Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mawlamyine
Sandwiched between a ridge of pagoda-topped hills and the island-filled estuary of the
Thanlyin River,
MAWLAMYINE
is an absorbing place to spend a few days. With the town
centre dominated by a series of fascinating markets, the neighbourhoods beyond dotted with
neatchurchesandextravagantly crumbling
colonialmansions
(evenby1904Mawlamyine's
atmosphere was already described as being “one of decay” by a British travel writer, V.C.
Scott O'Connor), the town is a diverting place to explore. However, it would be a shame not
to venture into the surrounding region, whether to the picturesque island of
Bilu Kyun
or to
visit one of the unusual religious sites nearby. Finally, good travel connections make
Mawla-
myine
an excellent starting point for forays south to Tanintharyi, or north along the Thanlyin
River to Hpa-An in Kayin State.
Brief history
For much of its history, Mawlamyine was overshadowed by nearby Mottama (formerly
known as Martaban), which was a major Indian Ocean trade entrepôt until the mid-sixteenth
century. When the
British
annexed Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) after the First Anglo-Burmese
War, Mawlamyine - then little more than a fishing village known to the British as Moulmein
- was made capital of Lower Burma from 1827 to 1852. Located at the confluence of the
Thanlyin, Gyaing and Ataran rivers, with a sheltered harbour on the Andaman Sea, the city
becameawealthyteakportandhometoasubstantialBritishandAnglo-Burmesepopulation.
Several generations of writer
George Orwell
's family - including his mother - were born
andgrewupinthecity,butbythetimeOrwellhimselfarrivedherein1926tostaffthepolice
headquarters, its heyday was over and the timber mills and shipyards were closing down as
trade shifted to Yangon. The town became a popular retirement spot for British civil servants
