Myeik (formerly Mergui) is a busy port town of religious buildings, colonial-era shops and homes and government offices. It is the centre for a range of industries, including fishing, pearl cultivation, dried fish, birds’ nests and rubber. It is also a gateway to the Myeik Archipelago, a stunning collection of more than 800 mostly uninhabited islands that remains relatively unexplored and untouched by international tourism. The islands are home to the Salon or Moken people, who are nomadic and sometimes referred to as sea gypsies.