Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
West of Yangon stretches Myanmar's Delta region, an endless swathe of pancake-flat,
emerald-green paddy fields irrigated by the waters of the Ayeyarwady and its innu-
merable tributaries, which empty through thousands of mangrove-fringed creeks into
the waters of the Andaman Sea. Lying just a few metres above sea level, the Delta's
richalluvialsoilsareamongMyanmar'smostagriculturallyproductive,whileitsrivers
provide much of the country's fishing catch.
Despite its economic importance, most of the region remains firmly off the tourist trail, with
hardly any foreign visitors getting past the region's enjoyable capital,
Pathein
, and its two
nearby beach resorts - the cheerful, local-leaning village of
Chaung Tha
and the more up-
Further north up the coast, remote
Rakhine State
(also spelt “Rakhaing”) was formerly the
independent kingdom of
Arakan
and preserves a strong sense of its own identity, culture
and history quite separate from the Bamar mainstream. As with the Delta, the state remains
largely unexplored by foreigners save for a pair of headline attractions: the seductive beach
of
Ngapali
and the remarkable temple-town of
Mrauk U
(reached from boat via the absorb-
ing but troubled city of
Sittwe
).
MuchoftheDeltawasdevastatedin2008when
CycloneNargis
rippedthroughthedensely
populated flatlands, leaving around 130,000 people dead and at least a million homeless, al-
thoughsurprisinglylittlephysicalevidenceofthecyclone'sdestructivepassagenowremains.
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
All the areas covered in this chapter are fully open to foreign visitors except for a few ex-
tremelyremoteareasinthefarnorthof
RakhineState
closetotheborderwithBangladesh,
which require a permit to visit.
