Mawlamyine

Relaxing on the river from Hpa An to Mawlamyine

2hw — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 12:05:21 +0000

2hw Tue, 04/03/2018 - 15:05

One of the ways to travel between Hpa An and Mawlamyine is by taking a boat down the Thanlyin river - it is a beautiful trip that takes about 4 hours and is definitely worth a go if one has the time for it.

The boats leave Mawlamyine in the morning, make the journey up the river and go back in the afternoon - so if you travel from Mawlamyine to Hpa An you will have to get a boat in the morning, in the other direction the boat will most probably leave around 1 PM.

Buying tickets for the trip is easy - most guesthouses and hotels can arrange them and if not - one of the guesthouses in the town center will be able to do it for sure. The staff at our hotel could not help us so we went and asked around - got a good price from Galaxy motel. It is located just opposite the market and for 8000 kyats (~$6) we got tickets plus pickup with a tuk-tuk ride from our hotel.

The boat trip is amazing - a slow ride on the river that is surrounded by stunning scenery - high mountains rising up from the lush green fields. There are other boats along the way - smaller and bigger fishing ones and some that were sifting out sand from the bottom of the river, bringing it to bigger barges and trucks.

We were just three passengers on our boat - that gave us plenty of space to put our feet up and even nap while enjoying the light breeze. There was bottled water on the boat for us and we had some fruits and nuts to snack on as it is 4 hours with no stops.

We travel travel with one big suitcase and will usually get a taxi to the hotel we are staying, but when we arrived at the jetty - there were only motorbike taxis. There was some confusion at first, but then, our suitcase got its own bike and one for each of us and off we went.

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Mawlmyine

2hw — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 12:05:18 +0000

2hw Tue, 04/03/2018 - 15:05

Mawlamyine is a curious city - once the first capital of British Burma and big commercial center, now it is the fourth largest in city Myanmar, but it has a more relaxed, almost lazy feel. Pagoda laden hills and old colonial buildings make for interesting walks with beautiful views.

How to properly pronounce the name of the city was the first issue we faced when trying to get a boat to Mawlamyine from Hpa An. It turned out it is easier than it looks. Mawlamyine is the new old name of the place - it was the original name before the British and was restored in 1948. The British called the city Moulmein and even though it is no longer the official name a lot of people still use it so it was easy to go with it. Once we started using it we realized that the new name is almost the same, there is just one "a" sound as in "apple" in the middle of the word Moul-A-Mein.

We spent 5 days in Mawlamyine, it is not such big attraction like Inle lake or Bagan, but is a nice city with a lot of things to see.

The old Moulmein pagoda - Kyeik Than Lan Pagoda

Mentioned by Rudyard Kipling in his poem "Mandalay", the old Moulmein pagoda is still on the same hill it was over 100 years ago, overlooking the sea, not caring that empires come and go. Maybe even one of the girls around is a grand-grand daughter of the girl Kipling fell for, either way, the poem is a beautiful piece of poetry worth reading.

The old temple has one central golden stupa and several smaller building around it and is a beautiful sight. The view from the top is good - the whole city can be seen, the river and even the sea. It is a good spot for sunset and sunrise watching.

Kyeik Than Lan Pagoda is within walking distance of the town center - 15-20 minutes walk. Probably best to see it before lunchtime and in the afternoon as it can get hot during the day and walk up the hill can get sweaty during that time.

Mahamyatmuni Pagoda

Build in the style of the Mandalay's Mahamuni Pagoda and housing a Buddha image replica of the famous one in Mandalay. This pagoda is a bit smaller than the Kyeik Than Lan, located on the same ridge north of it. Even though the view from the top is not as impressive it is still worth a visit - it is a more relaxed and less touristy temple.

Other pagodas

Along the ridge that starts with Mahamyatmuni Pagoda then going south Kyeik Than Lan Pagoda, several other smaller pagodas follow. They are not as touristy as the major city temples and are very peaceful and quiet.

Ogre Island

A main attraction in Mawlamyine is the island opposite the city - roughly the size of Singapore this tropical island makes for a great day trip with picturesque paddy fields, green palm trees and different craft shops. Most hotels and guesthouses will offer a day tour of some kind to Ogre Island, we did it with Breeze Guesthouse and thoroughly enjoyed it - you can read the full story in our post Ogre Island Tour - a day trip from Mawlamyine.

Big Buddha

If you think you have seen big Buddha images, wait till you see that one. Laying across a couple of hills it was one of the biggest ones we have seen. There is a temple in his head and the whole thing is a very impressive sight. It is still unfinished though, and walking inside one can see that - bare concrete columns and halls. There is another Buddha on the hill opposite, that is even more unfinished, but seems like it is going to be the same size when completed.

To get to the big Buddha statue you will need a motorbike or a taxi - it is 20 minutes south of Mawlmyine.

Market

On the north end of Strand Rd there is a colorful market. Most active during the morning hours with some stalls are open throughout the whole day it is an interesting place to visit. There is a big section with dried fish, a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, clothes and home supplies.

Colonial buildings

There are a lot of old colonial buildings still standing in Mawlamyine, unfortunately most are not in great shape. Best is to start with a walk along Strand Rd in the vicinity of Breeze Guesthouse where the rich British built their houses - Breeze itself is one of the few maintained old places, painted in light blue color. You will also see the old theater with a very ornate entrance and several other old mansions.

To really get a feel of old Moulmein you may consider staying a few days at Breeze Guesthouse - they have one room that is the original main bedroom of the house. The furniture in it is original from the period - two king beds with nets, chairs and a table, dresser and shelfes.

Along the parallel to Strand Rd Main Rd there are more buildings still standing - bigger (some 3-4 floors) commercial ones and there is also Surtee Sunni Jamae Masjid mosque built in 1846.

We walked around the side streets to find even more old colonial buildings some overgrown behind fences, others still full of life.

Mon cultural museum

It is not a very big museum, but gives a glimpse into the Mon culture. English descriptions make for an interesting read and one can see different musical instruments, silverware, sculptures and even some furniture used by the royal Mon family.

Shampoo Island

No shampoo on this island, the name comes because it was the place where water was taken from for the royal hair washing ceremony during the Ava period. Now it is a nice place to visit for some peace and quiet, with a small monastery and a meditation center. The island is just off of the northern end of the city and can be reached by boat.

St Patrick's cathedral and graveyard

East of Breeze Guesthouse, on the other side of Upper Main Rd is St Patrick's cathedral built in 1829. When we visited in April 2018 it was being renovated.

Following the signs behind the church you can find the old graveyard - with many British names on the stones and dating back to the 19th century. Not having been used as an active graveyard for several decades now, a small neighborhood seems to be growing inside it - with small shacks and people cooking on open fire stoves, kids playing between the crumbling crosses and couples having romantic picnics it is fascinating to see how the living are taking over the dead.

Ye Baw Kone 1,2,3,4 Streets

Those four streets are side streets of Ye Baw Gone Street and are filled with closely built houses. They look like a small village within the city and have their own unique atmosphere, very interesting walk and a glimpse into local people daily life.

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Ogre Island Tour - a day trip from Mawlamyine

2hw — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 12:05:16 +0000

2hw Tue, 04/03/2018 - 15:05

Surprisingly, there are no ogres at Ogre Island, but it is home to more than seventy small villages, palm plantations and rice fields. The tropical atmosphere is really nice, the lifestyle there is very relaxed and this, combined with the opportunity to visit some craft workshops makes it a worthwhile day trip from Mawlamyine. The island is very close to Mawlamyine and with the newly built bridge there is no need to worry about a ferry, you can rent a motorbike and explore it yourself but chances are you will miss some of the interesting stops.

A better approach is a guided tour, there are different options around but we decided to go with the one offered by Breeze Guest House. For 18000 Kyat per person it is great value for money, including transport, lunch, many stops at workshops, a pagoda and a break for swimming. What makes the experience unique is the guide, we were lucky to have Mr Anthony, who has been doing this tour for decades. I admit, after seeing some traditional workshops at Inle Lake I wasn't super excited about the tour, but we decided to do it and it was a great day, hugely thanks to Mr Anthony's sense of humor, personality and how much he cares about the people he takes on a tour.

VIP tuk-tuk

From the start things looked promising - our transport for the day was a VIP tuk-tuk. I'm talking about one of those tiny trucks where tourists are usually loaded in the back, along with their luggage with only a mat to sit on. Now, by VIP I mean the tuk-tuk was upgraded with plush car seats screwed in in the back - a huge improvement! After a short ride through Mawlamyine we crossed the bridge which offers great views in both directions and entered Ogre Island. It is a different world from Mawlamyine, the colonial influence is nowhere to be seen, just small roads going trough lush greenery even in the middle of dry season.

the view from the top

We made a stop at a pagoda which in addition to the Buddha statues inside offers great views in all directions from the top of the hill. As Ogre Island is larger than Singapore but sparsely populated one can definitely get the "middle of the jungle" feel there. The pagoda has some interesting features too - the steel pillars are left by the British, there is a miniature version of Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (The Golden Rock) and you can see (and ring) a Japanese bomb shell turned into a bell.

bamboo hat - sunproof, waterproof, bulletproof

During the tour we saw many small workshops and everywhere we stopped felt more like visiting a friendly family than a shop. Everybody offered us snacks and drinks, I loved sitting on the floor and talking with the locals while enjoying homemade delicacies and tea. There was zero pressure to buy the products and all prices were surprisingly low - for example 2000 kyat ($1.50) for a handmade bamboo hat or 10000 kyat ($6.50) for a teak pipe is a lot closer to the manufacturing cost than to inflated price for tourists. Mr Anthony showed us and explained how things were made, throwing a joke here and there and even demonstrating things himself - you can see him in action in the video from the rubber band factory below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKY9LJbJrS4

I learned a lot about the Myanmar economy and they have a lot to do to catch up with the more developed neighbor Thailand. For example, raw materials like silk and cotton are imported from Thailand as they are better quality than local produce, Burmese hands working for 7000 kyat (about $5) a day weave it into fabric which is then exported back to Thailand.

We were also lucky to see the slates that were going to be distributed to schools throughout the country very soon. A writing slate is a piece of flat rock framed with wood - kids in the lower grades use them as miniature blackboards, writing on a slate with a "pen" of limestone. What you see on the photos are some of the last batches as the stone mine is almost depleted and soon all children will have to use pen and paper, which is more expensive. In Myanmar a pen is still called respectfully a "ballpoint pen".

The lunch stop was almost unnecessary due to the heavy snacking at every stop, but we enjoyed it nonetheless - tasty burmese noodles with a cold beer under a shade - what is not to like? That was the point where we got even more gifts, in addition to the small items everybody received during the day. Nobody goes back home empty handed or hungry from this tour - Mr Anthony makes sure of that and handpicks the presents for each tourist individually.

Last stop for the day was the swimming pool, we were treated to the fancy one as the more rural swimming hole was under maintenance. It is a rather large complex, built by the British and still in reasonable condition with plenty of locals enjoying the water slides in the hot weather.

We skipped the swimming, but that gave me a chance to have a chat with Mr Anthony and to observe with him a very unusual and heartwarming scene. There was a group of about five or six kids-monks aged between 5 and 10 being kids and breaking some Buddhist monks' rules - all were having soft drinks in the afternoon (monks are not allowed to take anything but pure water after 12 noon) and some were even bathing in the pool and going down the slides in their monk robes - a good laugh made the perfect end of the tour.

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This fabric is going to Thailand

the largest pagoda on Ogre Island

Burmese bell and a Japanese bomb shell transformed into a bell

Inside the pagoda

Miniature version of Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (The Golden Rock)

Sounds worse than it looks

Bamboo hats - final touches

Making smoking pipes

Handmade smoking pipes

The largest smoking pipe in the world decorates the center of the village

Rubber bands in the making - watch the video to see the complete process

Rubber band factory, the "Quality control" department

Mr Anthony demonstrating a writing slate

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Breeze guesthouse in Mawlamyine

2hw — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 12:05:15 +0000

2hw Tue, 04/03/2018 - 15:05

Before going to Mawlamyine we decided to book several nights accommodation in advance, so we wouldn't have to worry about it when we got there. There are enough options for most people to find what they want, we chose Breeze Guesthouse because of the positive reviews and great location. Looking at the room options they have some smaller, modern rooms with tile floors, etc. but we decide to go for the only room without photos, because of the double bed, air conditioning and en suite bathroom. We were expecting something similar to the smaller, basic looking rooms, just bigger. Somebody should've noticed that there actually two double beds...

After the pleasant boat trip from Hpa An we arrived at the small Mawlamyine jetty where the only transportation available were motorbike taxis. After some discussion each of us got on a separate bike holding some hand luggage, and our big suitcase was tied on top of a third bike. The procession was entertaining for both us and the locals, unfortunately I couldn't take any photos.

At the end of a short ride we stop in front of a huge colonial era villa painted in fresh blue color - Breeze Guesthouse. After some rummaging through the ever present in Myanmar notebooks, our reservation is found and we are taken to our room up a very old wooden staircase. At the top is actually the owner's living room with some hallways leading to other rooms, I got glimpses of beds, a kitchen and a TV on a stand. To our amazement the owner removes a padlock from a gigantic door and leads us to our room, which has obviously been the master's bedroom some decades ago. We stood there shocked and just nodded for a bit while he explained the proper steps to get a flow of hot water in the bathroom and what time the breakfast was.

The room is the exact opposite of the small tiled rooms we passed on the ground floor. Spacious is an understatement - yes, there are two double beds in the room, but they are occupying just a little bit of the space, the rest of the furniture can fill a decent garage, but doesn't make the room feel crowded. I was really impressed by the height of the room - this was not a merely ~3 meters ceiling that I've seen in old European homes, this is more than 4 meters of vertical space that reminded me more of a palace or a church, far from a hotel room.

Most of the furniture is original - the beds, a dressing table, bookshelves, a coffee table, even the fridge looks old enough to have grandchildren. There are two air conditioners in the room, but both were off, three windows wide open, one on the back side and two on the river side of the room, giving way to the wonderful breeze to pass trough the room.

The initial shock began to give way to more cheerful thoughts and after unpacking we actually decided this was going to be fun. And that is when the bats came. Just after dark a couple of tiny bats came through some holes near the ceiling and began their hunt for small bugs. In our room. They stayed for 5-10 minutes and left, but came back several times during the night and the following nights. It was a surprise, but to be honest - I'm not complaining at all - bats are smart, they do not crash with furniture or with people and I prefer them to the hungry mosquitoes.

https://youtu.be/Yc7A3gKQ1xE

Breakfast was served on the big terrace, offering a lot of fresh air and great views of the river and Ogre Island. Each guest was given a soft boiled egg, a single toast and a tiny banana. Not much but all this came with a Buddhist prayer on a small piece of paper. Best part of this modest breakfast was the desert. The Chinese owner, a man in his late seventies carried a big box of crispy cookies and with a smile, he proudly offered it to everybody, reminding us to take only one. In a special way his satisfaction and happiness from sharing such a delicacy with his guests was a better start of the day than any great breakfast buffet.

Last but not least, Breeze Guesthouse offers a tour of Ogre Island - they were the first to do it, so it is proudly called the original. It is also featured in Lonely Planet with a favorable article. We were lucky to do it with Mr Anthony, read the full story here: Ogre Island Tour - a day trip from Mawlamyine.

It's a simple 3 step process to get hot water...