104SOUTHEASTERN MYANMAR
KAYIN STATE
Pilgrims standing at the water’s edge place
clay pots of fl owers and milk into the sea in
order to ‘feed’ the spirits.
The only accommodation in town is Ka-
day Kywe Guest Villa (%75019; Bogyoke Rd;
r 50,000, without bathroom K6000; a). A short
walk from Yele Paya, this hotel has tidy but
overpriced air-con rooms with attached
bathrooms, while the shared bathrooms are
little more than fan-cooled closets. There’s
a basic restaurant directly across the street.
During the early half of the day there are
pick-up trucks to Kyaikkami from Thanbyuza-
yat for K500 per person. From Mawlamyine,
a Kyaikkami-bound bus (K1050, 2½ hours)
leaves from the Thanbyuzayat stop near the
market.
SETSE BEACH
ck'cE
Not a picture postcard beach by any stretch
of the imagination, but as the grime of travel
washes away you probably won’t care. This
low-key Gulf of Mottama (Martaban) beach
is a very wide, brown-sand strip. The beach
is lined with waving casuarina trees and has
been a popular spot for outings since colo-
nial times. Though a few locals stop by for
a swim, almost no foreigners visit this area
and facilities are minimal. At low tide you
can walk along the beach to the small tem-
ple on the rocks at the northern end.
You can stay at the privately owned Shwe
Moe Guesthouse (%09-870 3283; r $20),
which has spacious but run-down beach
bungalows. A few modest restaurants off er
fresh seafood, including the Pyay Son Oo
Restaurant, which is very close to the hotel.
Pick-ups run between Setse and Thanbyu-
zayat on a fairly frequent basis (K500). The
last one leaves for Thanbyuzayat at 4pm.EAST OF MAWLAMYINE
KYAIKMARAW
kYŸik'mer;
This small, charming town of wooden houses
lined with fl owering plants, 15 miles south-
east of Mawlamyine, is the site of an impor-
tant temple. Yet more impressive than the
temple is the drive to get there, which passes
through bright green rice fi elds studded with
sugar palms and picturesque villages.Kyaikmaraw Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE
kYŸik'mer;.urC"
The pride of the town is this temple of se-
rene, white-faced buddhas built by Queen
Shin Saw Pu in 1455. Among the temple’smany outstanding features are multico-
loured glass windows set in the outside
walls, an inner colonnade decorated in mir-
rored tiles, and beautiful ceramic tile fl oors.
Painted reliefs appear on the exterior of sev-
eral auxiliary buildings.
Covered brick walkways lead up to and
around the main square sanctuary in typi-
cal 15th-century Mon style. The huge main
buddha image sits in a ‘European pose’,
with the legs hanging down as if sitting on
a chair, rather than in the much more com-
mon cross-legged manner. A number of
smaller cross-legged buddhas surround the
main image, and behind it are two reclining
buddhas. Another impressive feature is the
carved and painted wooden ceiling.8 Getting There & Away
BUS Buses nip between the eastern side of zeigyi
(Mawlamyine’s main market) and Kyaikmaraw
every hour during the daylight hours for K800.KHA-YON CAVES
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Spirited away in the back of the little-known,
dark and dank Kha-Yon Caves, a short way
along the road to Hpa-an, are rows of ghostly
buddha statues and wall paintings that come
lurching out of the dark as the light from a
torch catches them. Close by is another, small-
er, cave system. This one is more of an open
cavern and contains further statues, as well as
a small cave-dwelling stupa. Bring a torch or
buy candles from the stall near the entrance.
The statues and shrines in these caves
make for a popular stop for local tourists
and pilgrims alike. There is something un-
nerving about stumbling upon a meditating
monk sitting in utter darkness at the foot of
a cobweb-stained shrine.
To get here from Mawlamyine, head to
the bus station and take any bus towards
Hpa-an (K1050, 10 departures between 6am
and 4pm) and ask to be dropped at the junc-
tion for the caves.K AYIN STATE
The limestone escarpments and lumi-
nous paddy fi elds, coupled with a fascinat-
ing ethnic mix, would make Kayin State
(kr=' ̈p–'ny''') a Myanmar highlight but
sadly, like so much of the nation’s border
regions, much of the area is very much off
limits to foreign visitors.