The best way to explore Mrauk-U is really on the top of a bicycle. I have my own Ympek bicycle, but you can rent one there. There is only 1 place for bike rental, but there is actually no need for more as this place doesn’t have many tourists.
I actually thought I would be the only one going to MrauK-U on a bus, but I had 6 more tourists on my bus and they were the only ones I saw. So I truly trust that this place doesn’t have more than 10 different tourists there exploring hahah.
Mrauk-U is such a special place and I’m so glad that I have visited. If Myanmar was the land of smiles for me before, Mrauk-U just helped even more. Be prepared for happy days. They are not used to tourists at all, so you will be waving hello to many many children while you are riding the streets of the city. Mrauk-U is so special because the archeological zone lays in the middle of the villager’s houses, so the contact with them is inevitable. They are sweetest people. They stare and smile at you as seeing a tourist isn’t a regular sight. For them, we are all beautiful so I was listening many times: “Laré” that means beautiful. Even if you look like a mess, you are beautiful to them.
It’s fun to see the goats jumping around the temples, the chickens too. It’s just like a big giant farm in between the temples. People chase you for pictures, but some are very shy and take it while hiding.
I went with a German friend I made there to a part of the city that I believe is even less touristic than the rest as people were staring a lot. We have been close to a lake called Latsay Lake that is so beautiful. You can see that it lays among cliffs, I’m sure a boat ride here would be magnificent but there isn’t such thing as boats around. Why would they have them if there are no tourists?
I really enjoyed riding my Ympek bicycle on this less traveled roads and we have also visited a pagoda named the “unknown pagoda” It was hard to find but very worthy. This pagoda is totally abandoned and the path to it is being swallowed by nature. It t wasn’t so easy to find… But from the top, you can see this lake and have the whole temple for you. There isn’t a living soul nearby. The temple is surrounded by plants and fungee that give it a yellow tone. It’s a unique temple, different from the others that were definitely worthy.
We have also been to Mrauk-U Jetty to relax along the riverside but we were getting too many weird looks so we didn’t stay for longer. I guess people were just truly curious to see how we look like. It’s so funny!
I loved this day in particular as we were deep in the middle of their houses and it feels like not many tourists have been there, so I feel kind of special for visiting.
It’s such a magical feeling of being surrounded by these people in this area. I can’t take the smile on my face, so I truly advice other travelers to just go on a bike without destiny among the streets where they live. It’s one of the best things you will take from Mrauk-U.
