Burmese Beaches are Beautiful. Ngwe Saung Beach, Myanmar.

A ‘quick’ 5 hour bus ride from Yangon (in reality 6+ hrs), Ngwe Saung Beach is the closest major beach area to the capital.  A 13km stretch of white sand is the main reason to come here.  Most of the beach is lined with resorts ranging from the very nice to the cheap backpacker type.  We chose a mid-range place, mostly due to the fact it was the only one available.  After a few weeks of interesting but absurdly hot travel through Myanmar, we wanted a few days to relax and sit on the beach before making the trip back to real life.

As with the rest of Myanmar, the tourist infrastructure is growing, and the new western run places are great, but many places are in desperate need of attention and an update.  I mainly think this is due to the fact that many Burmese haven’t had the opportunity to travel and experience a nice hotel with good service.  Our place, the Emerald Sea Resort (resort is a stretch), was a good example.  Situated on an amazing stretch of beach, the location was amazing, but the grounds were at best a work in progress.  Yes they had a pool, but it was so scummy and green that we didn’t dare stick a toe in.  I’ve seen backyard farm ponds that were cleaner.  This of course didn’t stop the local Burmese from swimming all morning with their families.  We did eventually see someone making a halfhearted attempt at skimming the pool, but it really didn’t do anything.

The most challenging part was the intermittent power.  There was power from 6pm to 6am, and 1-3pm.  This wouldn’t be such a problem except that the temperature was topping out around 100 degrees every day, meaning no lounging in bed in the morning.  Once they get reliable power to town I think things will improve greatly.

The Bay of Bengal is known as the Emerald Sea for a reason.  The water is a light green color.  Ngwe Saung’s beach may not be as white as Koh Samui’s, and the water might not be as neon turquoise as Grace Bay’s, but it’s one of the best beaches I’ve stuck my toes in.  The seemingly endless, wide stretch of sand reaches into the haze in both directions, and the oppressive heat makes reaching the end nearly impossible.  The water is clean, clear and just around body temp.  So warm that even Miriam could stay in as long as she wanted.

During one such long play in the water, I went out for one last dive under the rolling waves.  In quick succession, I was double whammied by a jellyfish in the middle of my back.  A quick exit from the water ensued, followed by an increasingly strange full-body tingling that peaked as I lay in bed while Miriam attempted to find out more information on the trickle of internet in the lobby.  The answer came back. “Well, there’s one jelly fish that lives around here, but it kills you in about 3 minutes, so it’s probably not that one…” Hmm…After running through the checklist of what to do if I need to go to the hospital, thankfully something we’ve never had to do in detail before, I popped a couple of antihistamines and went to dinner.  Even before the food arrived, I was transported to a sleepy, hazy, tingly world that consisted of me desperately trying to stay awake and upright, something I can’t say I accomplished, nearly falling off the chair repeatedly.

If you’re wondering what’s on my third world emergency healthcare checklist, this is the basic gist.  Bring lots of basic first aid items, go to the hospital only when necessary, if you do, bring LOTS of cash, make sure you get new needles, and no blood infusions.  If it’s really serious, go straight to the airport and head to one of Bangkok’s world class hospitals.  If it’s minor, go to the pharmacy and treat yourself.  Simple as that.

By the next afternoon I was feeling much better, if a bit reluctant to linger in the sea.

More to come…

Previously – Yangon, Inle Lake, Myanmar, Bagan and the thousands of temples, and Mandalay.