Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pick-ups to Taunggok depart from Thandwe's bus station (K1500 to K3500, three to
four hours, every two hours from 4.30am to 4.30pm).
TAUNGGOK STOP OVER
If you're planning on connecting to Sittwe from Ngapali Beach by boat, you're most
likely going to have to overnight in Taunggok. A few basic guesthouses near the bus
station, such as
Royal Guest House
(no roman-script sign; 043-61088; r K7000-20,000)
,
take foreigners, charging between $7 and $20 for basic rooms.
BUS
Aung Thit Sar
( 043-65363)
run daily air-con buses to Yangon (K14,000, about 14
hours) via Thandwe and Pyay (Prome); you'll pay the same if you only go as far as Pyay
(about 10 hours). Tickets are sold by hotels in Ngapali Beach, and the bus will pick you
up from your accommodation around 11am (they depart from Thandwe at 1pm). The
road - particularly between Taunggok and Pyay - has the reputation of being one of My-
anmar's hardest, bounciest, most stomach-churning trips. Bring warm clothes, as the ride
over the mountains at night gets cold.
Allegedly faster and smoother are the daily fan-cooled buses to Yangon that ply a new-
er route via Gwa (K12,000, about 10 hours, 11am).
Getting Around
Pick-up trucks run frequently from Thandwe to Ngapali Beach and on to Lontha village
(K500, every 45 minutes from 6am to 6pm). Catch one in either direction on the main
road.
Bicycles can be rented from most hotels for K3000 per day and a few motorbikes are
available for K10,000.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
THANDWE
Located about 4 miles inland to the northeast of Ngapali Beach,
Thandwe
fills a hilly
valley with its low-key streets. It's been a key Rakhine town for many centuries.
When the British stationed a garrison here around the turn of the 20th century -
