Tagondaing

Understand

Southeastern Myanmar comprises, from north to south, Kayin (formerly Karen) state, Mon state, and Tanintharyi (formerly Tenasserim) region. Regions and states are equivalent administritive divisions, the only difference being that regions are predominantly Bamar (Burman), whereas states have populations where ethnic minorities predominate.

The British gained the Tanintharyi coast and the southern part of what is now Kayin state as far back as 1826, in the peace treaty that ended the First Anglo-Burmese War. The British then gobbled up what is now Mon state and the rest of Kayin state following the Second Anglo-Burmese War, together with the rest of Lower Burma, in 1853.

The population of southeastern Myanmar is overwhelmingly Buddhist with small minorities of Christians and Muslims. Despite being grouped together in this article for the sake of convenience, Kayin state, Mon state, and Tanintharyi region are very different to each other. Kayin state is one of the least developed regions of Myanmar, with one of the lowest human development indices in the country.

Get around

Within the region, Myanmar National Airlines flies from Dawei to Kawthoung on Monday mornings, and also has six flights per week between Myeik and Kawthoung.

See

thumb|Grandfather beach is 2 hours by car from Dawei Tanintharyi has some of the best beaches in Myanmar. Extremely limited tourism (even before the 2021 coup) kept these beaches in pristine condition.

Grandfather beach, Sin Htauk beach, and Maungmagan beach can be reached from Dawei. Maungmagan is the closest beach to the town, only half an hour away by road.

Ma Gyi beach, Ta Yoke Htauk beach, and Kyungyi beach are in the vicinity of Ye.

Myanmazing beach, on Don island, is accessible from Myeik.

Do

Many tour companies offer scuba diving liveaboard tours of the Mergui archipelago.