Kyaikkami is a resort town

Resort town

A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...

 in the Mon State

Mon State

Mon State is an administrative division of Myanmar. It is sandwiched between Kayin State on the east, the Andaman Sea on the west, Bago Region on the north and Tanintharyi Region on the south, and has a short border with Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province at its south-eastern tip. The land area is...

 of south-east Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

.

Formerly known as Amherst, named after William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst

William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst

William Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, GCH, PC was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Governor-General of India between 1823 and 1828.-Background and education:...

, then governor-general, it is situated on a peninsula about 48 km (29.8 mi) south of the town of Mawlamyine

Mawlamyine

Mawlamyine is the fourth largest city of Burma , situated 300 km south east of Yangon and 70 km south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin river...

. It is a popular destination for local pilgrims and some tourists. The town has a pagoda

Pagoda

A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...

 (Kyaikkami Yele Pagoda or Kyaik-kami Ye Le Paya) just constructed on the sea using the natural foundation of its ocean reefs, which is connected with the corridor to the beach and always attracts the people for the festival of donations over the sea-tides.

History

It was originally a settlement of the Mon people

Mon people

The Mon are an ethnic group from Burma , living mostly in Mon State, Bago Division, the Irrawaddy Delta, and along the southern Thai–Burmese border. One of the earliest peoples to reside in Southeast Asia, the Mon were responsible for the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and Thailand...

, but modern Kyaikkami was founded by the British during the annexation of Tenasserim and Arakan

Rakhine State

Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...

 states after the First Burmese War

First Burmese War

The First Anglo-Burmese War was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmese Empires in the 19th century. The war, which began primarily over the control of northeastern India, ended in a decisive British victory, giving the British total control of Assam, Manipur, Cachar and...

(1824–1826). The town was a fishing village of the Mon but it used to be a certain head-quarter for British commanding officers for their southern-Burma control. Because of this, many British officers and their Burmese wives and families lived in the area, with a large presence of Anglo-Burmese, as time progressed.