you can walk across when the tide is out to chill out, have a drink etc. Now there is a short bridge across the deeper end. 2 years ago, they didn’t and I thought it was fun. when the tide’s out it would be about knee deep! Now, you still have to wade across the shallower part to get to the bridge. Then there is the fishing village beyond where (if you can get up early in the morning to walk there) you can buy fish etc to have a barbecue!
Ngaplai is still the place where you just go to chill out. Completely. Swim, eat, drink and do nothing. Just lying in the shade of the mangrove/palm trees in the breeze in the middle of the day itself made it worthwhile! No cars, no clubs and pubs, no discos. There is one speedboat belonging to the Bayview 5* Hotel (I learnt no more is allowed, to date!) You can get a boat to go to off shore islands to snorkel or dive.
Best to try and get the first flight out from Rangoon. I got the 10:00am flight with Air Mandalay. There are earlier flights as early as 07:30am, depending on the day of travel. Then get the last flight out when you leave!
Hotel: I stayed at the Ngapali Beach Hotel. Having stayed there before, it is almost at the center of the beach; and has the best beach to swim. Being equidistant to either ends of the beach which itself is very long,, we walked to one end one day and to the other end another day. Now there are 2 (later going to be 3-4) additional hotels, nearer in the vicinity (previously, the hotels are quite a distance apart). I checked out the Thande Ngapali Hotel and the Aureum Hotel. Both on the same beach as the one I was staying. I would recommend them all. The two additions (Thande and the Aureum) being brand new (both just opened this December) are definitely more plush with swimming pools. All were around $100 - $115 per night per room. Not per person. Each room will accommodate very comfortably 2 – 3. We had one room for the 3 18 year old lads at the Ngapali. (It was a twin bedded room but they just shoved a couple of mattresses on top of each other into on end of the room- making a very comfortable bed; and still have ample room) If I had warned them earlier, there are rooms with a double and a single bed in them to accommodate 3.
[Personally, if I had to make a choice, and the Ngapali Beach Hotel wasn’t available, I would opt for Thande. I’ve had experience of staying at their Old Bagan Thande Hotel in Bagan. Their service had been flawless. Not that the Ngapali Beach Hotel has something to complain about, well, having well established long time ago, the new ones now have swimming pools, that’s all; and I hadn’t realised they had opened a branch in Ngapali, for this vacation. Price? Yes, The NBH, Thande and the Aureum were around $100 - $115 marks; the others in Ngapali were around $200+ mark, some with golf courses attached come well priced!!]
Oh, I once stayed at the very plush 5* Bayview Hotel – around $90.00 at the time was quite expensive in 2000. Now it is well above that figure. Very nice hotel, but the beach in front could not beat the beach in front of NBH. It is nevertheless very very popular with the tourists, and can be difficult to get rooms there. You do get to hire the one and only speed boat in Ngapali or the sail catamaran.
Note: If you book through a Travel Agent, like I did, you can get them even cheaper [NBH for us was $90 per room per night- high/peak season]
Flight: About US$ 90 each way between Yangon and Ngapali; booked through my Travel Agent.
Ngwe Saung: On the same coastline with Ngapali, but much further south. While Ngapali is in the Rakhine State, Ngwe Saung is in the Irrawaddy Delta region. Similar blue waters, clear; white but slightly darker sandy beach; very little rocky outcrops, Palm-lined coast. Pictureque, but I wouldn’t say it rivals Ngapali. One white sand stretch of palm-lined beach with no features is how I would describe it. The shore was also erratic in that although it does have a good stretch of gentle inclination it can suddenly drop away (points marked with floating bouys). The direction of the currents is also such that in Ngapali the currents are towards the beach; whereas in Ngwe Saung, by nature of the region being a bay, the currents have turned around when it reaches Ngwe Saung and flow out to the sea. So Ngwe Saung has been noted for the “waters dragging you away from the beach” as the tide comes in. An important point for beginners swimming there!! (There are warning signs on the beach)
Getting there: Getting there was a point of contention for me. There said to be plans for an airport; but at present it is a 5 hour journey by car or coach from Yangon crossing the Rahkhine Yomas. Much of the way was smooth, but there are tracts of bumpy rides! Would I go again? Yes, with a group – like with a group of friends. Alone? I’ll think about it. Perhaps if I’m feeling contemplative; or fancy a cross mountain journey. I’d rather get to the beach in an hour if possible! (Mind you, the flight time is expected to be 30-40 minutes once the airport has been built – unbuckle your seat belt soon after you’ve buckled up, I suppose) There are flights offered at the moment – to Pathein (the nearest city) but beware, you’ll still have an additional 2 and 1/2 hour by car/coach across the mountain!!
Hotel I went there with friend s and stayed at the Sunny Paradise Resort. Much, much cheaper than Ngapali at about $60 - $65 per room per night. Full facilities: swimming pool, bar, restaurant etc. Very plush, built amongst the palm trees. Very beautiful and idyllic. Good food as well! But we normally go out into the village to eat.
Inference: Many locals go to Ngwe Saung for their beach holidays; a lot from Yangon as you might have guessed. They go in groups. Ngwe Saung developed a few years ago and is in vogue at the moment. (There is another, just north of Ngwe Saung, called Chaung Tha. It was developed earlier than Ngwe Saung; but I’d been advised to avoid it. Apparently it’s become too crowded. )With food and drink the same price between Ngapali and Ngwe Saung, Ngapali is considerably more expensive on the whole, taking flights and its’ hotel costs into consideration. There are a number of tourists from France, Italy, Germany, some from UK in Ngwe Saung. If you’re thinking of buying some souvenirs, people in Ngapali have had years of experience in dealing with the tourists and their dollars!!
In both places, you get peace and quiet. Yes the beach is also beautiful in Ngwe Saung. In both places, you have to look hard to find your hotel, hidden amongst the palm and mangrove trees, coming in from your boat trip. Chill out, cool out completely. No cars, no noisy motorbikes. No speed boats. No clubs and bars (However, I have a feeling Ngwe Saung actually have that feeling, that impression, that it does have more chances bars could develop there in the near future if they are not careful of what they are letting themselves into). No light or sound pollutions at night. Sit on the beach in the breeze and see if you can make out the constellations above. The MilkyWay is amazingly clear and awe-inspiring; I’d say majestic! A small point, Ngwe Saung doesn’t seem to have that much seashells as Ngapali. Why? I think it is because of the nature of the beach. Whereas the beach in Ngapali slopes gently to the sea, the beach in Ngwe Saung just drops off at points! It’s easy for the seashells to be washed on to the Ngapali Beach.
My recent visit to Yangon, Ngapali %26amp; Ngwe Saung in MyanmarExcellent report, even for those who%26#39;ve been there many times. We left Ngapali four years ago because it was getting too crowded. Ngwe Saung is more our speed (stopped still). We stayed at the Treasure Beach for two years, but are moving to the Palm Beach this year because they need the business, the food is more varied and local, the management is adorable and there is no one. We assume this year it will even be quieter. But the Treasure Beach is as good as anything in Thailand. If you get tired of hotel food there are several local restaurants in the village which are unbelievably good and inexpensive, but very, very simple. Activities? Like you say: for an exciting day you walk from one end of the beach to the other. For a really exciting day you watch pickup soccer on the beach. For the equivalent of the Grand Prix, you can watch the fishermen and their friends and relations haul in the nets at the end of an afternoon. But with the palms and the breeze and the endless sands, the sparkling sea and the frog and cricket song-filled velvet nights, all mod. con. and rum at less than a dollar a quart, it sure beats anything else we%26#39;ve found.
My recent visit to Yangon, Ngapali %26amp; Ngwe Saung in Myanmar
First of all, thanks for your feed back and visiting our country again.
Ngwe Saung have more activity than Ngapali. In Ngwe Saung , you can go for elephant drive, scuba diving and government allow for Speed boats , water motorcycle etc . In Ngapali, these are not allowed. Soon, Ngwe Saung will busy like Thailand beach and Ngapali will remain at quiet beach.
GREAT report - esp. useful for someone planing a first trip to Burma.
All useful info - now all I got to do is find an airline that flys direct !!!
Qatar Air used to have direct flights to Yangon... The best you will find now is via Bangkok, KL, Singapore, Hong Kong, Incheon, Kolcata, Kunming.. and a few other cities in Asia.. But none from Europe.
Esorlegin.
Think the chances of getting an airline that goes direct from Conway area is a bit slim - unless you cross the bridge and ask the nice RAF guys at Valley to give you a lift ( 6 or more in-flight refueling sessions on the way).
Shame about Qatar Air - informed opinion says that these flights (which were usually quite busy) were stopped, not for ';commercial reasons'; BUT because of pressure from Bush!
Seriously- my preferred flight is LHR/BKK/RGN with Thai.The two daily Yangon flights are designed to link up with the European flights with just a few hours wait.
Just booked my flights to Yangon for end December - seems a long way away but starting the booking procedure seems to make the time go faster
- now for the hotels........
Hi Silver
LOL :) that did make me smile about RAF Valley.
I have already checked out MAN to BKK onto RGN - seems like the best choice as prices from Kl or Singapore jump quite a bit.
Have spoken to Qatar - the guy intimated that flights might resume once they are sure the %26#39;political unrest%26#39; has ended.
Qatar Air maintaines an office with ';skelleton staff'; in Yangon, so they have taken a bet each way. Not sure if they will sell you a Yangon ticket via Bangkok.
Airasia is the cheapest airline between these two cities. They have return tickets from 2800 Baht. (Less than 50 GBP)
Anyone with other experience on Bagan and Inle to share after September ?
Hi Everyone,
Many thanks for your responses and futher additional information and comments. (I%26#39;d posted it some time ago and I thought no one%26#39;s interested!) I%26#39;d love to go back again; and sure will do that (soon I hope). I%26#39;ll see if I can also get to Bagan and write something on it.
Khayeethe
Khayeethe
thanks for your great trip report ..its really inspired me to investigate further ...we are planning an extended family trip with 4 adults 2 teenage boys aged 18 and 16 and one nine year old over Christmas for 3 weeks ...I see from your report that you travelled with three 18 year olds... if you dont mind me asking how did they find it ? I%26#39;m a little concerened that the lack of entertainement outside of the Hotel might be a little stifling for them...and did they find enough to do during the day on the beach ? ..dont get me wrong neither of my boys are teenage party animals they%26#39;re quite happy to relax and chill just wanted to make sure they%26#39;re not going to get bored...me I could chill all year if allowed !
also is wine available and if so ..what kind of quality and what cost ? whats a G%26amp;T / Beer cost ? all vital info of course ! ...at the moment its a toss up between here or Thailand be interested to hear your thoughts ...
Thanks in advance
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