Dawei

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Dawei (Burmese: ထားဝယ္‌မ္ရုိ့; MLCTS: hta: wai mrui.; formerly known as Tavoy Thai:ทวาย), is a city in southeastern Myanmar and is capital of Tanintharyi Division, situated about 614.3 km south of Yangon on the northern bank of the Dawei River. Population (2004 estimate) 139 900. It is situated at 14.09°N 98.20°E. Dawei is a port at the head of the Dawei River estuary, 30 km. from the Andaman Sea.

1 History
2 Local products
3 Language
4 Attractions
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

The area around the Dawei River estuary has been inhabited for centuries by Mon, Kayin and Thai mariners. The present city was established in 1751 as a minor port for the Thai Ayuthaya empire. Over the years, control alternated back and forth from Siam to Burma, until the British annexation of the region after the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1826. Only recently connected to the rest of Myanmar by road and rail, Dawei has recently before the center of controversy over a massive natural gas pipeline project between Myanmar and Thailand's Gulf of Martaban.

[edit] Local products

Dawei longyi (sarong) is a famous local product.^[1] The area produces rubber, dried fish and teakwood. It also produces cashew nuts and betel nuts and exported them through local traders to China, India and Thailand. Dawei is also well known for its variety of tropical fruits such as pineapples, a variety of mangoes, mangosteens, and durian (also known as the "King of Fruits"). There is one fruit call "zin thi" (in Dawei language) which can only be found in Dawei and surrounding areas, it is sweet with a touch of sour.

[edit] Language

Dawei also has its own language although the Myanmar people will recognize it only as a dialect since its written script has been lost over the years.

[edit] Attractions

The scenic Maungmagan Beach is approximately 45-minutes drive away from Dawei. There are also a number of hot water springs around the outskirts, about one to a few hours drive from Dawei. There is one quite close to Maungmagan (on the way to Maungmagan from Dawei).

The largest reclining Buddha in Myanmar is in Dawei (about 30 minutes drive from Dawei).