The Amazing Ngapali Beach in Myanmar

by Sandra Scott

No matter how we do it the trip from New York State to Bangkok is long – very long.  My husband and I have found a way to make is doable. When we arrive in Bangkok we relax for a day or so at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel before continuing on.  The hotel has a beautiful pool and a great spa. The hotel has easy connections with the airport and now by rail with Bangkok city center.

From Bangkok it is a short, inexpensive flight on Air Asia to Yangon, Myanmar. The most impressive site in the bustling city of Yangon is the golden Shwedagon Pagoda.   From our window at Traders Hotel we could see the amazing pagoda at night. The lighting made it look like a vision from a fairy tale.

I read somewhere that travelers should think twice about booking a hotel named The Grand Hotel because most likely it hasn’t been grand for decades.  We found that true in some cases so when we were booking our hotels in Myanmar and decided to stay at Amazing Hotels in Lake Inle, Nyaung Shwe, and Ngapali Beach we wondered if it was really ‘amazing.’  They are amazing especially Amazing Resort in Ngapali. In fact, it is so amazing we recently returned for our fourth visit.  The sand is soft on the long curving beach, the waves are gently, and the water of the Bay of Bengal is warm.  Even when the hotel is fully booked the beach seems empty yet the staff is quick to deliver beach towels.

The beautifully landscaped property reflects Myanmar style with local handicrafts for decorations. It all blends beautifully with the palm trees. Throughout the entire resort there is an amazing attention to detail: wooden lounge chairs have a slide-out shelf so beach bags are out of the sand, there are inner tubes for frolicking in the water, each room comes with sandals, and free ‘take-me-home’ straw hats. Each night at turndown locally made sweets arrive in a lacquer ware pagoda-style dish. John and I have stayed in many outstanding properties around the world but there are a few that are supremely special to us - the ones we talk about when we are home and yearn to return to.  Amazing Resorts is one of the select few.  We are frequent visitors to Asia and, now that we have discovered Amazing Resort Ngapali, we always include a stay at Amazing Beach Ngapali. 

The resort offers returning guests a free dinner and a spa treatment. The hotel guests are a mix of small European groups and individual travelers with very few Americans.  Recently we returned for the fourth time in time to celebrate John’s birthday.  We never expected the welcome we received.  As usual the staff, dressed in local attire, met us at the gate of the small airport waiting to transport us to the hotel which is only about five minutes away.  The luggage is transported by the staff directly from the airport to the guest’s room. That is usual but this time they had a beautiful bouquet of flower for each of us and upon arrival at the hotel the staff had made a beautiful welcome sign for us.

The next morning, John’s birthday, we went for a walk on the beach before breakfast.  The dining area of the hotel have a beautiful view of the Bay of Bengal.  When we arrive the staff had prepared a special table decorated with blossoms and a card for the birthday boy. If that wasn’t special enough, Adrian, the Service Manager, and Kyaw Swar Maung Maung, the Resident Manager, presented us with Amazing Resort golf shirts that had John’s name with a birthday greeting on the back.  Amazing! But what really caught us off guard was when we returned to our room to find three of the staff waiting. They had decorated the room with balloons and inscribed on the king size bed in red and yellow rose petals was “Happy Birthday, Mr. John Scott.”  Now that was truly amazing.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach.  John’s birthday dinner ended with a cake surrounded by the musical trio singing “Happy Birthday.”  Even though John wanted to think it was all special for him the truth is all guests receive amazing treatment.

The days passed too quickly. We enjoyed the beach and our free spa treatments. John walked into town a couple of times and we made a short visit to the Buddhist monastery across from the hotel.  Each night we made sure we were on our balcony to watch the sun set on the Bay of Bengal.

Myanmar has wonderful tourist sites: the ancient city of Bagan, Lake Inle with the unique leg rowers, the English-style hill town of Kalaw, Mandalay and many other places.  When people hear we are going to Myanmar we get a raised eyebrow expression.  To go or not to go was a dilemma we faced before our first visit but when we found that the Orient Express runs tours to Myanmar included their famed boat trip, The Road to Mandalay, and that many tour groups from Europe visit we decided to go to. 

We found a country that is beautiful, the people are very welcoming and it might well be one of the safest countries in the world. We try to stay at places that are locally owned and not connected to the government. The only difficulty is that it is a cash-only country.  Credit cards are not accepted so we have to make sure we bring enough dollars to cover all our expenses. We have seen improvements since our first visit.  Change is coming but slowly. 

If you go: www.novotel.com , www.tradershotels.com, www.amazing-hotel.com