Eastern Myanmar

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Includes  Why Go? Nyaungshwe. . . . .197 Travellers to eastern Myanmar get the chance to experience Inle Lake ...... 206 both beautiful Inle Lake and some of the finest trekking Taunggyi ...... 211 in the country. Then there’s the intriguing opportunity of Pindaya ...... 215 getting right off the tourist trail in areas that see very few foreigners. While much of eastern Myanmar remains closed Kalaw...... 217 due to ongoing conflict, more and more places are open- Thazi...... 223 ing up to visitors. Now, tiny Kayah State and its charming Kyaingtong capital Loikaw have joined Shan State’s Kyaingtong and its (Kengtung). . . . . 223 surrounding hill-peoples’ villages as one of the least-visited Mong La...... 227 but most rewarding destinations in Myanmar. Loikaw ...... 230 So whether you just want to kick back and glide across the placid waters of Inle Lake in a boat, or are up for hiking through remote villages in the region’s back hills, eastern Myanmar is an essential stop. Best Places to Eat ¨¨Thu Maung Restaurant (p220) ¨¨Sin Yaw Bamboo Restaurant (p204) ¨¨Lin Htett Myanmar When to Go Traditional Food (p203) Eastern Myanmar °C/°F Te mp Rainfall inches/mm ¨ ¨Live Dim Sum House (p203) 40/104 1.2/30 ¨¨Shwe Let Yar (p233) 30/86 0.8/20

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0.4/10 Best Places to 10/50 Sleep 0/32 0 ¨¨Inle Princess Resort (p210) J FDM A M J J A S O N ¨¨Royal Kalaw Hills Resort (p220) Nov–Jan During Mar–May Daytime Jun–Oct If you winter the daytime temperatures can can, avoid trek- ¨ ¨Sanctum Inle Resort temperatures are climb close to king during the (p210) a comfortable 104°F (40°C). rainy season. ¨¨La Maison Birmane (p202) 68°F to 79°F (20°C to 26°C). ¨¨Song of Travel Hostel (p201) 197 Eastern Myanmar INyaunfnlore Lanmgshwekatie &o nAround - - - - - Map

; T TEMPLE T T TEMPLE T TEMPLE T In the In Phoung Taw Phoung Taw

hwenyaung Shwenyaung ; UDDHIS UDDHIS UDDHIS B B B F 081 ေညာင္ေရႊ

% The oldest and This is proba (celestial beings) Map p200

; or sky princes, who or sky F (ordination hall) cre (ordination

F Nyaungshwe-

; daylight hours) daylight h

(half-lion, half-dragon guardi (half-lion, half-dragon (motorcycle trishaw) to Nyaungshwe ou will most likely face a long wait. daylight hours) daylight Nyaungshwe is the main access is the Nyaungshwe h daylight hours) daylight Nanthe;

Sights

chinthe ; h St; 4 and wait for a pick-up truck or bus bound for

H 208 ရန္ေအာင္နံေအာင္ဆုေတာင္းျပည့္ဘုရား ေရႊေရာင္ဝဲေက်ာင္း ရတနာမာန္ေအာင္ဘုရား POP 80,000C (INCL INLE LAKE) / village of Nanthe, this Buddhist temple of Nanthe, village complex a 26ft-high features buddha sitting surrounded by stucco deva and ( this handsome gilded stupa is hiddenshwe, inside a square compound south of away The stepped stupa Market. isthe Mingala and the surrounding unique in Myanmar, ate a perfect ate portraits for of the novices. frame Themonastery northmiles 1½ is ontown of the road to Shwenyaung. Aung Nan Aung Yan Paya Pye Taung Hsu ( restored, is the statue ans). Although heavily Nanthe old. years 700 than to be more said is just south of Nyaungshwe. Paya Aung Man Yadana lers’ centre, with dozens of guesthousesdozens of centre, with lers’ and of restaurants,hotels, an increasing number a few vibe. If bars and a pleasantly relaxed a backpacker said to have can be Myanmar all, it can be found here. scene at 1 There are stupas and monasteries all over are clustered latter of the Most Nyaungshwe. Li Canal, southeast of thearound the Mine market. Kyaung Yaunghwe Shwe ( monastery mostthe bly photographed in in windows the unique oval Nyaungshwe: the ancient teak thein much less convenient option is to hike the mile to N Nyaungshwe Scruffy Lake. the north Located at endpoint for Inle town was once the capital the of the lake, importantof an former (the Shan kingdom palace of the saophas, Theseruled here is now a museum). days, has become a bustling travel Nyaungshwe ite Site Rd; p mostimportant Buddhist Nyaung in shrine Taunggyi (from K2000, hours); 1½ ask to be let off at Shwenyaung, from where you can charter a bein, thoun (K6000). Y

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- eho, 6am-9pm) h eho. ; hwenyaung on the eho 081-63327; H 200 % ( (Map p eho 081-63066; www.airman H % ( eho 081-63331; www.airkbz.com), Air 081-63331; www.airkbz.com), Heho % Inle Lake region is one of Myanmar’s Lake Myanmar’s is one of region Inle eho 081-63339; www.yangonair.com). The Getting There & Away Information ( 8 8 H eho 081-63324; www.airbagan.com), Air www.airbagan.com), 081-63324; Heho Nyaungshwe is the accommodation and is the accommodation Nyaungshwe Taxis waiting at the airport charge K25,000 Airlines flying out of Heho include Bagan Air % % INLELAKE AROUND & AIR ( Yangon Airways Yangon and www.asianwingsair.com) ( airline offices are in Heho Taunggyi, and/or but tick sell can agents Nyaungshwe-based several KBZ located by the bridge at the entrance to Nyaung tions only reachable via multiple stops; be sure to check if your flight is direct or not. to Nyaungshwe hour). (one If pinching you’re pennies and have the time, a cheaper but much, ets. The airlines have a spider-web-like network of flights across the country with some destina Asian Wings Asian dalay.com), 8 By far the easiest way to reach the Inle Lake region is to fly. Most long-distance road transport finishes in Taunggyi – to reach Nyaungshwe, you’ll have to change at the junction town of S shwe. Tickets are valid for one week, although unlikelyyou’re to be asked to pay again if you longer. stay highway between Taunggyi and H 8 There is a compulsory K12,500 fee to enter the Inle Lake area, which you must pay on arrival at the permit booth The main airport for the Inle region is at H tery right by it and explored sits that world matter. won’t Lake, that of Inle the environs disappointed with here leave people Few they’vewhat seen and done. 25 miles northwest of Nyaungshwe on the way to Kalaw. ing the lake are hills that are home to myri are hills that are ing the lake Danu, Yo, Taung ad minorities: Shan, Pa-O, who descend from their and Danaw, Kayah hopscotch around for markets that villages cycle. on a five-day the towns of the region a scrappy transport hub of the region. It’s experiencedplace, but once you’ve the wa The the and all destinations most anticipated Picture is justified. –hype lake serene a vast, long and seven13.5 miles miles wide – gardens, and floating by marshes fringed and Buddhistwhere stilt-house villages and Intha the water, above temples rise via their along fisherfolk propel their boats of leg-rowing.unique technique Surround Mandalay