Kyaikkhami

Kyaikkami Template:My
Town
Country	Burma
Division	Mon State
Population  (2005)
• Religions	Buddhism
Time zone	UTC+6.30 (MST)

Kyaikkami (Burmese: ကျိုက်ခမီမြို့; MLCTS: kyuikhka.mi mrui.; pronounced [tɕaiʔkʰəmì mjo̰]; Mon: Template:My) is a resort town in the Mon State of south-east Myanmar.

Formerly known as Amherst, named after William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, then governor-general, it is situated on a peninsula about 48 km (30 mi) south of the town of Mawlamyine. It is a popular destination for local pilgrims and some tourists. The town has a pagoda (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.

It got a record rainfall of 75mm (2.95") on 14th Jan 2012. It was the highest amount of rainfall within 24 hours of January in the last 30 years.

History

It was originally a settlement of the Mon people, but modern Kyaikkami was founded by the British during the annexation of Tenasserim and Arakan states after the First Burmese War (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.