For once we were waking up with the rest of Lake Inle to take the boat to the car to the plane to Ngapali beach. We left the hotel by boat in the pre dawn light, swaddled in blankets against the early morning chill. An ethereal mist rose from the lake as we sped towards Nyaung Shwe as the sun rose over the mountains. Now we know why everyone else got up so early....
Back on terra firma we were handed over to a driver for the transfer to Heho airport for the flight to Ngapali Beach. Despite Anthony's protests, the taxi made for much more comfortable and warmer ride along the winding mountain roads than the pickup that we had endured previously. Our driver spoke good English and we talked about family, life in Burma and in England. It is hard to know how far to go in these conversations. A sensible rule is never to initiate any criticism of the government. We haven't met any Burmese who we would describe as fervent supporters of the regime, and opinions seem to range from downright hostile to largely indifferent.
Heho airport is small but perfectly formed. The usual slick operation with a mix of predominantly tourists, but some locals taking flights to destinations around Myanmar.
In contrast to the coffee shop at Mandalay airport which didn't even sell coffee, Heho airport boasted a coffee shop (well, coffee counter...) where we had the best coffee of the trip so far. And wine, so we bought a couple more bottles of Shan State Sauvignon Blanc to take to the beach.
Today we were flying with KBZ Airways. Their slogan is "Flying Beyond Expectations". From what we had heard about domestic flights in Burma, arriving at our destination unscathed would fulfil this promise! The flight was almost empty and within an hour we were descending towards the coast. The crystalline waters and golden sands fringed by palm groves echoed the promises of so many holiday brochures. So often the claims of empty beaches and pristine sands don't match up to reality. However in this case, just like KBZ Airways, the charms of Ngapali Beach exceeded our expectations. Is this one of the last beaches in Asia where the grandiose superlatives of the holiday brochure hold true?
Thandwe airport is tiny, charming and utterly laid back. Within minutes we were negotiating with a taxi driver for our 20 minute drive to Ngapali beach. Having eschewed the delights of a 5 star resort for a more low key (and typically unpretentious) experience, so beloved of the Lonely Planet, we passed several upscale, chichi resorts before turning down a sandy track towards the beach. There was no sign to tell us that we had arrived at our hotel, the Laguna Lodge. Ant had always had misgivings about our choice of accommodation in Ngapali and this turned out to be very prescient. Laguna Lodge was a ramshackle assortment of run down buildings that even the Beverly hillbillies would have disowned. Our hearts sank. We decided to have a look at the rooms that we had booked. For $70 a night, quite high for here, our expectations were fairly high. These were soon dashed. The rooms were dank and neglected and looked a bit grubby. The beachfront location was spectacular but the rooms and the hotel did not live up to it. We wondered if the hotel's description as an Eco hotel was shorthand for "just hit by a cyclone". We entreated our taxi driver to help us find another place to stay. We had heard that hotels get booked up in Ngapali and this was peak season. Any panic was probably unwarranted but this didn't stop David from hanging out of the cab window, holding up two fingers and bellowing (rather imperiously) "We need 2 rooms!" at unsuspecting hotel staff as we swept into a succession of resorts.
We finally found lodgings at the Amata resort, a plush five star resort on the beach, at twice the price of the Laguna Lodge. When shown a deluxe room, we were rather disconcerted to see mousetraps everywhere. In her limited English the desk clerk explained that they were to keep mice away. Maybe we were splitting hairs, but the difference between a mouse and a rat is often debatable in these parts. Thoughts of Manuel's pet "Siberian hamster" sprang to mind as David tried to ascertain whether the traps were for "small mouse" or "big mouse" with the associated hand gestures.
Not wishing to share with Pixie and Dixie, we were quickly found other rooms, and very comfortable they were too. We haven't been really roughing it so far on this trip, but to have some five star luxury with comfy beds, good showers and all that comes with that (lattes, club sandwiches and cocktails on tap) was a welcome respite.
The string of 5 star resorts that line Ngapali beach should all put up a sign at reception, "Now Leaving Myanmar". We had left Myanmar as soon as we entered the portals but we relished the prospect of a few days' relaxing in such a beautiful and seemingly undiscovered spot.
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