Several hundred of people come to Dokehtawady River near Taungkaing village in Mandalay Region’s Amarapura Township, to enjoy water play in the river, trying to beat the summer heat, according to residents in the region.
The place is located on the bank of Dokehtawady River near Taungkaing village and it takes about 45 minutes from Mandalay. Especially on weekend and public holidays, the number of visitor is between 300 and 400 and they come to enjoy water play. Most of the visitors are from Mandalay as well as from nearby villages and towns.
“There are numerous people who come to take bath in the river in order to escape the summer heat. The visitor number is larger on weekends and holidays. The summer is extremely hot so they come to enjoy water playing in the river as an activity to beat the heat. We went there on 1 May and the number of visitors is estimated around 400 on that day. There are visitors too on other days. Most of them are from Mandalay and nearby areas. As an activity to avoid the heat, people go to other local beaches,” said a spokesperson from Myanmar Rescue Organization (Mandalay Region Committee).
Along the river, the water is cold and it is a mountain stream in which some parts are shallow and some parts are deep, therefore parents need to be careful if they bring children, he said. There are restaurants near the river and there are people who go boating along the river.
“There is no admission fee but car parking charge,” said a resident.
In this summer, people go to cool destinations in an attempt to escape the heat, at the same time some are eager to grow trees and such activities have been found recently. – MT/ZS
