Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping
5
Day to Day Motel
C2
6
La Pyae Wun Hotel
B2
7
Pammawaddy Hotel
B2
Eating
9
Myo Restaurant
B3
New City Tea Centre
(see 6)
10
Shwe Zin Yaw Restaurant
B2
11
Zone Pan
B3
Drinking & Nightlife
12
Man San Thu
B1
8
Transport
13
Buses to Chaung Tha Beach C1
14
Buses to Ngwe Saung Beach A1
15
Buses to Yangon B2
History
The town was the scene of major clashes during the struggle for supremacy between the
Mon and the Bamar. Later it became an important trade relay point for goods moving
between India and Southeast Asia. The city's name may derive from the Burmese word
for Muslim
(Pathi
) - due to the heavy presence of Arab and Indian Muslim traders here
centuries ago; there's still a large Muslim population in the city. The colonial Brits, who
set up a garrison here in 1826, corrupted the name to Bassein.
Today, Pathein's population includes large contingents of Kayin (Karen) and Rakhine.
Once part of a Mon kingdom, Pathein is now home to only a few Mon. During the 1970s
and '80s, the Kayin villages surrounding Pathein generated insurgent activity that has
since generally calmed.
