Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ATTRACTIVE 13-MILE STRING OF SAND AND PALMS THAT, ALTHOUGH IT WON'T RATE AS ONE OF THE REGION'S
BEST BEACHES, HAS FINER SAND AND CLEARER AND DEEPER WATER THAN NEARBY CHAUNG THA BEACH.
Sights & Activities
Above all else Ngwe Saung is an indulgent, lie-back-and-do-absolutely-nothing sort of
beach, and most visitors are happy to comply; the kind of beachside activities that are
common at Chaung Tha, such as food sellers and pony rides, are noticeably absent here.
However, if sitting around doing nothing more strenuous than wiggling your toes in the
sand sounds boring then there are a few calorie-burning activities you can take part in.
A boat trip out to
Bird Island
, just visible way out on the horizon, for a day of snor-
kelling and, dare we say it, birdwatching, is the most popular water-based excursion.
Boats can be arranged through many hotels for between $65 and $85, depending on the
size of your group and the boat it will require.
If you don't have the stomach or budget for a boat trip, at low tide you can simply
walk over to
Lovers' Island
at the southern end of the beach. The water surrounding this
island is also a good place to
snorkel
among dancing clouds of tropical fish. Masks and
snorkels can be hired from some hotels (Shwe Hin Tha Hotel and Treasure Resort are the
most reliable) for K2500 per day. Diving trips can be arranged via the dive shop
Zawgyi
in the village.
Further south of Lovers' Island is the new Ngwe Saung Yacht Club & Hotel construc-
ted for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2013; a marina is planned and it's possible
you may be able to arrange sailing trips from here.
Halfway between Ngwe Saung and Pathein is an
elephant camp
(admission $5, ele-
phant rides $10; 8am-noon)
. Around five working elephants live here and it's possible to
go for a 30-minute elephant ride through the forest - the romance of which wears off in
about 30 seconds. If you thought horses attracted a lot of large biting insects, just wait
until you get on the back of an elephant! To get there, hop on any outbound bus, or Tom
Tom at Sandalwood (
Click here
)
can arrange a motorcycle taxi for about $10.
Sleeping
Ngwe Saung was one of the venues for the SEA Games in December 2013, which meant
that there was a fair amount of construction and upgrading of properties going on when
we visited.
Ngwe Saung Yacht Club & Hotel
, which includes a camping ground with
two- and four-person tents, should be worth checking out.
There are few budget places here and those that do exist are of a pretty poor quality.
The midrange is reasonably well served but at these places you'll only be granted
