After a long, bumpy bus ride to Dawei and finally getting our heads down, we were rudely awoken as the sun was rising by some strange sounds. After asking around it became apparent that the sounds were coming from the local temple, marking someone’s passing from this life. We were informed, it usually lasted for several days.
It rained a lot whilst we were in Dawei, and that first day was more or less taken up by reading indoors and playing cards. We decided to take a risk the following day though, and along with the other Dutch girls, we arranged to rent a car for the day and go down to Grandfather beach.
It rained on and off on the drive there, and two of us had to cram into the boot space. En route we stopped to visit a pagoda perched on a jagged cliff face…
We went a bit further, and then the driver parked up in a small local village where excited children pressed their faces against the windows and giggled at us.
We hiked for 15 minutes or so through the jungle and came out onto this expanse of wide, empty beach. Rivulets of water cut through the sand; on one side was dense jungle, and in the distance, hills shrouded in mist.
Although it was cloudy, it was still warm, so we decided to make the most of it and lay our towels down anyway.
After a few hours of jumping waves and playing around on the sand, the mist was starting to encroach
We eventually decided to call it a day and pack up before it rained, but unfortunately just as we were leaving the beach, the heavens opened and we were left running downhill through the jungle in a torrential downpour.
We spent a rainy evening with bottles of beer from the one local shop, huddled under the communal shelter area by candlelight, chatting and playing cards.
The Gypsy Heart Travels 