There is a point where you get sick and tired of living in the city,  full of traffic, noise and pollution. Then you ask yourself where you could get away to. Let’s forget for awhile the stress from work, the numerous demands from your family and society and try to listen to the roaring sounds of the waves, feel the moist air of the ocean breeze and taste the delicious seafood that a beach has to offer you. Among the beach resorts around Myanmar such as Ngapali, Maung Ma Kan, Set Sae, Chaung Thar, Lat Kote Kone, Kan Tharyar and Ngwe Saung, this month we would like to present to you Chaung Thar Beach.

Off you go to the beach…
    You may have heard of Chaung Thar Beach that is not too far from the city of Yangon. Chaung Thar Beach is located on the west coast of Pathein Township in Ayarwaddy Division. It is only 154 miles from Yangon and 34 miles from Pathein. If you take a car trip, it takes on average about 5-8 hours to get to Chaung Thar; the length of time is due to the condition of the road. There are three parts to the whole trip; first a car ride to Pathein (previously known as Bassein) which is about 115 miles from Yangon. From the port Shwe Myin Tin in Pathein, you cross the NgaWun River with a "Z" ferry. The last stretch is the car ride again along the Rakhine Yoma for about an hour and there the sounds of the waves will greet you at the beach of Chaung Thar. All your tiredness from the trip will disappear and your body and soul will feel as light and free as the moist ocean breeze.

Means of transportation…
    It could be a group of friends going for a worry-free school vacation, families going for a nice, cozy trip, office members for a friendly company trip or tourists for sight-seeing. Whatever it is, there are convenient ways to get to Chaung Thar. The best way is to go with your own car or a rental car. The popular cars rented for trips like this are TownAce, LiteAce, Toyota mini vans and they are rented for about 60,000-65,000 Kyats for one-night/ two-days trips but if you rent for more than 10 days the rental gets cheaper. If you cannot take your own car or rent one, you can take the tour buses. There are several tour companies that arrange packages for around 12,000-14,000 Kyats per person for two-nights/three-days trips that include transportation, accommodation and food.  If you go individually, bus fares for Yangon-Pathein in an air-conditioned bus range from 400-700 Kyats, and Pathein-Chaung Thar range from 100-300Kyats.

Staying at a hotel…
    There are several hotels along the beach.   The accommodation fees vary and to get an idea, the following is a list of prices for Chaung Thar Hotels.  The rooms are categorized by the number of guests and the prices depend on the facilities the hotel provides you with;

Rooms for 2 guests -- 2,500K, 2,900K and 5,500K Rooms for 3 guests -- 3,000K, 4,300K and 6,800K, 7,400K Rooms for 4 guests -- 5,000K

(Breakfast and dinner included in these prices).

    Most people go for two-nights or longer trips but some even go for one night trips just to get the feel of the ocean.  November to April is the season to go to the beach and during Thingyan holidays and other holidays are when you should book a hotel in advance. Some who are loaded with work go for just one night but people who stay longer can go to neighboring islands such as The’ Phyu (white sand) Island, Pho Kalar Island, etc. If you want to be economical, you can stay in the Chaung Thar village for cheap prices and the shops/restaurants in the village are less expensive as well.

    Electricity is still a problem but the hotels service you with their own generators for 12 hours a day. Most of the guests are locals of Myanmar and the reason for less foreigners visiting Chaung Thar is because of the inadequacy of infrastructure.

Ride the waves and play with the mermaids…
     After you get a room and have put away your belongings, the first thing you do is take a deep breath of this precious,  fresh ocean air and jump right into the water.  You can stay at the beach and enjoy the abundance of seafood.  Chaung Thar is home to crab and lobster farms and you can get these rare seafood for cheaper prices than in the cities.  Also, there are a few neighboring places to visit:

The’ Phyu Island -- There is a temple. 20mintues engine-boat ride for 500K/person.

Pho Kalar Island -- There is a temple, a monastery and many coconut trees. You can drink fresh coconut juice for 70K/coconut. 5minutes engine-boat ride for 50K/person.

Kyaut Maung Nhama -- There is one temple. You can take a walk (takes about 3 hours) or ride a bicycle (takes about 2 hours).

Ngwe Saung Beach -- The newly developed beach. You can rent an engine-boat for 8000K and takes about 1.5hours.

Play with the mermaids -- The team of Nagani.com wishes you luck with that!.