Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BIRDS
Atduskeachday,cloudsofswiftletsstreamintoananonymoushouseonStrandRoad.The
suburban-looking home, its windowsboarded over,ishome toa
bird's-nestfarm
-oneof
Myeik'sweirdestindustries.Thestorygoesthataflockofswiftsmovedintotheroofofthe
house. The entrepreneurial owner, realizing the value of his new tenants, moved out and
turnedhishouseintoaman-made“cave”,wheretheswiftscouldbuildtheirvaluablenests,
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 in some places built structures without win-
dows 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.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: MYEIK
By plane
Myeik's airport, 4km to the east of the town, has daily flights to Yangon (stopping
briefly in Dawei) and Kawthaung. Tickets are available from the Sun Far Travels office on
Pyi Tawtar St ( 059 41160,
sunfartravels.com
)
- the Yangon Airways office is near here
too. Air KBZ, Air Mandalay, Myanma Airways and Yangon Airways operate daily flights to
Yangon, Dawei and Kawthaung.
Destinations
Dawei (4 daily; 45min); Kawthaung (4 daily; 45min); Yangon (4 daily; 2hr).
By bus
The bus station is 4km northeast of the centre (K1000 by motorbike); tickets can be
purchased here or at offices near the fire station on Kan Phyar St. On the drive to Dawei,
buses stop 26km north of town to take a vehicle ferry across a small river between the vil-
lages of Lutlut and Tamok, continuing north from there.
Destinations
Dawei (7 daily; 9-10hr); Mawlamyine (11 daily; 16hr); Yangon (11 daily;
22hr).
By boat
The boat companies' offices, for trips north to Dawei and south to
Kawthaung
, are
clustered around the jetty on Strand Rd.
Destinations
Dawei (daily; 4-5hr); Kawthaung (daily; 7-8hr).
ACCOMMODATION
Dolphin Guesthouse
139 Kan Phyar Rd 059 41523.
This French-run hotel is in rather an
awkward location, well out of town near the bus station. The rooms m
ay b
e rather bland, but
they're decent and very clean. Singles from $25 and wi-fi is included.
$40
Kyal Pyan Hotel
58 C Rd 059 41427.
A rather unprepossessing option,
Kyal Pyan
is the
only vaguely budget option in town, with plenty of grubby twins with en-suite bathrooms
