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along the South Tanintharyi coast. From May to
October the weather is not good, wind, rain and wave take over. During
monsoon which is also in this timeframe it becomes a real wet hole with
incredible amount of rain bouncing down every day since the clouds from the
Indian Ocean stall at the hill ranges and empty everything they carry.
The Archipelago
includes around 800 pleasant and enchanting
islands in the Andaman Sea just off the city and all the way down to
Kawthaung the southernmost tip of the country.
This is a island world hidden from most
travelers, before the British conquered Burma only a few Chinese junk trade
vessels came to barter pearl, amber, wood and other goods for earthenware
and porcelain. Some European adventurer followed and reported in some travel
diaries.
The first was a
Frenchman who published a travelogue in
1675. After came some Portuguese trader and
pirates, after the Dutch tried some trading
but there was still nothing really going on.
This changed when the British colonialist
took over Burma and started to explore the
coast downwards from Yangon.
The islands
of the archipelago
are densely
forested with jungle and white untouched
beaches with some limestone rocks and
granite boulder. One of the very few
'virgin' places in the world. In 1990 the
Myanmar government changed the English names
of the islands and towns to native names,
more or less to the names they had before
the British came. This way Mergui became
Myeik, Victoria Point became Kawthaung,
Tavoy became Dawai Rangoon became Yangon and
so on.
There are not
hotels or resorts on the islands if one
wants to stay there the best is to ask for
permission from the local Sea Gypsies or
Salone, also called Moken in Thailand to
stay in one of the beach huts, sounds
romantic but isn't.
Only one island
beach resort is operated by a Thai company
opposite Kawthaung in close proximity to
Ranong. Since the end of the 1990 - ties
some diving companies operating out of
Phuket, Thailand, got permission to explore
the waters for liveaboard trips out of
Phuket.
is the book with
the best information
about this land in the old days, it was
published in 1936, see the ebook version
through the link above.
He wrote the
very lively story of the area around during
colonial times in relation with the British
East India Company, the local people and the
Thai Kingdom since at that time the area
around was Siam.
Maurice Collis
presented a incredible insight' into the
minds and actions of the earliest Europeans
who have come to the east seeking to realize
different goals, the idea was always trade
and fortune. The area was Thai territory
until the 19. Century.
From the end of
British colonial times until recent days
foreigners were kept away from south
Myanmar's Tanintharyi / Tennasserim
province.
Salone
Salone Houseboat
Pearl Diver in the Andaman Sea
Island sunset in
southern Myanmar
Totem pole on a island
The sea gypsies
are still very backwards oriented somehow
similar to Indio of the Amazonas. Since the
British "fixed" them on with alcohol and
opium in exchange for their pearls they are
heavy alcohol user. |
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