There are a number of hotels and guest houses in Mongla where visitors can stay in comfort and perfect safety. At present the best hotel in town is the 87-room, international standard Miandianmengla Hotel or the Mongla Hotel which was built with Chinese investment, at a cost of K1680 lakhs. There are beds for 158 persons with modern amenities like 24 hours hot and cold water, air conditioning, ice-box, telephone, and TV (12 channels: Myanmar, Chinese, CNN etc.)

The teak furniture is beautiful; the rooms are fully carpetted; the hotel ably run by a Chinese hotel manager with many pleasant and helpful Myanmar staff. It is located right on the main road in the town centre, and there are resturants, cafes and many shops all around. The night bazaar and the early morning and evening food vendors and fruit stalls, next to the hotel, provide cheap but tasty Chinese, Shan and Myanmar food. All transactions are conducted in Chinese yuan.

On a recent visit in December 1997, the Myanmar Perspective editors put up in the Mongla Hotel for one night and we were able to observe at first hand the town development in recent years. From what was a village of thatched huts in 1989, Mongla has become a thriving border town with fully tarred 10 metre wide roads full of cars, buses , motor bikes and pedestrians on 4-metre wide walkways. The roads were first modernized in 1993 at a cost of K 105 lakhs. The town is still developing at a fast rate. We were shown a big hotel called the Grand Arch which is nearing completion on a hillside over-looking the town. The Grand Arch Bank and some other shop buildings are already in active business. The Grand Arch new town is being constructed nearby on the banks of the Nant Ma Chaung.

The Shan people of this area have been Buddhists for centuries, and the hill tribes like Akhar, Wa and Lisu are becoming more and more Buddhists, although there are still some Christians, believers in Islam and animists. We saw a large Roman Catholic church on a hillside next to the town.

Mongla in the last seven or eight years have seen an active revival of Buddhism. The town can proudly show a number of imposing pagodas, chedis on hill tops, Buddha images and shrines and several other interesting statuary connected with Buddhism.There are Buddhist monasteries in the towns called Wun-ton, Wun-lon and one other.

There is a small gilded chedi or pagoda 18 metres in height built on an area of 2544 square metres sacred ground aptly named Nyein Chan Aye Chedi (the Peace Pagoda) which was completed on 13th December 1989 to commenorate the signing of the Peace Accord with the local ethnic leaders on 25th October 1989. This Peace Accord ushered in a new era of peace and development for the region and Mongla was rapidly converted from a mere village to a modern town.

The biggest and the most interesting pagoda to visit in Mongla is the Dwe Nagara Shwe Chedi, the golden pagoda shaped like the Shwe Dagon in Yangon. The foundations for this 39 metre high pagoda was laid on 5th April 1995, the diamonds and rubies studded golden hti umbrella hoisted on 7th May 1996 and the shrine consecrated on 22nd April 1997 at a special ceremony attended by the leaders of Myanmar and Special Region (4). From the 60 metre wide platform of this pagoda there are superb views of the scenic mountains (some across the border in China), the peaceful valley, the cultivated plains and the town of Mongla itself. This imposing pagoda was built at a cost of K 720 lakhs on a hill near the border post number 218 to commemorate the Myanmar-China long lasting friendship. "Dwe" means "two" and "Nagara" means "towns or nations".

The base is a hollow temple shaped like the Ananda Pagoda in Bagan and houses the Buddha images and shrines. Men are allowed to climb the inside stairs to the second storey of the temple from where you can further enjoy the picturesque scenery.

You should see the Lawka Nat figure donated by the local people at a cost of K 3 lakhs. Lawka Nat is the guardian spirit, the peace-maker of the world and he looks down on Mongla and protects it with peace and harmony. It is on the main road near Mongla Hotel.

You can also visit the 45 feet long Reclining Image of the Buddha in a temple and garden on one of the tree-clad tranquil hillsides. The building of this image was begun on 19th October 1995, and finished at a cost of over K42lakhs.

There are several other pagodas in Mongla. You should visit the small and slender Par-khar Chedi on the west just outside the town and also the Naga Phyu Chedi, the pagoda of the White Naga Dragon, gleaming white, surrounded with four smaller pagodas at the four corners. The stupa is 15 meters high and the whose pagoda complex was built at a cost of K 58 lakhs. From the Naga Phyu Chedi you can look down on the fast developing town as there is a wonderful arial "helicopter" view of the whole area, a place of beauty and peace.

Other places of religious interest are the four-faced statue of Beikthano Nat, the Hindu god Vishnu who in a divine incarnation as Rama became the good king, the protector of the realm. The exploits of Rama the King are recorded in the popular epic the Ramayana.

There is also an interesting exhibition hall devoted to the "Eight Victories of the Buddha" called "Aung-gyin Shi-par" where depictions with life-like figurines of the eight auspicious victorious scenes from the life of Buddha are shown to visitors from near and far. The foundation for this hall was laid on 12-6-93 and the building completed on 12-12-93 at a cost of over K 35 lakhs.

Like most towns thriving on tourism, Mongla has a number of theatres, dance and music halls, karaoke, discotheques and other night spots. You can visit the Shwe Sutu-gan (Golden Quadrangle) Dance Hall and the Padetha (Variety) Dance Hall. A number of restuarants also stage local Shan, Akhar and Myanmar dancing and songs; also magic shows. Near Mongla Hotel you can visit a good Chinese restuarant-cum music and dance theatre with the fascinating name of "Foreign Amorous Feeling Place". There you can also see a magician who is one of the best in the country. There are even transvestite dance and song shows in some of the big theatres, with surround stereophonic sound and modern stage lights. Tourists enjoy these dance and song shows at Apan-Hpay Ka-bwe Yon (The Recreation Dance Hall), Wan-kauk and Htaing Yut Chun Ka-bwe Yon. In some places one can dance with beautiful Akhar, Shan or Shan- Tayok maidens for five minutes at a time, in one of the traditional tribal group dances, after buying a dance ticket at K15 each.

There is an international standard National Park on the outskirts of Mongla which is undoubtedly one of the best in Myanmar. It is the (Golden Quadrangle) Shwe Satu-gan Mya Yeik San Oo-yin built on a wooded hillside with a big car park for tourist buses, cafetarias, picnic spots. From the imposing wood log cabin and entrance arch winding up excellent tarmac roads to the park, you can see many lovely trees and through the trees, views of the surrounding valley. From the park you can look down on the peaceful Man Ton Se reservoir; you can go down to the lakeside to sit under the trees or to enjoy the elephant and crocodile shows which are held daily. In this Man Ton Se Oo-yin gardens you can also view the Ramong traditional tribal dances in which over twenty attractive young couples, Akhar and Shan, dance to the lively music. You can participate also as visitors are invited to take part and enjoy at first hand.

Many tourists come to visit this newly opened impressive museum which shows the dangers of opium and herion drugs and efforts made to eradicate them. In March 1997 the Shan State (East) Special Region (4) headed by U Sai Lin was officially declared an Opium Free Zone. The drug eradication museum, a double storey building with traditional Myanmar pyathat roof and imposing front stairway, was officially opened on 22nd April 1997. It is now a popular tourist site as the People's Republic of China across the border is also taking active steps to end the drug menace and Chinese tourists come in big groups to view the exhibits in this museum.

Tourists come more and more to Mongla to buy Shan, Akhar and Myanmar goods, ranging from jade and rubies to wooden carivings, lacquerware and textiles. The coloured jade is especially popular and Mongla has many jewellery shops. You should visit the gems centre at Kyauk-myet Yadana A-yaung Khan-ma near the Shwe Chedi.

The development of Mongla in the last seven years will be further enhanced when the 56 mile long highway from Kyaing Tong is finished, and also the 102 mile Kyaing Tong-Tachilek highway which is being upgraded and widened by army engineers with the help of the soldiers contributing labour. Within a year the highways will be all modernized. This will enable more tourists to come from Thailand and also from other parts of Myanmar.

Schools and hospitals, TV satellite stations, dams for hydro-electricity and irrigation are all being built and upgraded. Mongla which was for so many years under the dark clouds of insurgency is now blossoming into a beautiful modern town illuminated by the bright sun of peace and development.