Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kawthoung
059 / POPULATION C20,000
This small port at the southernmost tip of Tanintharyi Region - the most southern point
of mainland Myanmar (500 miles/800km from Yangon and 1200 miles or 2000km from
the country's northern tip) - is separated from Thailand by a broad estuary in the Pagyan
River. To the British it was known as Victoria Point and to the Thais it's known as Ko
Song (Second Island). The Burmese name, Kawthoung (also spelt Kawthaung), is a mis-
pronunciation of the latter.
It's one of the earliest British possessions in Myanmar, obtained after the first Anglo-
Burmese War in 1826. Today, the town is a scrappy border post and jumping-off point
for boating and diving excursions into the Myeik Archipelago.
Sights
Cape Bayint Naung
PARK
(Strand Rd; 24hour)
At the southern end of the harbour lies this park, named for
King Bayinnaung, a Burmese monarch who invaded Thailand several times between
1548 and 1569. A bronze statue of Bayinnaung, outfitted in full battle gear and brandish-
ing a sword pointed at Thailand - not exactly a welcoming sight for visiting Thais -
stands at the crest of a hill on the cape.
Anandar Paya
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
(
Towering over Kawthoung is this hilltop temple with great
daylight hours)
views of the city.
Sleeping & Eating
A knot of stalls, teashops, beer gardens and restaurants can be found at the southern end
of Strand Rd, opposite the park at Cape Bayint Nuang.
Garden Hotel
HOTEL $
( 059-51731;
www.gardenhotelmm.com
; Shwe Minwon Rd; s/d $25/40; )
Probably the
best place in town, the Garden combines tidy, tiny single rooms on the ground floor and
larger double rooms upstairs. A downside is that the hotel is located an uphill hike about
1 mile north of the jetty
.
