Hi all,
Quick update on the situation in Sittwe/Mrauk U: I was there late last week (8-11 November) and had no issues. Note this was a solo trip; if you go on an organised tour you do indeed need a permit it appears for the whole group, and flying in with your guide, and that apparently takes several weeks at least.
I bought a return airfare to Sittwe from Yangon through a small travel agency associated with my hotel two days beforehand. No questions were asked.
Upon arrival at Sittwe airport, I had to register my passport at a table manned by police and/or military at the airport itself. I was immediately assisted by a man called Zaw Lin Oo (09-49668589), who also turned out to be a boat broker. He speaks fluent English (which is rare in Myanmar and was quite useful) and he helped me throughout my days in the region with transport, information, etc. We agreed on a boat rental for immediate departure (I wanted to reach Mrauk U that night) and on the way to the boat he stopped at the police station and went inside with my passport to have it cleared specifically to go to Mrauk U. He also asked me for a photocopy of the passport, so you may want to bring that with you as it will likely be a hassle to have a photocopy made locally.
Sittwe is under military curfew, and you have to be back in your hotel by 10pm. Mrauk U is either 7pm or 8pm (not sure as I heard two stories). Due to the issues there is a fair amount of police and military deployed throughout Sittwe, particularly at sites around mosques etc. but generally you see quite a few of them. However apparently the muslims have now been segregated from the rest of the population and this has quieted things down. The problems were only in Sittwe by the way, not in the Mrauk U or other areas. However just to be sure the authorities have imposed curfews in surrounding areas too.
The situation remains unclear so if you're the type of person planning a trip long in advance and in significant detail, this may not be a location to go to in the next few months or so, as rules may change and the place could be declared off-limits to foreigners at the drop of a hat and without any notice (it was not officially clear if it was accessible or not when I went).
By the way the Chin villages are under full lockdown and cannot be visited at this time (which normally is a further boat trip from Mrauk U).
The boat set off around 3pm (the plane had been delayed and came in around 2) and we reached Mrauk U after the curfew (around 8:30pm). However Zaw Lin Oo had deployed his English-speaking tour-guide friend Maung Khin Nyunt (09-8522128 or 09-49660337) to meet me at the ferry jetty with a risksaw driver. As the town was in lockdown, I could not reach the Prince Hotel which I had booked and which is a wee bit outside of town, so had to stay in a basic guesthouse in town for the first night.
On the way there, we passed a military road block in the town which required some explanation by Maung Khin Nyunt as to who I was and why I was there, but after a couple minutes of relaxed discussion they let us pass. The soldiers appeared relaxed, guns pointing to the ground, no stress there. There were also ongoing military patrols on motorbikes through the town.
The next morning Maung Khin Nyunt arrived with a horse cart and cart-driver as I had requested, and was my tour guide for the day. We visited all the key temples of the area, plus some other places such as a nice quiet lake area, in the one day, which was easy to do before sunset.
That night I finally got to stay at the excellent Prince Hotel (where I had the best dinner of my stay in Myanmar). The next morning my trusted boat and its crew were waiting and we sailed back to Sittwe, where I stayed one night and then flew back to Yangon.
Overall a great experience, and no issues. A few notes: if you have a habit of booking details such as boats and tour guides through travel agents rather than onsite or direct, expect to pay significantly more (your presumably non-Burmese travel agent engages a travel agent in Yangon; the Yangon agent engages an agent in Sittwe, and they finally talk to the supplier; everyone in between needs to make a buck). Boat rates vary by who you get the boat from, the type of boat, etc. Best to book onsite after arrival I'd say.
You may or may not be able to go directly from Sittwe airport to the boat and to Mrauk U - it will depend on who you meet at the airport (or call Zaw Lin Oo; he tries to meet most flights, at the airport just ask for him). An agent or intermediary will almost certainly tell you to stay the first night in Sittwe. But then, if you use these, you probably like to play things safe and should stay the first night in Sittwe just in case anyway ;-)
Good luck and enjoy - I found Mrauk U a very relaxed place as opposed to the commercialism at Bagan; there's far fewer temples but they are different and impressive and well worth the visit.