THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Myanmar - page 159

fective alternative is to visit the Ngwe Saung Elephant Camp and then ask to be set down at
Ngwe Saung afterwards.
By boat Travelling to Ngwe Saung, a more comfortable (but considerably more expensive)
alternative to motorbike taxi is to charter a boat (K40,000-50,000 for up to five people; 2hr).
Notethatatpresentit'salotcheaper(fornoobviousreason)todothistripstartinginChaung
Tha compared to Ngwe Saung - ask at Mr George's or the Shwe Ya Minn hotel.
CHAUNG THA ACTIVITIES AND EXCURSIONS
There's a small selection of tours and activities to keep you occupied in Chaung Tha,
including various thrills-and-spills-style watersports , aimed mainly at visiting Burmese.
More interesting are local river and sea boat trips , perhaps in combination with a spot of
snorkelling at the small coral reef just offshore.
TOUR OPERATORS
Mr George Main Rd near Shwe Hin Tha hotel, towards the northwest end of the beach
09 4973 4562, [e-mail] ; daily 7am-10pm. Chaung Tha's long-
serving Mr Fixit. Services include bus ticket sales, bike (K2000/day) and motorbike
(K10,000/day) rental; snorkelling equipment rental (K2000/day) and a small book ex-
change. Also arranges tours and activities including snorkelling from shore (K1500pp),
mangrove, river and fishing-village boat trips (K30,000 for up to 5 people); all-day sea-
fishingtrips(K150,000forupto5people); andcookingclasses (K12,000/person),starting
with a 7am visit to market followed by four hours of cooking and eating. He also arranges
trips to Ngwe Saung elephant camp (K18,000/person, not including entrance and riding
fees) - you could ask to be dropped off at Ngwe Saung on your way back, which is a good
way of reaching the place. Alternatively, a day-trip to Ngwe Saung costs K60,000 (for up
to 5 people) by boat, or K13,000 by motorbike.
Shwe Ya Minn Hotel Main Rd 042 42126. Runs a wide range of boat trips featuring
fishing, snorkelling, river, mangrove and village tours. Half-day tours cost
K25,000-30,000 for a boat seating 1-5 people.
Water Sport Entertainment c/o the Lai Lai, Max, Golden Beach and New Chaung Tha
hotels 09 4480 27521. Providing splashtastic entertainment to Chaung Tha's Burmese
visitors including jet skiing, banana boating and various other activities involving being
dunked in the waves on various kinds of inflatables - wildly popular with locals.
ACCOMMODATION
ThereareloadsofplacestostayinChaungTha,butmostaredrabandpoorvalue.Weekends
cangetinsanely busy;thingsareslightly quieter,andrates morenegotiable, duringtheweek.
As with other places along the coast, the government electricity supply operates only from