Where's The Town In Ngapali Beach?

I've been looking out at the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal for almost three days now and this beach paradise portion of the trip couldn't have come at a better time. Let's back track to pre-arrival..As I had mentioned before, airports in Myanmar are a bit confusing, even for this experienced traveler. Upon check in, they give you a color coded sticker (each airline has their specific ones), you don't exactly know what it means and you're ushered into a waiting room of chaos. Airport workers are yelling words that you don't understand and often they're scanning the room looking for someone yet can't find the one they're looking for. Flying to Thandwe from Heho, I had a gut feeling that I should get up and start looking for my flight boarding section. Noreen and I are on different flights and I told her if I don't come back, it means I'm on a plane. I see an Aussie woman that had the same sticker as me and I asked, "flight 243?" She responded, "the beach?" I nodded. Us yellow Air KBZ stickers have to stick together!

Paradise at last and it did not disappoint! If you don't arrive to this yet to be fully developed strip of soft sand and warm waters with cash and sunscreen, you're kind of SOL. I've only seen one cash exchange place and that's at the airport. ATMs have yet to be found and there isn't much of a town (which seems to be a popular question around here.."where's the town?" This is it. We walked an hour our first day here for confirmation.)...just a large strip of sand, a sprinkle of resorts, a guesthouse or two, some restaurants, two small local villages (comprised of a compound of huts), a fish market, an abundant amount of palm trees and a handful of shopping boutiques selling the same type of stuff. No harem pants -- I can usually gauge how touristy a SE Asia place is by the amount of harem pants offered.

 Checked in at the Yoma Cherry Lodge on the quieter north end... beach front rooms on a private beach for $105/night with furnishings that would rival the St Regis Princeville. I scored us a room about twelve steps to the beach and equally the amount of steps to breakfast. The masseuse here gives a mighty traditional massage for $15/hour. Seafood dinners for under $5.00.. just an organic simple fisherman town. We're here during it's high season yet feels practically empty.

There isn't much to do here but a whole lot to take in. Next to the lodge is one of the villages, Lintha Village, locals come out and play their beach soccer (if they're not out fishing), often with a token westerner traveler and kids in their cliques run wild along the beach with a bunch of dogs thrown in the mix. In the morning, they run out screaming for excitement. If you've watched "Beasts Of The Southern Wild", imagine scene where Hush People and her little peoples scream and charge the waters to find her mother. This is what makes this Myanmar slice of paradise ...it's authentic.

Construction is booming here! Ngapali Beach will inevitably grow and this place won't be the same a few years from now. These villages, that are shacks living on land that isn't theirs will have to move once that strip of beachfront land is sold. How nice the government will be about it? Who knows. I found all this out from Sue, the manager of the Lodge, at breakfast one morning. I was so curious/concern about what will happen to the villages. Hopefully, this place can keep it's charm, authenticity and keep out the seediness that can come with a place like this (reference Thai beaches).

My second full day on the beach, a girl, Johima (4yrs) from the village came over to me with her younger brother. I was reading Noreen's Maxim magazine (don't ask) at the time, an article on Mark Cuban, when the little brother pointed at the cover. Awesome, I AM the one that's corrupting the young here! Minutes later, I thought it'd be more appropriate to build sand castles. Yoma Cherry Lodge, if you end up losing a few glasses, sorry! When Johima had enough of the sand, she took my hand and led me to a religious statue on the side of the lodge and showed me how she prayed. Her brother followed suit. Johima's dad was going to his boat and must have urged them to leave me alone. She left but came back later with a posse of 4 others and her 1yr old sister. Imagine a 4 yr old shuffling down the beach with a 1 yr old in her arms. I was reading my People Stylewatch at the time. They flipped through the pages pointing things out if they thought it was beautiful. After awhile, the oldest of the girls said something in Burmese and they all waved bye. That's the life of these kids. They have no technology, haven't seen any toys but they have the village and a pecking order so it seems.

It's 6:18am now and as I'm writing this, I'm waiting to see when the village fishermen that went out yesterday around 5:00pm will come back..maybe they already have? Watching the village men march out in organized posses wearing their longyis (think sarong) was an interesting sight to see. Those who arrive early get in a quick game of soccer... penalty kicks and all. Meanwhile, the women get the fish drying field ready. Ngapali Beach, I will miss you dearly!

Still in search for a Myanmar patch for my backpack- my quintessential souvenir from countries I've traveled to.