Ngwe Saung is a small seaside town in the west of Myanmar and is famous for its long stretch of pristine white beaches. I am all about the beach so a few days in the sun were always going to be on the menu when visiting Myanmar.
Getting there is a bit of a logistical challenge but the transport is very cheap so if you’re not in a rush and don’t mind losing half a day then you will be rewarded with the most amazing sea views with hardly anyone around. You can book the coach tickets online and we did it through 12Go Asia. The tickets cost £16 return. The bus terminal is located really far out of Yangon so you need to allow at least an hour to get there by taxi (cost £8). The bus was a tad dilapidated and one of the seats was broken. To add to this, the bus driver clearly makes some extra cash on the side by picking up on the way (although all seats are taken) and makes people sit in the aisle on plastic chairs. Then you have the various sellers coming on board trying to offload some goods. The journey there lasted 6 hours and had one 30 minute stop and it was totally doable. The way back took over 7 hours and the bus was very hot and cramped so it’s a bit of a pot luck what you get. I can tell one thing for sure, you will forget about the bus journey as soon as you get there.
We had 4 days and decided to stay in the Ngwe Saung Yacht Club. It sounds very posh and it really is incredible however what is a huge benefit of this resort is that it offers a variety of rooms to suit different budgets. They have sea front villas, sea view rooms in the two main buildings but also little cabin type rooms they call lofts as well as a camping site. We stayed in the loft room which costs about £50 per night including breakfast. Tuk tuks operate in the area and it costs £2 to get from the bus stop to the resort.
The hotel is situated right on the beach and has a gorgeous infinity pool. The majority of time we were the only guests at the pool! I loved the peace and quiet and of course the magnificent views. The hotel prices are of course inflated and we were expecting this however since we are very lazy we did eat in the hotel a couple of times and had a couple of drinks at the pool.
The hotel itself was well designed and immaculately maintained. What I really liked though were the little things that go a long way. One of them was a water station to fill your bottle, or the fact they have their own vegetable garden. Simple things but very effective and giving off the right vibes for the modern tourist. The staff were so well trained too and never failed to greet you and say hello. I really enjoyed staying there and would definitely recommend the hotel if you are looking for a place to stay in the area.
If you don’t want to pay through the roof (in Myanmar standards of course, the prices are pretty decent by European standards, think Greece or Portugal perhaps) you can always venture out to the village of Ngwe Saung (10 minute tuk tuk ride) or to a restaurant nearby. The tuk tuk drivers offer a return service which works very well. They take you to the place of your choice, give you a card and you ask the restaurant to call them when you are ready to leave, really handy. We went to a nearby Thai restaurant called Chai Thai one night (really delicious meal and very authentic) and to Home Food and Drink in the village another night. The Home restaurant was really good and since it is famous for fish we ordered a whole steamed seabass with garlic chilli and lime. It was very fresh and so soft, I could have eaten at least 5 of them! The staff also spoke English which is not that easy to find in Myanmar.
If you are feeling active there are a few boat tours you can take to nearby islands. We were very lazy so didn’t go for it but all the tuk tuks had flyers in them so it is easy enough to get it booked through the driver.
My favourite thing about Ngwe Saung were the sunsets. I honestly couldn’t get enough of them! It’s worth the bus journey just to witness one of them.
