Sleeping in Mrauk U, Myanmar

Royal City Guest House

Minbar Gyi Road, Aung Datt, Mrauk U.
Ph: +45 98502400
      +45 43-24200~5 Ext: 50257
Email: rivervalleyrestaurant@gmail.com 
Website: www.newpalacehotelsittwe.com/

Through the friendly waitress at River Valley Restaurant in Sittwe, we booked a bungalow at Royal City Guest Hotel for $35/night.

The bungalow and site were nicer than the hotel room we’d paid $55 for in Sittwe, so we were happy when we checked in. It was clean and fairly spacious with a TV, minibar and small table and chairs.

While Royal City have lights 24 hours a day, they didn’t have 24 hour electricity. In the searing heat of a summer day, my boyfriend and I lie on the tiled floor in our underwear in an attempt to keep cool. Relief from the heat seemed impossible; we had a fan and air conditioner that weren’t working and a shower that only ran hot because the pipes were in the sun.

Breakfast was supposed to be included, but at around 7:30am the next morning, there were no staff to be found at reception. The outdoor restaurant didn’t look like it had been used in quite a while; the tables and chairs were stacked up and had dust and cobwebs on them.

I believe that this could be a nice place to stay in peak season when the temps are cooler, business is in full swing and service is a priority. I really got the feeling that we were the only guests there and that the staff were in a lazy low-season mood.

Room types and rates

Shwe Thazin Hotel

Given how hot we’d been at Royal City, we moved to Shwe Thazin, which has a generator and therefore 24 hour electricity. We struck a deal with Jack, the manager; because we were staying for 4 nights and had stayed in their sister hotel in Sittwe, we paid $55US/night instead of $60US.

This bungalow style hotel is relatively new and the gardens and fountain give it a fresh, relaxing feel. The rooms have air conditioning, TV, a mini bar and a spacious bathroom with a bath.

The restaurant is neat, clean and air conditioned, but not very atmospheric. There was usually BBC news on the TV and not much else going on.
The buffet breakfast was fairly standard – toast, fruit, eggs, noodles, fried rice, coffee, tea, juice.
Note: in low season there will only be a buffet breakfast if the hotel has a certain number of guests. Most days we just had eggs, toast, fruit, tea/coffee and juice.
Their menu offers Chinese and Myanmar dishes at reasonable prices, though the food is often oily and quite average.

The manager, Jack, speaks English quite well and is very helpful. He called around to compare airline and bus fares for me, calculating different routes from Mrauk U to Mandalay.
Having worked in hotels in Yangon, he ensures that a high standard of service is provided by the staff.

Golden Star Guesthouse
116 Min Bar Rd, Mrauk U
+95 435 0175
+95 9850 1664  
+95 43 09 4967 4472

Off the main strip but cheap and next to Happy Garden, one of my favourite restaurants in Mrauk U, Golden Star is a good budget option.

Electricity 5am-midnight

Room rates
Single   $10US no fan         $13US with fan

Double $15US no fan         $20US with fan

All room rates include breakfast

Kyaw Soe Guesthouse

28 Min Bar Gyi Street, Taung Yat Qr, Mrauk U
+95 435 0003
+95 9421 734 799

Almost hidden away at the southern end of the main drag, this family run guesthouse was recommended by a friend as a cheap, clean and bright option.

Electricity 5am-midnight

Room rates

Single $7US with fan              $10US with fan and breakfast

Double $14US with fan         $20US with fan and breakfast

All prices are shown in US dollars, but can be paid in Kyat at a rate of 1:1,000

Travelling from Sittwe to Mrauk U, Myanmar

There are two options for getting from Sittwe to Mrauk U - boat or bus.

Boat
There are ferries running daily, it will just depend on the day that you travel as to which boat you'll take (timetable below).

We took the Aung Kyaw Moe Express ferry, which took 5 hours. The ticket was 10,000 Kyats which included a plastic deckchair on the upper deck of the boat and a bottle of water. It's quite a nice trip along the river

 

 

Tips:

• get there earlier than the given check in time. Our boat left at 6:50 and it was packed by 6:20am.
• try to sit in the middle of the chair area; the edges of the boat are exposed to the weather and people seated at the back are sprinkled with soot from the boat's smokestack.

Sittwe to Mrauk U Ferry timetable (current in April 2014)

Monday                    Aung Kyaw Moe Express Boat     Check in 6:30am

Tuesday                    Government Boat                          Check in 6:30am

Wednesday              Shwe Pyitan Express Boat            Check in 7:00am

Thursday                  Aung Kyaw Moe Express Boat     Check in 6:30am

Friday                        Government Boat                         Check in 6:30am

Saturday                   Aung Kyaw Moe Express Boat    Check in 6:30am

Sunday                      Shwe Pyitan Express Boat            Check in 7:00am

 

Bus
There's a bus to Mandalay that starts in Sittwe and passes through Mrauk U and Magwe among other places. I caught it from Mrauk U to Mandalay, which was 20hrs. It's another few hours on top of that and rumoured to cost 3,000 Kyat. Ask at your guest house for details on times and tickets, and if they tell you that you need a guide to accompany you, advise them that the rules have changed and you don't need one anymore. The bus company will back you up on that.

Eating and Sleeping in Sittwe, Myanmar

 

 

 

We were only in Sittwe for a night before heading to Mrauk U. We didn't see much of the place. I loved the old clock tower and enjoyed watching people riding in the golden afternoon sun on scooters, trishaws, and bikes. I was amazed by how straight the ladies' backs were when they rode their bicycles, and I found out why when I was in Mrauk U.

 

 

We stayed at Shwe Thazin Hotel. At the time I didn't think much of it for the price ($55US), but it was clean, we had a mini bar, TV, air conditioning, 24 hour electricity, buffet breakfast and everything was in working order.

We'd tried too get a room at Mya's Guesthouse first, but they were full. As we walked down the street with the dry, hot summer sun beating down on us, Shwe Thazin was the next place we came across. After being in transit from Kuala Lumpur since early that morning, air conditioning and comfort were our priorities.

We stayed at Shwe Thazin Hotel in Mrauk U too, it's a lot newer and nicer than it’s Sittwe sister. It's a totally different style of hotel, with bungalows and gardens.

 



Our Superior Double room at Shwe Thazin Hotel Sittwe.

 

We ate at River Valley Restaurant, which is tied in with New Palace Hotel in Sittwe and Royal City Guesthouse in Mrauk U. From what I've heard, this is the best tourist restaurant in Sittwe. They serve seafood, Chinese and Rakhine fare. The waiters there wear bow ties, which is a bit ridiculous because it's not a fancy restaurant. Our waitress was friendly and helped us learn to say thank you in Burmese. We ordered the vegetables with Indian spices and the "Cherry Prawn" dish, a sweet, tomato based dish based on her recommendations, and we enjoyed both.

 

Notes: Flights within Myanmar

·        Booking flights and comparing fares from outside Myanmar is not a simple process. Air Bagan are the only airline with an online booking system. Their online flight schedule doesn’t always match the days that flights actually run, so there can be a bit of trial and error in finding an available flight.
It’s difficult to find schedules and prices for the other airlines from outside Myanmar, and their airfares are often much cheaper than Air Bagan's. Flights with Air Mandalay, KBZ, Yangon Airlines and Asian Wings need to be booked direct with the airline (email, call or walk into an office), or through a travel agent.

·        Be aware that your flight time, or even your airline may change. Keep an eye on your emails or call your travel agent or airline directly the day before. I booked four internal flights with Air Bagan and only flew with them once. My three other flights ended up being with Asian Wings and Yangon Airways. Two of my flight times changed too.

·        When you check in, you’ll be given an airline sticker to wear on your shirt. A visible sticker can help staff get you on the right flight, as boarding announcements can be difficult to understand.

·        At Yangon Airport there’s a staff member who walks around holding up a placard for the flight that’s boarding. He/she will call out the airline, destination and flight number.

·        Seating may be “free” meaning first in best dressed, so if you want to sit with your group, be ready for the boarding call and placard guy/girl. My Asian Wings and Yangon Airways flights had free seating, Air Bagan had assigned seating.

·        Flight paths often include two stops (ie. Heho-Mandalay-Yangon). Make sure you get off at the right airport.

·        All three airlines I flew with provided refresher towels, lollies (sweets/candies) on short flights and a light meal on longer flights.

·        Planes can be small (only 11 rows), and the overhead lockers are… you guessed it… also small! Take as little on board as you can. If you’ve only got carry-on luggage, take something like your bag of toiletries out of your main bag – this worked a treat for me.

·        Many airports are also small, with a basic gate lounge and 1-2 simple cafés or shops selling nibbles. Arrival areas in these airports don’t have a luggage carousel; staff will bring your bags into a waiting area and you will have to hand over your baggage tickets (stapled to your boarding pass at check in) to get your luggage back.



Luggage waiting area in Nyaung U airport.