Welcome to Mawlamyine
Mingalabar!

Kyaikthanlan Pagoda
Kyaikthanlan Pagoda
Mawlamyine is the third largest city in Myanmar after Yangon and Mandalay situated 165 kilometers east of the nation's capital across the Gulf of Mottama at the mouth of the Thanlwin river. It is the capital of Mon State with a population of almost 300,000 people. Formerly known as Moulmein, it was once a thriving teak port and the administrative capital of British Lower Burma. The town's signature landmark is Kyaikthanlan pagoda built in 875 AD and  thought to be the site from where Rudyard Kipling wrote his famous poem, 'The Road to Mandalay'. It's unlikely that Kipling was referring to Mandalay Ward located at the base of Kyaikthanlan pagoda, but rather the 'Mandalay' in central Myanmar.

The Thanlwin bridge, the longest road and rail bridge in Myanmar is the most prominent landmark in the area. It stretches a distance of 11,000 feet over the Thanlwin river connecting the country's south eastern region with its capital, Yangon.

Mawlamyine is generally considered to be off the main tourist trail for most travellers to Myanmar but the town does have a charm of its own with its rich history, buildings with colonial style architecture, World War II era wooden buses, and its close proximity to the infamous Siam-Burma "death railway", making it a fascinating place to visit!
Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 March 2009 )
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Internet in Mawlamyine

Amazing PC, Mawlamyine
Amazing PC, MYC Shopping Centre
Recently, another two Internet public access centres have opened in Mawlamyine with the most popular now being "Amazing PC" located on the top floor of the MYC Shopping Complex beside Upper Zeigyi market. "Amazing PC" has about 14 terminals with new flat screen LCD monitors with rates at 500 kyats an hour. The computer systems here are well maintained, however do take care, as with any public access Internet centres, viruses and worms are common place so becareful if you're using a pen drive/USB key to transfer photos and the like to emails. Your pen drive will most likely get infected requiring a virus scan once you have it docked back on your laptop.

"Amazing PC" opens at 9am and closes late in the evening at 10pm and access to the centre after 6pm is via the southern entrance of the MYC building. From this entrance, go up the stairs to the top floor. This place is quite popular not just amongst the wired younger generation for chatting and accessing social networking websites, but for oldies too who tend to use it to keep in touch with family members working overseas or reading up on news from abroad. Skype amongst other voice-over-ip systems are quite popular amongst the locals, as is other Internet telephone software. Some terminals are well equipped with web cams to enable video conferencing, however the Internet in this part of the world can be painfully slow so video conferencing, although well intentioned, may not work that well.The best time for accessing the Internet is usually early in the morning or late in the evening.

Note that this place is also popular amongst the Mawlamyine youth for playing network games. Although the gaming area is partitioned from the Internet access area, the game warriors can be quite noisy at times. Don't be afraid to point this out to the friendly attendants if it bothers you.  

 
Internet Hut, Mawlamyine
Internet Hut, Myoma Tada St
Interestingly, one of the best Internet access centres in Mawlamyine is infact this unassuming little 'hut' located on Myoma Tada St diagonally opposite the Sandalwood Hotel . The computer systems in this little building are the newest in town with new 19 inch flatscreen LCD monitors attached to computers with fast CPU's. As expected, this place is quite popular amongst the locals and can sometimes be diffcult to find a free terminal especially in the evenings. Rates are 500 kyats an hour charged in 1 hour blocks. Some of the people who work here can speak English so assistance with some limited troubleshooting, for example, accessing Gmail, can be provided when you ask. This centre has about 8 computer terminals and does have air conditioning when the electricty is running. And please take off your shoes before you enter.
 
 
 
The government post office on the corner of Myoma Tada St and Baho St also has public Internet access and charges 500 kyats an hour.

Last Updated ( Friday, 20 February 2009 )
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