One Crazy Night in Kawthaung, Myanmar
After immigration and checking in with Island Safari Tours, we got our taxi to The Victoria Cliff Hotel, to spend the night before heading on our island adventure the next day. Our extremely friendly driver wanted to know if we were planning to go to “the party” that night. We were a little confused as his English wasn’t the best but we noted that as an option for the evening, and decided to ask more at the hotel.
The hotel is about a 15 minute drive from the town/port. After checking in we immediately spotted the infinity pool and gorgeous views. We hurried to our villa to change into our swimsuits, as we wanted to be poolside with a beer as quickly as possible. We stayed in a “Ocean View Villa,” which did not disappoint.
After arriving at the pool, we were shocked to find only one other couple! They were from Germany. It was remarkable there weren’t more tourists- the view was absolutely incredible.
After polishing off a few beers, we inquired with the bartender about this “party” happening tonight. He more or less explained that each year Singha beer, which is Thai beer company, hosts a party in Kawthaung for the Burmese to enjoy, as a gesture of appreciation. Although helpful, we still didn’t know what to expect once we arrived… but you only live once, right? So very hungry, and a little tipsy, off we went…
As we pulled up to the festival in our hotel van, people were immediately staring at us. We shrugged it off, as there appeared to be thousands of people there- surely we weren’t the only foreigners!
We began walking around observing the food and games- it felt like being home at a huge state fair! … Except a state fair full of new and unusual foods, where no one speaks English, and the beers are sold five at a time in plastic bags, with straws.
We grabbed a bag of beers to walk around with, although it was clear that almost no women were drinking. We were attracting a lot of attention (ie, people were taking pictures of us, discretely and not so discretely) and as we continued to explore the festival, we noted that there really weren’t any other foreigners… no Germans, no Dutch, no Aussies, and definitely no Americans. A very short while later, teen girls started approaching us, asking where we were from and if they could take photos with us.
Once we realized we were the only tourists for miles, we relished the chance to hang with the locals and have some fun! We walked around tasting all the different foods (our means of communication was by pointing and letting the vendors show us how much money we owed). The people were so friendly, and very excited that we wanted to try their various products.
Please note the food being served on what appears to be someone’s schoolwork.
After filling our bellies, we were onto the games. The most intriguing of which appeared to be throwing baseballs at various bottled drinks. After watching some local boys playing, the concept appeared to be: you pay for three baseballs which you throw at a wall lined with all sorts of drinks (soda, water, beer), and you get to keep whatever falls down.
Again, this seemed to be a male dominated activity, but I was a few beers deep and decided to show off my physical prowess. Once Garan paid for the baseballs and handed them off to me, I was suddenly the attention of dozens of curious eyes…
After successfully knocking down a water bottle, my audience cheered- I was a winner! I think the crowd was just as excited I hit something as I was.
I was particularly happy I hit a water bottle because the hot night (and bag of beers..) left my feeling pretty dehydrated.
After a few more snacks, we decided to head back to the hotel, as we were heading to the Mergui Archipelago the next morning. We, however, had not arranged a ride home. We wandered back to the entrance and did not see any taxis… after a few minutes, a young man on a motorbike approached us and offered a ride back to the hotel for a small price. As we did not have any other plans, Garan and I hopped onto the back of his bike, all three of us smashed together on the small seat and headed home, concluding one of the most fun, unexpected nights of our honeymoon.
Have you been to Kawthaung or Myanmar? Tell me about your experience!
