Yes, this is paradise: Ngwe Saung

At the beach!

In my opinion,  no extended warm weather vacation is complete without a stay on the beach. I can't say if this belief is due to my Cuban heritage or my father's insistence that relaxation can only happen in view of  lapping waves. Yes, I've lived on an island, in a beach town, for 4 years. Yes, I've enjoyed my own Gulf of Mexico beach and reveling in the laid-back island culture. I still needed to visit a beach while in Myanmar.   My own Galveston beach, even without the seaweed invasion, can't compete with any foreign beaches.  As the Cuban saying goes, my wine is vinegar,  but it is my wine (Mi vino es agrio, pero es mi vino). I'm happy to report that I may have found a small strip of paradise here in Myanmar. What a pity it takes over 24 hour to travel here from the US....

In Yangon: Sam buying our bus tickets to Ngwe Saung

Sam knows my intense love of the beach, so he arranged for 5 days in Ngwe Saung in the Ayeyarwady region on the southwestern coast of Myanmar.  Apparently Ngwe Saung and Chau Tang are popular beach towns for weekend trips from Yangon.

Both  beach towns are dotted with upscale resorts, however we are staying at the southern tip of Ngwe Saung beach, the more remote part of this 13 mile beach. Our beach adventure began with a 9pm bus from Yangon. Buses are the primary mode of long distance travel in Myanmar; one round trip ticket from Yangon to Ngwe Saung cost  $25. Our Golden Star bus was of slightly higher quality than an American greyhound bus with excellent air conditioning and room to recline the seats. When we boarded,  there was a persistent beeping noise that I assumed was due to the bus door being open and would stop when we started driving.  The beeping, in triplet rhythm, continued the entire bus ride, though it was drowned out the first few hours by Myanmar pop music played over the intercom. The  bus trip took 7 hours, mostly along narrow country  roads with pit stops every 2 hours for the bus driver to smoke a cigarette and for bathroom breaks as the bus had no toilet.  The last 30 mile leg, from Panthein to Ngwe Saung,  was a 2 hour crawl along twisting roads.

View of Shwe Hin Tha Resort Hotel

Four days into our stay, I am happy with our accommodation, Shwe Hin Tha Resort Hotel. I'll admit I was skeptical when we arrived at 4:30 am to a very basic bamboo hut with a rusty fan.

Said rusty fan

Resort is an overstatement; it is more a collection of bamboo and concrete beach bungalows, and a decent hotel restaurant and deck. Everywhere at hotel offers a panorama of the gorgeous beach. The power is off during the day time, so all the guests spend their time on the beach or on their porches admiring the beach.  A lone 1990s fan runs at night to circulate the ocean breeze and makes it manageable to sleep under the mosquito net.

Thanks to a recommendation from one of Sam's friends, we have eaten last two nights at the neighboring beach front restaurant,  Jasmine. Both nights we were served at perfectly grilled whole fish with a crunchy salt and garlic crust, tender and flaky white meat complemented by a subtle chili oil sauce that we washed down with Myanmar beer.

I have spent most of my days either reading on the beach,  relaxing on our porch, or swimming in the warm turquoise water.  This beach doesn't have a sunbathing culture, evidenced by the the most uncomfortable hard blue wooden lounge chairs under our beachfront hotel palapas.  Most of the Myanmar swim in their longyi or the women stay mostly clothed long shorts and shirts; the only people in bathing suits are the other westerners at our hotel.  It's hard to tell if this is cultural modesty or if the Myanmar want to protect themselves from the sun.  Mostly there are people walking along the beach or sitting on their own bungalow porch admiring the view.

Ngwe Saung Yacht Club Marina

I had to have a few hours of comfortable sunbathing on a cushioned lounge chair, so I took a field trip to Ngwe Saung Yacht Club Marina, an actual resort 10 minutes away by motorcycle. In 2012, Myanmar hosted the 2012 ASEA games and Ngwe Saung was the watersport hub. I love the indulgence of swimming in a cool, blue pool while admiring a pristine beach.

Yesterday,  we rented a motorcycle and rode along the shoreline at low-tide. For most of the trip we were the only people on the beach. Motorcycle and the ubiquitous motorcycle taxi is the main form of transport to access the remote parts of the beach that is sparsely populated with fishing villages. On our hour long ride, we occasionally passed other motorcycles, but no other tourists.

Remote Ngwe Saung beach

Ferry Crossing

We crossed a small eddy using a simple hand pulled ferry hand; we paid the man 300 kyatts (30 cents). I felt immense joy and gratitude, as we experienced such a stunning, isolated scene.

A lone beer station for the fishing villages