Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Thanbyuzayat
HISTORICAL SITE
( daylight hours)
Thanbyuzayat (Tin Shelter), 40 miles south of Mawlamyine,
was the western terminus of the infamous Burma-Siam Railway, dubbed the 'Death
Railway' by the thousands of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and Asian coolies who
were forced by the Japanese military to build it. Half a mile west of town lies the
Than-
byuzayat War Cemetery
, containing 3771 graves of Allied POWs who died building the
railway.
Most of those buried were British but there are also markers for American, Dutch and
Australian soldiers. As you walk around this simple memorial, maintained by the Com-
monwealth War Graves Commission, reading the heart-rending words inscribed on the
gravestones it's impossible not to be moved to the brink of tears.
Daw Pu
(no roman-script sign; meals from K1500; 6am-3pm)
, a Burmese restaurant loc-
ated across from the pick-up-truck stand, west of the clock tower, is a good place to eat.
Kyaikkami
VILLAGE
Located 5.5 miles northwest of Thanbyuzayat, Kyaikkami was a small coastal resort and
missionary centre known as Amherst during the British era. The town is an atmospheric
seaside destination, although you'll probably not do any swimming at the rocky and
rather muddy beach. Instead, the main focus is
Yele Paya
, a metal-roofed Buddhist
shrine complex perched over the sea.
Along with 11 Buddha hair relics, the shrine chamber beneath Yele Paya reportedly
contains a buddha image that was supposed to have floated here on a raft from Sri Lanka
in ancient times. A display of 21 Mandalay-style buddha statues sits over the spot where
the Sinhalese image is allegedly buried. Pilgrims standing at the water's edge place clay
pots of flowers and milk into the sea in order to 'feed' the spirits.
Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), an American missionary and linguist who has practic-
ally attained sainthood among Myanmar Baptists, was sailing to India with his wife when
their ship was blown off course, forcing them to land at Kyaikkami. Judson stayed on
and established his first mission here; the original site is now a Catholic school on a
small lane off the main road.
The only accommodation in town is
Kaday Kywe Guest Villa
( 75019; Bogyoke Rd; r
K6000-50,000; )
. A short walk from Yele Paya, this hotel has tidy but overpriced air-
con rooms with attached bathrooms, while the cheaper rooms are little more than fan-
cooled closets. There's a basic restaurant directly across the street.
Setse Beach
BEACH
