279RAKHAING STATE8WESTERN MYANMAR8WESTERN MYANMARMRAUK U (MYOHAUNG)(%23511; Main Rd) and post offi ce are both
near the new clock tower.
Internet Access
KISS (Main Rd; K500 per hr; hnoon-9pm) Has
webcams and plenty of terminals, though con-
nections can be sloooow.
Travel Agencies
Khine Pyi Soe (%23159, 09 851 61162; 25 Mill
Rd) Housed in the home of a former karate
teacher, this unlikely agency can arrange boats
to Mrauk U (K130,000 return; the boat waits up
to three nights while you explore Mrauk U) and
various day trips (p 278 ).
8 Getting There & Away
Overland routes between Sittwe and Yangon (as
well as to Mrauk U) are closed to foreigners. The
following information is for the dry season –
schedules are diff erent in the wet season and
from year to year, so double check everything
well in advance.
Air
Sittwe’s airport is about 1.5 miles west of the
centre. Taxis (K2500 to K3000) and trishaws
(K1000) await fl ights.
In peak season Air Mandalay (%21638; U
Ottama St) and Air Bagan (%23113) fl y daily to
Yangon ($108; one hour 25 mins) and Thandwe
($78; 40 mins).
Flight schedules are erratic. Before leaving
Sittwe, you must reconfi rm your booking – your
hotel should be able to help.
Boat
TO MRAUK U The only way to/from Mrauk U for
foreigners is by boat. There are a few options.
You will have off ers for a private boat (from
$120; fi ve to six hours) – a simple tarp-covered
boat with fl at deck, a few plastic chairs and a
very basic toilet – before you can get out of
the airport. Generally a boat can fi t four to six
people, with a driver who will wait with the boat
for two or three nights. Ask ahead about the
cost if you decide to stay another day in Mrauk
U, which often happens. If you arrive in Sittwe in
the afternoon, don’t expect to be able to leave on
such boats until early the next day.
The double-decker ferry to Mrauk U ($4, six to
seven hours) is run by the government’s Inland
Water Transport (IWT; %23382), which has an
offi ce 90yd west of the Mrauk U jetty, though
there’s no need to buy tickets in advance. Ferries
depart Sittwe Tuesday and Friday, and return
from Mrauk U on Wednesday and Saturday.
Deckchairs are available for rent (K500) and
there’s a stall serving basic food. We’re told
there’s also a similar private ferry service ($10)
leaving Sittwe on Monday and returning on Tues-
day. See p 22 before deciding to use government-
run services.
The fastest boat is the Shwe Pyi Tan (%09-
8628145; $15; two hr) that departs Sittwe at
3pm on Monday and Wednesday and Mrauk U at
7am on Tuesday and Thursday.
TO TAUNGGOK Malikha Express (%24248,
24037; Main Rd; h9am-5pm) sells tickets for
the 130-person fast boat for Taunggok ($40,
nine hours), which departs at 7am on Monday,
Thursday and Saturday. The boat stops in the
island port town of Kyaukpyu ($20) for 30 or 40
minutes for lunch.Mrauk U (Myohaung)
e ̈m;k'wI"
%043 / POP C50,000
‘Little Bagan?’ Not by a long shot. Myan-
mar’s second-most-famous archaeological
site, Mrauk U (pronounced ‘mraw-oo’) is a
centuries-old city of hundreds of temples
around which village life thrives. The tem-
ples – previously mistaken for forts due to
thick bunker-style walls built against the
fi erce Rakhaing winds – are smaller and
younger than Bagan’s. Being here is as much
about seeing temples in the gorgeous scen-
ery of rounded hillocks as about mingling
with the goatherds and vegetable farmers
who live around them (unlike Bagan).
Much of the locals’ daily activity seems
to be taken up with water trips. Instead of
the usual clay pots or rectangular oil cans,
Mrauk U residents carry shiny aluminium
water pots (imported from Bangladesh) on
their hips or heads.
You’re likely to have many temples to
yourself: in a good year, only about 3500 to
4000 foreign visitors come. The site’s remote
location, a fi ve to seven hour boat ride up a
creek of the Kaladan River, and lack of gov-
ernment promotion, means this is unlikely
to change in the short term.MRAUK U FEESFor foreign visitors to Mrauk U there’s
an archaeological site ‘entry fee’ of $5;
this is usually collected at the Shittaung
Paya or at the boat jetty; on the govern-
ment ferry you’ll be asked to show proof
of payment before leaving. But many
people arriving and leaving by private
boats manage to avoid paying the fee
with little consequence. The palace site
museum also charges $5 for entry.