Chaung Tha: relaxation and authenticity on Burmese beaches

After Pathein, our next stop was Chaung Tha beach. At least, Chaung Tha was our base for the next 3 days. And if the main beach of Chaung Tha is lined with hotels and mostly frequented by locals and Asian tourists (I would only realize it at the end of the 2nd day…), the other beaches in the area, whether to the north or the south, are deserted and wild.

And really, what beaches! Chaung Tha is a real little corner of paradise that is not well known, while everyone rushes to Ngapali, the default beach resort in Myanmar…

Find the Pathein – Chaung Tha bus

It is by local bus that we had made the journey. Loaded with boxes of food, drinks etc. to supply the area which is a bit of a dead end…

The journey takes around 2 hours and costs 30 kyats per person.

From our hotel, the bus was really not far from there, we just had to take the street on the right, cross the main road (thanks to the police for regulating the chaotic traffic on this Monday morning) and pass in front of a school before managing to find the bus, located in a small street with no signs (thanks to the Lonely Planet!)

To find it, I refer you to the map of Pathein

Local bus ride

After a small coffee 200 kyats (barely 6 bahts!) and a few photos, it was time to settle into our seat (assigned number please!). I wedge my legs as best I can with the boxes under the seat… and off we go, a bit of a rock'n roll journey, the kids sit wherever they can like the one next to me.

Not much to say about the journey itself. At the beginning we are treated to a rather flat landscape, composed of rice fields that are mostly empty at this time of year. Afterwards the road becomes more winding and crosses bamboo forests (well I think so).

This continues at the rhythm of the various stops, the road having tolls, at which vendors, taking advantage of the fact that the bus is stopping (sometimes), rush to your windows to sell you something to nibble on.

Arriving at a last toll, there follows a small bridge just wide enough for a vehicle, crossing a large river bordered by a village. We were almost there, I did not yet know that I would have the opportunity to set foot in the village in question (that will be for another article!)

Where to sleep in Chaung Tha

I had booked our hotel for Chaung Tha in advance, at Hill Garden Resort and a excellent choice, because in addition to the setting that awaited us, we were picked up directly by motorbike from the bus stop and dropped off ready to check in (since we didn't tell them what time we were arriving, that means they are watching for each bus to arrive!)

A beautiful deserted beach

After a hearty meal at the hotel, we headed on foot to the beach, located less than 200m away.

And what a beach!

For a first contact with this beautiful region it was successful.

It is a large deserted beach that opens up before our eyes. In the distance, we can see a small hill with a stupa on it. We then started walking towards it.

Impromptu meeting with a local guide

Halfway through, as I was taking a look at a hotel under construction (which seems to be taking a long time to finish, hoping that in the long term this beach will not attract too many property developers…), a Burmese comes to greet us, we quickly understand that he is mute.

But this one starts the conversation, I improvise as a sign language translator (whom I don't know), his gestures are quite explicit. The latter is a guide, and during the conversation, he invites us to spend a day with him, to visit the surroundings by boat, with a meal at his home, in his village.

He shows us a notebook with testimonials from his previous customers. Tempted, we negotiate the price which seemed a little high to us ($30 instead of $35…) and we meet the next morning at 8:30 am at the crossroads near our hotel.

To see the report of our day with Mose, our guide, it's here: GUIDED TOUR: DISCOVERY ALONG THE WATER IN CHAUNG THA

After this discussion, he offered to take us directly further on his motorbike, just after the small hill with the stupa, where there is a small hut selling drinks and a few seats to sit on.

A little break under the coconut trees

At this place, we will see a few rare foreigners who obviously all find themselves in this little lost corner. It is apparently the lair of Mose, our future guide, where he comes to chat every day to offer his guide services.

We spent a good part of the afternoon there, in relaxed mode, my wife drawing in her notebook, me photographing what was around me, in particular these kids who were getting excited in front of the camera, or even more frightening, this little girl who was trying to open a coconut with a very sharp machete...

Quick tour of the local pagoda

As we were heading back to our hotel, we thought we'd still take a look at the small temple visible on the beaches, even though we had passed it on the way there. A few steps lead to a platform where there is a small golden chedi and a Buddha statuette.

As it is on a promontory, we have a privileged view of the two beaches surrounding us. The one we came from, and the one near our hotel where we arrived. A mother and her daughter pass by while in the distance, I see a few cows walking freely on the beach, while a group of Burmese indulge in an impromptu football session on the sand still warm from this beautiful day.

Sunset on the beach

We left from there as the sun began to go down, giving us time to watch the sunset, practically alone apart from a family pushing their motorbike stuck in the sand, a couple in souvenir photo mode and a group of young people who had come to sit on the beach to have a drink.

Definitively a crush, which was to be confirmed in the following days.