HOUSE OF THE WEEK
Three-storey Mayangone villa
MAYANGONE township is the setting for this three-storey villa with oodles of space and mainstream taste. The pillar- and balcony-heavy façade gives a strong indication of what lies inside- more
Island paradise welcomes visitors
(Volume 26, No. 507)
VISIT an unspoiled island paradise – that’s the offer from Myanmar Five Star Line, which is running a five-day tour to Coco Island, off Myanmar’s southern coast.
The trip, organised in cooperation with the Yangon Division Peace and Development Council, starts on January 27, said a spokesperson from the council’s General Administrative Department.
U Hla Myint, assistant director of the department, said the trip would cost K50,000 per person for upper class, K40,000 for middle class and K35,000 for ordinary class, aboard the ship Than Lwin, which departs from Thaketa Port.
After arriving the following day, the ship will circle the island on January 29-30 before returning to Yangon on January 31, he said. The 440 passengers will be required to pay for their food and accommodation, said U Hla Myint.
“Only about 1000 people, including government staff, live [on Coco Island]. They are really looking forward to receiving guests,” he said.
Most of the island’s residents operate souvenir or food shops or make money through traditional pursuits like catching sea leeches, selling Buddhist images or making beads of the local thikkanet wood, said a spokesperson for the Yangon Division Peace and Development Council.
Tickets are available from Myanmar Five Star Line and the Yangon Division Peace and Development Council’s Kyauktada township office.
Free accommodation will be provided at monasteries or the island school, or home-stay can be arranged at prices ranging between K7500 and K15000, U Hla Myint said.
Coco Island is located between the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, 260 nautical miles (482 kilo-metres) southwest of Yangon. Thanks to its isolation and the lack of industry, the water is very clear and the island is home to a wide variety of bird and animal species. The trip will be the third since November 2009, said U Hla Myint.
