Ngapali travel informations

Ngapali

Ngapali is a small town on the coast of Rakhine state in western Myanmar. The area is sealed off and lonely behind the Rakhine mountains south of the capital Sittwe. Because of its beautiful beaches, which are among the best in Southeast Asia, the place is already known and popular for many years as a tourist destination. However, till now it is just a holiday place für relaxing and sunbathing. Other attractions and things to do are missing. Local fishermen offer boat trips to the nearby small islands for snorkelling, but the quality of the spots is rather modest.

Some hotels and private people rent bikes on an hourly or daily basis. So one can inspect the nearby area or the southern fishing villages to get a general overview of the places behind the hotels. However, larger excursions are not advisable. The small, narrow road to Thandwe is traversed by trucks and buses, and it feels dangerous and uncomfortable to ride a bike there.

Motorcycles cannot be rented legaly by foreigners. But some younger locals from Ngapali rent their bikes nevertheless. Of course, with no legal cover or insurance.

In addition to the small village of Ngapali, which is located close to the airport, there are other villages like Linthar, Myabin, Sibigone and the fishing villages Lonthar and Keythaw. The total population in the region Ngapali is about 2000 people. Most are poor and hoping for a better touristic future. Some are already prepared by having built small shops and restaurants along the road. The shopping experience for tourists although is very limited to a minimum till now. Not even souvenir shops with T-shirts are available yet.

Thandwe

From Ngapali to the small town of Thandwe (formerly Sandoway) it is only a 10 Km drive from the coast. There is nearly nothing of touristical interest and no hotels, only some small local restaurants. Three pagodas can be visited, but are not worth the trip. Nevertheless, the location along the Thandwe river and in front of the Rakhine mountains is scenical beautiful.
A quarter of the people of Thandwe are muslim. All of them are still proud of the past, when Thandwe was independant and capital of the region.