Mawlamyaing (formerly Moulmein) is the capital of Mon State and Myanmar's fourth-largest city, spread along the eastern bank of the Thanlwin River where it widens toward the Andaman Sea. Kipling wrote about it — "By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea" — and the ridge of gilded pagodas along the hilltop above town still catches the light exactly as he described.
The city has a languid, provincial charm that Yangon has largely lost. The Thanlwin waterfront is lined with colonial-era buildings in various states of repair, and the central market is busy and unhurried. Kyaikthanlan Pagoda, the one Kipling likely meant, sits at the highest point of the ridge and offers views across the river to the limestone hills of Kayin State. Several other pagodas including Uzina line the same ridge, making the hilltop walk one of the most pleasant strolls in Myanmar.
Nearby excursions include Bilu Island (Ogre Island), accessible by ferry or road across the new bridge, where villages specialise in different crafts — pipes, rubber bands, walking sticks — and Win Sein Taw Ya, home to one of the world's largest reclining Buddha statues, 24 km to the south. Mawlamyaing is well connected by bus and train to Yangon and makes a good stop on a journey south toward the beaches at Dawei.