As the story goes, many years ago a young Italian traveler, who lived for awhile along this beach fell in love with the sand and the sea which reminded him of his home in Naples, Most probably over the years Naples and our local pronunciation of its Burmese name that means some like "Inveigling Fish" became known as Ngapali.
The beach is located in the state of Rakhine or Rakhaing (Arakan in Bengalese) in Western Myanmar facing the Bay of Bengal. Thandwe (Sandoway during British time) is about 25 minutes drive and the airport about 15 minutes.
Ngapali is a 3km long white sandy and pristine beach overlooking the clear blue-water of Bay of Bengal, backed by swaying coconut palm and casuarinas trees. After sunset the sea in front of the beach is lit by the lanterns on the fishermen boats until morning. Before dawn on the shore other fishermen begin setting and drawing drift nets until late morning when they load their catches in baskets.
The surrounding small villages can reach by bicycle or by walking along the beach. Thandwe, the most important town of the area, has an interesting market set in a former British jail where traditional medicine herbs, clothes, textile, hardware and food are sold.
