NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR Myanmar Northeastern 170 © Lonelyplanetpublications Putao Justforstarters

NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR Myanmar Northeastern 170 © LonelyPlanetPublications Putao justforstarters. and Hsipaw,Namhsan,Kengtung InleLake, destinations–Kalaw, with fantastictrekking the interior ofMyanmar. with yourfellow passengersonthoseslow-moving boats, busesandtrainscrawlingthrough dozens ofsmallerminorities,travelling tosocialise here isspecialjustfortheopportunity withsignificant populationsofWa,Padaung, Lisuand Atsi,Kachin, Jinphaw,Lahsi, Kokang, ishometosomanydifferentthe northeast ethnicgroups,includingtheBamar,Shanand andShanStates downthemiddle.Rivers andtheirtributaries,whichdivideKachin Because they’re officiallyofflimitsorsimplytoodemandingtoaccessformany. states, remain unexplored andKayah byforeigners, asand encompassingShan,Kachin cally andculturallydiverse region landlocked isaworlduntoitself. through mountainpasses,revealing hillsandricepaddiesontheotherside,thisgeographi- laya, andthenontothewatery andtheswitchback roadsthatcarve visionofInleLake From themuddycrawlof AyeyarwadyRiver totherapidsrollingdownfromHima- HIGHLIGHTS The bestwaytovisitthemultitudeofethnicgroupsisonfoot,andregion abounds peoplelive inthevalleysformedbyAyeyarwadyandThanlwinFor themostpart, Large swathsofthisterritory, extending fromTibet toThailand inthesouth, inthenorth

Kengtung ( p204 climes awaitsvisitors to Charming colonialarchitecture incool ( p209 and aroundremote villagesnear staysandmorningwalksinOvernight glides by Ayeyarwady River onthe ofthenorth Drift downtheheart watery oasis Inle Lake People live, workandsellthingsaround of centre aroundthetrekking You canhike off limits so desire –anywhere, thatis,that’snot Kalaw Kalaw ) ), Namhsan ( p176 11) a mountain-framed a ( p181), (p200)

) andanywhere elseyou ( p213 ( p217 ) asthecountry ) oreven remoter Pyin ULwin

Hsipaw

Pyin ULwin Kalaw Inle Lake Namhsan Ayeyarwardy Hsipaw River Kengtung June) daytimetemperatures becomemore lands. Even (March duringthehotseason to escape fromtheoppressive heatof thelow- the area sothatthecolonialauthoritiescould in hillstations that theBritishbuiltseveral climate inthecountry,attested tobythefact Parts of thisregion have themostpleasant CLIMATE www.lonelyplanet.com RAKHAING DIVISION NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR MAGWE Kalewa STATE Imphal 2 Jorhat Magwe Bagan DIVISION SAGAING Pakokku Mawlaik Monywa Myayde Taungdwingyi Pyay 2

Dibrugarh Mon Paungbyin Ye-U Shwebo Meiktila BAGO Myingyan Mandalay Pyinmana DIVISION SAGAING 1 Kin-u Myohla MANDALAY Taungoo DIVISION Ye-Ngan Indawgyi Hpakan Thazi Lake Kalaw Tezu Mogok Kyaukse Katha Naunghkio Pindaya Naba Aungban Moegaung 3 Viaduct Heho Moehnyin Gokteik Kyaukme Pyin ULwin Lake KAYIN STATE Inle

Shwegu

Padah-Lin Valley INDIA Hukaung Cave

Shweli Pindaya Caves Namhsan Namtu Shwenyaung

Nyaungshwe

(Yaunghwe) KAYAH

Gokteik STATE Tanai Hsipaw River 31 Ayeyarwady TIBET Taunggyi STATE SHAN 5 5 Kakku

Loikaw River Kumon Taung Putao Lawpita

Bhamo 36

44 Malihka Myitkyina 445 Myit-son Ruili Hkakabo (5889m) 4

Razi

Namkham Thanlwin Lashio KACHIN River

STATE

Nam Manyang Mae HongSon Mu-se 3 Hsenwi Maykha

ing DecemberandJanuary. dur- aroundInleLake inthehighlands night Temperatures canalsodroptonearzeroat are adead giveaway forfrigidtemperatures. –thesnowcappedmountains cold atnight cultivation. Inthefarnorthitgets downright also makes theregion favourable foropium and more upyougo;this bearablethehigher River NORTHEASTERN MYANMARNORTHEASTERN ••Climate Chiang River Mai (Mangshi) Luxi Mong Tong Mong Hpayak CHINA Loi-Mwe Mong La Tachileik 4 120miles km 200 0 0 (Kyaingtong) Kengtung Dulao Chiang Rai Mae Sai

THAILAND Xieng Kok LAOS River Mekong

Mekong River CHINA Mong Yaung

171 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR to Mandalay Fromtheair after Bagan. is probablythemostpopulartouristroute This geographically diverse narrowcorridor KALAW THAZI TOINLEVIA test outMyanmar’slocalferry industry. region andprovides agoodopportunityto River cutsdownthecentre of theentire notleast,theAyeyarwady butcertainly Last is theonlywaytoget totheKengtung area. only waytoget totheKengtung area. Flying region.the InleLake Taking isthe aflight the area byflyingintoHeho, thegateway to undoubtedly slower. Many travellers enter former maybemore appealingtheyare also andwhiletheby bothtrainsandbuses, Shan territory. Mostof thetownsare linked tung, allof Kayah Stateandthesouthern land routeTaunggyi between andKeng- limits toforeign travellers, includingthe areas of thenortheastare completely off travel partsistimeintensive. inthese Afew two, of theroutes inthenortheastbecause Most travellers pickonlyone,oratthemost THERE&AWAY GETTING ally prevented areas. fromvisitingthese southern Shan State,foreigners are gener- national groupsintheregion, primarilyin thereAlthough isactive insurgency from DANGERS &ANNOYANCES 172 (20km); Meiktila To (140km) Bagan THAZI-TAUNGGYI CORRIDOR (145km) To Mandalay Thazi Pyawbwe THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW ••Thazi THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW To Yangon (431km)

Hlaingdet 4 MANDALAY DIVISION Yinmanbin

To Padah-Lin Caves 54 Kyong Kalaw Aungban 41 is Thazi’s only licensed lodging.Boththe is Thazi’sonlylicensed fan US$3,s/dwithair-conUS$8/15; Sleeping &Eating by flyingtoHeho. tions inShan andYangon State orsimply todestina- on express fromBagan buses easy tobypass Thazi altogether bytravelling Ontheotherhand,it’s orInleLake. Bagan from thetrainwhentravelling to/from a placewhere peopleembarkordisembark the Mandalay Division.It’slittlemore than about 65kmwestof theShan borderin State in Shan territory inthisrail-junction town Many visitors beginorendtheirjourney o;c–' THAZI oasis of InleLake. lages andthewatery tothepastoralhighlands appreciate fromthehill-tribevil- everything, venient, totruly butextratimeisnecessary the area, isfairlycon- publictransportation primary destinations.Onceyouarrive in after all,it’sfeasible tohike allthe between theiritineraries– dom andflexibilitytotailor in which foreign tourists have themostfree- rugged. Itisperhaps thearea inMyanmar territory and isformidably mountainous thisShaning fromThaziorInleLake) State ests, whereas fromtheroadtoKalaw (com- patchwork of farmlandandunspoiledfor- andorganised, a topography lookstame Moon-Light Rest House Moon-Light Rest floor of the Pwehla Pindaya To Loikaw(112km) 4

Nam Red StarRestaurant Red STATE

SHAN Pilu Kaung Daing

Heho Ri

To Lawksawk

ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ 12miles 20km 0 0 ver

Ywama (38km)

(Thazi–Taunggyi Hwy;rwith (Thazi–Taunggyi www.lonelyplanet.com Lake Inle 43 a To Sankar

Nyaungshwe (dishes K700) Shwenyaung ) Phaya On the top Onthetop Ta Lone Tam Kyauk Ham Se Nam Lang River Taunggyi 5 Kakku Kengtung (456km) , this , this To is about 1km from the station. is about1kmfromthestation. cartorhiringaporter,horse astherest house carrying heavy a baggage, it’sworthtaking train tickets. Ifyouarrive by trainandare for onwardpassage, andcanarrange busand ellers tobatheandrest upstairs whilewaiting fresh yogurt.Theproprietors alsoinvite trav- andIndianMuslimfood,including Bamar goodChinese, ing roomdownstairs serves with air-con shower. andattached Thedin- shower andtoilet,twolarger rooms with twobeds,mosquitonetsandshared friendly Htunfamily.There are simplerooms restaurant andrest are house runby the www.lonelyplanet.com hours or more. the earliest twoare express andtake 11 trains (6pm,7.15pm, 8.15pmand9.40pm); gon costUS$9/32. There are fourevening fromThazito Yan-Ordinary-/1st-class seats TRAIN (US$40). or Bagan you toKalaw (US$30),Nyaungshwe(US$45) and Taunggyi are infrequent. Nyaungshwe (Yaunghwe) – andInleLake the waytoShwenyaung –thejunctionfor ing extratositinthefront.Pick-upsall with lowcomfortthresholds it’sworthpay- ning. It’sawindy,steep road,soforthose thedayandintoearlyeve- throughout Pick-ups leave forKalaw (K2500)regularly CAR Meiktila andThazicosts aroundK300. there Apick-upbetween won’t beanyseats. theoddsare Thazi;otherwise, through that wait foraTaunggyi–Mandalay bustocome youcan to Mandalay). aseat Ifyoureserve Mandalay (see p289 forinformation onbuses Meiktila bypick-up, thenwaitforabusto Meiktila. Thesimplesolutionistoget to are more toMandalay buses thatgothrough ThaziandMandalay,ling between butthere 7am to11amdaily. there are departures usuallyseveral from hours) andK3500(sixhours) respectively; to Kalaw andTaunggyi costK2500(three empty buildingandapatch of dirt.Buses metres –justan fromthetrainstation The Thazibusstopisacoupleof hundred BUS &Away There Getting It’s possibletohire inThazitotake taxis It’s possibletoskipMeiktila whentravel-

the junction for Inle Lake, see see the junctionforInleLake, p181 . information onthetraintoShwenyaung, time, whereas duringthedayit’sfree. For atnight- room attheThazitrainstation passes. themountain through daily andtake five hours toinch theirway for Yangon. parture times forTaungoo are as thesame costUS$5/15.De- dinary-/1st-class seats routes bothtake fromfive tosixhours; or- in town. Perched on thehilloverlooking There are a few interesting temples to see Sights &Activities that cover thetown’ssteepslopes. fromtheplantations and fruitharvested andofferedbe shown warmhospitality tea of level high You’llnodoubt development. bythe relativelybut youmaybesurprised remote, anegative, which isn’tnecessarily communities. Thevillages really never feel four- orfive-day tripstominorityhill-tribe fromlow-intensitylevels, half-day hikes to cater toalltastesing mountains andfitness pines andbamboogroves. Thesurround- ofpresence inthissylvansetting gnarled outsidethetownisanincongruous base ible fromthemarket area. Alarge military number of hills–onlyaportion of itisvis- deceptive sinceitsprawlsupandover a and aroundKalaw. speak English.About 20,000peoplelive in colonial andmissionary heritage, manylocals of theBritish in thelocalschools. Because there were Americanmissionariesteaching scenery.Asmountain recently asthe1970s tourists drawnbythecoolclimate andrugged with fatigue-wearingsoldiers andforeign rubsshoulders service) from British military retired andNepalis(Gurkhas lims, Bamar Kalaw’s population of Shan, Indians,Mus- inBritishcolonialdays, a popularhillstation Shan Plateau, atanaltitudeof 1320m.Once onthewesterntown sitshigh edge of the itandThazi.The gyi, about halfwaybetween backpacker vibe, Kalaw is70kmwestof Taung- One of thefew placesinMyanmartoproject a % kel; KALAW There’s thewaiting a US$1 fee touse Trains gofromThazitoKalaw at9am The Thazi–Taungoo andThazi–Mandalay The sizeandbreadth of thetownis 081 THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW •• Kalaw ••Kalaw THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW

173 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR 174 4 6 1 3 2 5 KALAW Min Paya&Cave To ShweOo 500m) THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW ••Kalaw THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW (Bamboo Buddha; To NeePaya

o rkigGie...... C1 Top Trekking Guide...... Royal TribalDevelopment Trunk CallStation School...... Sam TrekkingGuide...... SocietyShop...... Myoma Kyaung...... Mosque...... Hsu TaungPyePaya...... (see14) Dhamma Yon...... Christ theKingChurch...... Central Market...... Baptist Church...... Aung ChangThaZedi...... Aung ChanNaungZedi...... Anglican Church...... (TelephoneOffice)...... Post Office...... Police Station...... Hospital...... Army Hospital...... Thein TaungPaya...... Sports Field...... School...... School...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Circular Rd Circular

AC Pyidaungsu

Meiktila (115km) To Thazi(93km);

Rd (Union 17 Oo 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

Min Rd 30 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1 Rd) 39 C1 C3 C6 C2 A2 C1 C1 C2 C2 C2 D6 C1 B2 C1 B1 B4 C2 B1 C2 C1 B3 EATING SLEEPING aa oe...... B5 Kalaw Hotel...... Thu MaungRestaurant...... Thirigayhar Restaurant...... Sam’s FamilyRestaurant...... Myanmar FlowersRestaurant..... Htin YuMyaingRestaurant...... Golden WingRestaurant...... Everest NepaliFoodCentre...... Winner HotelKalaw...... Pine ViewInn...... Pine LandInn...... Pine HillResortHotel...... Parami Motel...... New ShineHotel...... Golden LillyGuestHouse...... Golden KalawInn...... Eastern ParadiseMotel...... Dream VillaMotelKalaw...... B 25 26 Nat Sein Rd 9 4 27 24 Thirimingalar Rd

23 Bamasakya Rd Bamasakya

37 Aung Thabye Rd Thabye Aung 32 6

Zatila Rd 28 7

Yatana Rd Sit U See Thakka Tho Rd 31 12 14

(Military Staff College Rd) 38 41 29 40 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 33 44 3 5 C1 B1 C2 B1 C2 C2 C2 C1 B4 C1 B4 C1 B1 B1 B2 B1 B2 Aung Chantha 21 34 Rd 35 8 48

49

Merchant Rd Merchant 22 20 Tekkatho Rd (University Rd Tekkatho 42 18 Zeigyo Rd 13 10 15 16 36 46 19 Buses toTaunggyi...... Mandalay...... Cinema...... Tet NayWinTeahouse...... Royal TeaGarden...... Myint MyatCafé...... Mi Thazu...... Lachme TeaHouse...... Buses toBagan,Yangon& C2 Hi Snack&Drink...... TRANSPORT ENTERTAINMENT DRINKING

Station Rd 400m 0.2miles 0 0

47 Rd) 45 2 Train Station 11 43

Kone The www.lonelyplanet.com Approximate Scale

Rd (Me To InleLake(63km); D Taunggyi (70km)

To Shwenyaung rcha nt Rd) nt 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 (52km) C2 C1 C1 C1 C1 C2 D1 C1 Hotel is scenic spot. monastery onthegroundsisanespecially 30-minute walksouthwestof town.The myanmar.com.mm; Rd; s/dUS$3/6; 5/88NatSein Shwe Oo Min Paya ShweOoMin minutes awaybycar. The300-year-old lacquered bambooBuddha. It’sabout20 (also calledHninPaya) features agold- Dhamma Yon.Justwestof town, now afieldof crumblingstupasbehindthe temple) andtheruinsof the town,DhammaYanthi Paya (another from upstairs youcanget fairviewsof not particularlyinteresting but initself, dated Aung Chang Tha Zedi ChangTha Aung covered ingold-coloured called mosaics, stupa (Buddhistreligious monument), Paya the Thazi–Taunggyi roadis www.lonelyplanet.com Golden LillyGuestHouse BUDGET ber) discountsare widelyavailable. air. (May Duringthelowseason toOcto- Air-con issuperfluousinthecoolmountain daungsu Rd)andThazi–Taunggyi Hwy. names,includingUnionRd(Pyi- several outskirts of by town.Themainroadgoes morethe mainroad,andseveral onthe tels to catering totourgroupsonorclose There are more alsoseveral modernho- tosuitthem. in Myanmarwithguesthouses packer Kalaw set, isoneof the few places of itsnaturalappealtotheback- Because Sleeping sion free) tional value of andleaf berry,insect every who can explainthemedicinal andnutri- Robin, isagentle and knowledgeable guide private bathroom.Theowner’s brother, and warmwood-finished rooms,each with isthebestvalueintown.Ithas cosy house Family ownedandoperated, thisguest- 4pm onSunday. held dailyat6.30am;andalso8am reputed tohave curative powers. Mass is stone grottobuiltbehind thechurch is inMyanmarfrom1931.)A he wasbased the church;Angelo DiMeo also supervised Paul. awayin2000,Father (Untilhepassed of Fatherchurch underthe supervision Less than1kmsoutheastofLess theKalaw . Inthetowncentre isaglittering Dhamma Yon , isa Buddhastatues, containing

Christ the King Church theKing Christ

and Cave , atwo-storey temple; it’s . Nearbyisthedilapi-

( % Hsu Taung PyePaya

( h 50108; goldenlilly@ 8am-8pm; admis- , aCatholic Thein TaungThein Nee Paya i ) ,

Rd; sUS$3-15,dUS$6-20) breakfast room,too. well. There’s anicebrick-walledbasement andbathtubas sive roomshave satellite TV have private bathroom,whilemore expen- acter; some wicker, sometile. Allrooms some motel-style, somewithmore char- modern buildingshave amixof rooms– bathroom perpersonUS$2/3) .mm; 21UnionRd;sUS$18-24,dUS$24-36) s/d US$20/24, largers/dUS$30/36) breakfast nook. asbothlobbyanduninspiring trance serves room are very basic.Thebare concrete en- on the2ndfloor. Others withshared bath- wood-floored roomwithprivate bathroom Kalaw haveroad through does onenice two-storey onthemain right guesthouse this the shabbiestplaceintown.Thatsaid, New Shine Hotel New ShineHotel MIDRANGE isextremelyspeed slow. around. There isInternet access,butserver help organise treks tovillages inthearea. has goodviewsof town,andtheownercan no-frills rooms.Thetop-floor breakfast room a three-storey hotel, hasclean, Chinese-style owner, leadsinformative treks. with anice2nd-floor balcony.Eddie,the hotel offering small,ratherwornrooms Golden LillyistheKalaw, afriendly a goodview. Western breakfast isincluded,along with or desk andplenty of Bamar Atasty light. of spaciousroomswithhot-water shower, near theKalaw Hotel, thisinnhasarow aquietstreet outsidetown,Overlooking have satellite TVs andbaths. have satellite TVs sive roomshave private bathrooms;some a quietstreet hascleanrooms.More expen- US$4/6) d US$6-10) these aren’tthese especially invitingeither. sive roomshave private bathrooms,though two-storeyan attached annexe. More expen- the market, Parami’s cheapest roomsare in US$10/20; Winner Hotel Kalaw Winner Hotel Golden Kalaw Inn Golden Kalaw Pine View Inn Pine View Eastern Paradise Motel Eastern Dream Villa Motel Kalaw Kalaw Motel Villa Dream Parami Motel Parami Motel Pine LandInn THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW •• Kalaw ••Kalaw THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW Thetwo-storey homenexttothe i A block from both the main road and A blockfromboththemainroadand )

On the main road, the Winner, Onthemainroad,Winner, (

% ( ( ( % % % 50185; Tekkatho Rd;s/dUS$10/15)

50028; [email protected] ( 50027; Merchant Rd;sUS$3-6, 50027; Merchant 50026; Union Rd; r without/with 50026; UnionRd;rwithout/with Thisfriendlymotel on % Without doubt, this is Withoutdoubt,thisis

( 50311; 66 Nat Sein Rd;s/d 50311; 66NatSein ( % %

( Abitoverpriced % 50025; UnionRd;s/d 50087; 5 Thirimingalar 50087; 5Thirimingalar 50144; 5Zatila Rd; These two These 175

NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR 176 operate from small offices along the main road through Kalaw, just north ofthemarket. justnorth operate from smallofficesalong themainroad throughKalaw, all thearrangementstoleave day.Several and make thenext reliable services trekking-guide based travel agenciescanalsoarrange guides. It’squite easy, though,tosimplyshowupinKalaw and restaurants (eg theEverest NepaliFoodCentre) asguides;agoodnumberof Yangon- can act to November). muddyconditionsduringtherainy season(May/June goeson yearround,butexpect king needtobepreparedHikers withgoodshoesandwarm clothingforthecoolevenings. Trek- andthreeplenty ofblankets, meals. and rice).Ifyoucanarrangeit,foraround K1500perpersondayyougetafoambedwith extremely vegetable peaceful.The owner,Motie,alsocooks upfantasticmeals(assorted curries family, Viewpoint’s accommodationisbare norunningwater bones–noelectricity, –butit’s stophereatop amountain.Mostgroupsondayhikes forlunch.Ownedandoperated byaNepali be possibletostayovernight atthe fires. mosquitoestoaminimum. Ontheplusside, itkeeps (Burmese Buddhistmonasteries). Beprepared oflong-housecooking forthelingeringsmoke spending adaytending thefields. Lodging isusuallyin longhousesandoccasionallyin least sixhoursadayandcover about15km. per dayforovernight treks. The costgenerallyincludesfoodandlodging. forat tohike Expect toPindaya, back. isfromKalaw multiday hike withcar transport western shore thegrouptoNyaungshwe. before ofInleLake, Anotherpopular aboattransports need onlycarryvery little. Daingonthe These tripscommonlyendinthehotspringsnearKaung to have toahotel charge, yourheavybaggagetransported inNyaungshwefornoextra soyou to yourself) much youwanttoexert Inle Lake is easilythemostpopular. It'sbecomestandard slopes. trip(thedurationdependsonhow tothree-day Someguidesleadmultidaytrips;thetwo- hikes. Byandlarge pathover theterrain isn’tdifficult–mostlyit’sawell-troddendirt gentle day,whichcomesaroundevery market five days.on Kalaw’s children, children as(like everywhere) theyare sharingchallenged.Tribespeoplecomeintotown elders prefer thatanygifts intended forchildren begiven toanadultratherthandirectly tothe (chief abbot)ofthevillagemonastery, orthevillageheadman,handlessuchdonations. Village not. Balloons,pencils,papernotebooks andballpointpensare alsowelcome. Usuallythe fund ratherthanhandingoutmedicines. Yourguidewillknowwhat’sappropriate andwhat’s for thetouristtrade. longyi has introducedasmallelementoftheconsumereconomyinformchildren sellinghats, tinued exposure themountainfootpathsorsleepinginvillagehomes toforeigners walking as primitive thankstoUN-andgovernment-sponsored assomemightexpect, projects. Con- slowly butsporadicallytovillagesinthearea, andlivingconditionsonthewholeare not andeast.Development intheformofrunningwater iscomingto thenorth andelectricity Intha, Shan,Taungthu, Taung-yo, DanawandBamarpeopleoccupythemountains Danu,Kayah, footsteps ofanothergroup. during thetouristhighseasonandit’snotunusualtofindyourselffollowinginwell-trod routes demands. getafairbitoftraffic Withthatsaid,certain to tailoritinerariesparticular The rangeofterritory opentoforeigners seemstobeexpanding,andlocalguidesare willing journey, orafive-day dayhike Whether it’sashort isthemainreasontrekking tocomeKalaw. TREKKING AROUNDKALAW THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW ••Kalaw THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW Staff atmanyofthehotels Inn) (eg RobinfromtheGoldenLilly,Eddie fromtheGoldenKalaw canprovide sleeping bagsandmosquitonets. guides inKalaw All thelicensedtrekking Although it’s not part ofthepublicrecord, perhapsbecauseit’snotofficiallyapproved,Although it’snotpart itmay One advantageofovernight treks isthatbyevening peopleare backhomeinthevillageafter generallycharge andUS$5toUS$8 US$4toUS$6foradayhike, Licensed guidesinKalaw Several nearbyvillages,suchas Yar Thait and Tayaw, canbevisited inhalf-dayorwhole-day Quality healthcare isaconcern,butit’sbetter togive smallcashgifts tothevillagehealth The plateau nearKalaw (sarong-style lower garments) and bags, most made locally but some imported strictly (sarong-stylelowergarments)andbags,mostmadelocallybutsomeimported

is inhabited bypeopleofthePalaung and Pa-O tribes. (BlackKaren)

Viewpoint , aguesthousebesidebeautifullyscenicspot www.lonelyplanet.com sayadaw kyaung

which is set wellbehindthetown. which isset Oo Min Rd;bungalowss/d/trUS$36/42/67) Oo Min www.lonelyplanet.com inaugural meal.Anassortment of inexpen- We were to experienceSam’s luckyenough teashops. several some withanIndian orNepaliflavour, and nate numberof interesting eatingoptions, For atownthissize,Kalaw hasaninordi- Eating rooms are withcare. maintained andthecarpeted lobby withsatellite TV, main thoroughfare. There’s a small,elegant an attractive building,afew blocksfromthe for Kalaw, theDream Villaisnevertheless owned hotel shouldbypassthe very andIndiandishes. goodBamar hills islovely. Thehotel restaurant serves as thelocationoverlooking thesurrounding cated lookof theplaceisabitof ashame, andprivate bathrooms.Theprefabri- TVs bungalow-style wood-panelledroomswith around 1kmfromthetowncentre has32 (75km) To Thazi KALAW AREATREKKINGROUTES Sam’s Family Restaurant Hotel Resort Pine Hill Those wishingtoavoid anygovernment-Those Taung Pe

Approximate Scale Shwe Min Bon Paya Ah Lai Gone Min Bon Shwe

( Tayaw (Palaung) % Yar Thait(Palaung) (vegetabledishesK500) 50078; fax579640;151 Viewpoint

Kalaw Hotel, Thisresort Hin KhaGone (Palaung)

Magwe Chaung but abookand shake helppassthetime. tends tobeslow, juices andchapatis. Service andreasonablyits tasty pricedcurries,fresh vourite asmuch foritsbackpacker feel asfor and justacrossfromSam’s,Everest isafa- The Thu Maung, inatwo-storey building on mantic andelegantvibe. and white tablecloths gave theplacearo- awaiter tothetable.brought Candlelight flinchtary byoneof thediners invariably attentive, tothepointthataninvolun- wasextremely Service phase. experimental were onoffer, themenuwasinan though meatdishes andBamar Chinese standard sive fried-vegetable andtasty dishes and which explainstherelatively prices. high Itoftentasty. caters topackage-tour groups, Western dishes, butthesoupsare especially afew cottage onthemainroad.Itserves restaurantChinese-Indian isinadistinctive charming placetoeatinKalaw, thisShan- dishes K1000) Union Rd;dishesK2000; Thu Maung Restaurant Restaurant Maung Thu Thirigayhar Restaurant Thirigayhar Everest NepaliFoodCentre Everest

Reservoir THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW •• Kalaw ••Kalaw THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW

Kalaw Nga Mat Chaung Mat Twoblocksfromthemainroad Myin Daik (Danu) 2miles 3km 0 0 Pan Tin Gone Myin Saing Inn Gaung h Gone

till 10pm) (Seven Sisters; (Seven (Union Rd; dishes K1500) To Inle Lake

Train Station (Aung ChanthaRd; Myin Daik Kalaw The most % Shwenyaung To Aungban

50216; (43km)

(8km); 177 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR Rd, which grillsupmeatsforlocals. justsouthofWing Restaurant, Merchant fare; andBamar andtheGolden Chinese good of thecentralmarket, which serves (Pineland) Restaurant excellent springrolls. menus(K2500),anddoes and Western set weather. Itoffers Indian Chinese, Bamar, ingood small stage –andoutdoorseating guitars decorate thewallsandthere’s a has arock-and-rollflavour inside–well, four blockswestof themarket,Naung Zedi, promptu guitar concerts are not uncommon. concertsarepromptu guitar notuncommon. wood barablockwestof themarket. Im- withthelocalsinthisnarrowlittleall- beer ther Thazi orShwenyaung willcostUS$20 and costs K3000.Tocharter avehicle to ei- toKalawfor InleLake) takes three hours Travel time isabout three hours. pay thefullfare tothefinaldestination. Kalaw,through youmay have though to fromeitherMeiktilabuses pass orBagan Thazi inthemorning.Taunggyi-bound the evening. ing fromTaunggyi Kalaw passthrough in bus terminal. Yangon-bound depart- buses 15 hours) leave fromYangon’s Highway fromYangonDaily buses toKalaw (K7000, &Away There Getting Tet NayWinTeahouse Royal Tea Garden Thazu Mi Snack&Drink Hi Drinking chicken andcashews. anabove-averagelooking patrons.Itdoes of authoritygiven off byitsmanyofficial- other placesintown–maybeit’stheair the mainroad,looksmore than established 178 Lachme Teahouse near themarket: (Nepali-style home-madeliquor).Teashops erated, and serve chapati, tea and erated, and serve soldiers fromthenearbybase. town, thiscaféispopularwithstudentsand ontheroadleadingsouthfrom lice station, K1500) Also recommended are Myint MyatCafé A busfromShwenyaung (thejunction forKalawBuses (aroundK2500)leave Myanmar FlowersRestaurant Most teashops intownare Nepaliop- THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW ••Aungban THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW This restaurant, neartheAungChang (Merchant Rd) (Merchant

( (Station Rd) (Merchant Rd) (Merchant h

(Zeigyo Rd) (dishes K1000) till late) (Zeigyo Rd)

Downabottleof Nexttothepo- Htin Yu Myaing Htin , ablocksouth

(chicken dishes (chicken raksi

via Thazi (see via Thazi(see p366 usual Mandalay–Yangon trainconnection K5000 foreach destination).There’s alsothe Taunggyi express withair-con buses (about ononeof the it’s possibletobookaseat 10.45am and3pmdaily. leave Kalaw forShwenyaung at8.30am, way, it’sascenic,ifslow,trip.Three trains hours fromeither. Thefare isUS$3.Either or Shwenyaung toKalaw; ittakes around4½ Taunggyi (K1500). Aungbanontheirwayto that passthrough to catch oneof themanyrickety minibuses heading easttoNyaungshwe,it’spossible Pindaya andKalaw toAungban.Ifyou’re east of townoff thehighway. the five days).Forseekers of Buddhistwisdom, exceptwhenthe itself, ous concern. As elsewhere inMyanmar,AIDSisaseri- drivers it’salsoinfamousforitsbrothels. to feed andfuel;amongShan truck State State. As such, Aungban’s mainfunctionis ofor southtoLoikaw,thecapital Kayah ThaziandTaunggyi,tween northtoPindaya tion forcargo andpassengers travelling be- townisatransportjunc- This smallhighway ea;='pn'" AUNGBAN Aungban andPindaya,see p180 to US$25.Forinformationontravel to picturesque and oneof Boutalake Lake the for itsBuddha-filled limestone caves, its Kalaw onadaytrip,Pindayaisbestknown Pwehla and visited from Ji-Chanzi. Easily and thesmall Pa-O andDanuvillages of and hunched over fields, riceand potato people wearingwide-brimmed sunhats tryside. You’llpassgroupsof Myanmar fect middleAmerican orEuropeancoun- that’s like aWhistlerlandscape–theper- abucolicpastoral setting through passes The roadnorthfromAungbanto Pindaya % p='"ty PINDAYA See p180 &Away There Getting To return toYangon, Mandalay orBagan It’s possibletotake thetrainfromThazi There islittleof tothetown substance 081 Taungpulu Monastery Meditation forinformationontransportfrom

and p367 market www.lonelyplanet.com

). is held (every isheld(every . isalittle per person perday. can beorganised attheGoldenCave ( p180 Danu, Pa-O, Palaung andTaung-yo villages the PindayaInleInnforUS$3. small other interesting objects.Tryyourhandata hand-painted umbrellassells (US$1)among mon strates thestep-by-step processand One of workshops, NamCherry,de- these a few minutes’ drive fromthecave entrance. are two parasols made frommulberrybark.There freed themfromthecave. their pleasforhelp,killedthespiderand for them,aprincestrollingnearbyheard were imprisoned byagiantspider. Lucky took refuge inthecaves duringastorm,and bathinginthelake princesses end, seven bol isa speaking Taung-yo people. Thetown’ssym- to gnarledfish andcooked snakes. frompancake-like everything sells snacks region’s www.lonelyplanet.com of inthedampcave. condensation dhas’ –sitting images wetbecause thatstay ner of the cave three stand ‘perspiring Bud- take care on theslipperypaths. In onecor- the caves are illuminated byelectriclights, manyareas Although meditation. within you maycomeacrosspeoplepractising andaccessible onlyonhandsandknees, donors. vertise thenamesandnationalities of the chambers. Small plaques belowmostad- of serenesea facesinthelabyrinthinecave arrangedbeen over thecenturiestoform a marble, brick,lacquerandcement–have Buddha images –madefromalabaster, teak, succumb toBuddhafatigue,asover 8000 notto entrance. Onceinsideit’sdifficult tures covering therampandliftto for milesaroundbythetemplelike struc- ridge overlooking thelake, are announced and holy,the artificial andnaturalthecommercial A strange andsomewhatkitschy mixof the p='"tygU PINDAYA CAVES Sights or ConquerorHotel ( p180 Day andovernight treks tosurrounding Local handicraftsincludeShan paperand isacentrePindaya itself fortheBurmese- Some of thesmallersidechambers are pottery workshop pottery

pin-gu paper- and umbrella-making workshops andumbrella-making paper- more interesting markets, which Pindaya Caves (spider).Accordingtoleg-

down a side road near downasideroadnear ) foraboutUS$10 , inalimestone )

Boutalake Lake Boutalake front of theridge youcanviewnearby entrance forK100. entrance, oryoucantake thenewliftto cart. A200-step leadstothecave stairway the footof costsK1000byhorse thecliffs Travelthe wayuptocliff. fromtownto Taunggyi, make sure thatyou’re driven all chartered orcarfromKalaw ajeep or thecaves; containing of ifyou’ve thecliff Pindaya, though accommodation inbothPindaya, though There in are nice placestostay several Sleeping paya pwe (February/March), Pindaya hostsacolourful onthefullmoon of TabaungBeginning Festivals &Events proach thecaves alongajungletrail. ride totheothersideof thedam,you’llap- reach theKindaDam.After ashortboat Hwy. Drive eastforaround35kmuntilyou town of KumeontheYangon–Mandalay turn-off 81kmsouthof Mandalay nearthe path. IfcomingfromMandalay, take the a littleover 1kmwestof Yebok onafoot- southwest to kilometres trackleadsseveral Ngan arough about anextraK5000pervehicle. FromYe- a PindayatripfromKalaw orTaunggyi for south, avisittothecaves canbe addedto southern Shan State. Comingfromthe from thedirection of Mandalay orfrom the toric site inMyanmar: Ye-Ngan, prehis- isthemostimportant Northwest of Pindaya,near thevillage of ¨pd:"l='"gU PADAH-LIN CAVES Caves. pheric thantheheavily touristed Pindaya were discovered in1969,are more atmos- Some visitors reckon caves, thatthese which unlike Neolithiccave paintingsinEurope. years –of animaland humansubjects,not old paintings–estimates extend to11,000 caves isdecorated withtheremains of very Chameleon Cave). Theinterior of oneof the (also Hlaing– orBadut known asBadalin, ridge. Paya THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW ••AungbanTHAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW From atemple complexbuiltalongthe It’s alongwalkfromthelake tothefoot To get here you’llhave tocharter a4WD , acluster of lowstupasjustbelowthe (pagodafestival) atShwe OoMin.

Yebok andtheruinsof village. Thetwocaves are

Padah-Lin Caves Padah-Lin Shwe Oo Min Shwe OoMin 179

NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR Bamar and ShanBamar foodwithin afew blocksof arrange treks tonearbyvillages. andafridge. Thisisthebestplaceto a TV cave entrance. More expensive roomshave private balconies,somewithviewsof the in thetwo-storey annexe. Allroomshave area beliesthecharm of thewoodenrooms en Cave’s modest reception andbreakfast 30) is s/dUS$50/60;256 623;www.conquerorhotel.com; has snacks,tea andcoffee. prisingly modern Happy Tea which House, on theroadleading tothecave, is thesur- fare.good Chinese Notfarfromthemarket, andanEnglishstyle tables menufeaturing tour groups.Treks canbearranged here. Quarter of town,thehotel caters largely to cuisine. IntheSingong andBamar Chinese arestaurantvilion buildinghouses serving bungalows have cave views.Thelarge pa- out inattractive, landscapedgrounds.Some andprivate porches aresatellite laid TV and mundane,inthemarket. below, youcanfilluponsnacks,both exotic In additiontotherestaurants mentioned Eating and generally better value. Kalaw andNyaungshweislessexpensive 180 on InleLake. owned andoperated byInlePrincessResort porch arranged aroundasmallgarden.It’s bathrooms, are hasaquaint Each delightful. andlargewith fireplaces, desks,satellite TV but itsposhbrick-and-stonelittlechalets, conveniently located astheotherhotels, Pindaya fromthesouth,thisinnisn’tas Zaytan Quarter; s/dUS$12/20) Zaytan Quarter; i Rd;s/dUS$35/40,chaletsUS$70; 211 226;Mahabandoola room serves mostly Chinese food. mostlyChinese room serves acrossthestreet.lake right The dining Lake with fridge. Somehave goodviewsof Bouta- bathroom, andfive larger superiorrooms hot-water roomswithattached 16 standard rather nondescriptthree-storey hotel has next tothemarket, thismodern-looking but Lite Restaurant Lite

Other restaurants serving inexpensive Other restaurants serving Pindaya InleInn Myit Phyar ZawGjiHotel Myit Phyar Just acrossthestreet fromthemarket, Hotel Golden Cave Conqueror Hotel Extremely friendlyandwarm,theGold - ) THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW ••Heho THAZI TOINLEVIAKALAW The first hotel you see whenyouenter Thefirst hotel yousee ) These large These bamboobungalowswith

(dishes K1000)

( (

% % ( % 448 1211,inYangon Conveniently located 448 1311,inYangon 40227; sUS$15-25,dUS$20-

(in Taunggyi haslongbanquet-

% 22158; 317 % % Kyan 01- 01- you gobypublictransport. siderable) inAungbanandShwenyaung if shwe. Add waitingtime(which canbecon- hours ormore fromPindayatoNyaung- 1½ hours fromKalaw toPindaya,andthree Nyaungshwe. Theactualroadtimeisabout reverse direction orasalongdaytrip outof or thekyatequivalentforwholeday. ThisshouldcostaboutUS$30 and InleLake. town, andthencontinueontoNyaungshwe while youtake inthecaves andhave lunch in to Pindaya,have itwaitforacoupleof hours can alsohire acartotake youfromKalaw US$20 tomake thedaytriptoPindaya. You and driver inKalaw forabout US$15to opposite direction at8amthenextday. bustravels(K1500), atnoon;thesame inthe one busperdayfromTaunggyi toPindaya leaves fromthemarket area at6am.There’s The first pick-upfromPindayatoAungban morning andallowawholedayforthetrip. Aungban andPindaya,soleave earlyinthe pick-ups later intheday,especiallybetween or tofindbuses transport. Itcanbedifficult and anotherK550toget toPindayabypublic From Kalaw itcosts K150toget toAungban &Away There Getting and Teik Restaurant. Sein the market are UAseik, Tip TopRestaurant most travellers heading toNyaungshwe must Mandalay, orYangon. Bagan It’salsowhere leaving Nyaungshwe tocatch abustoKalaw, Shwenyaung isthetransfer pointforthose er¯e–;=' SHWENYAUNG offers direct ( fromBagan flights p187 Mandalay andHeho; Air newcomerBagan Airways flyregularly Yangon, between Mandalay, Yangon AirwaysandMyanma town.Air isjustanotherhighway itself Hehosouth toNyaungshweandInleLake, nyaung, which isthejunctionforroad About AungbanandShwe- halfwaybetween andKalawfor manytotheInleLake area. The airstrip northof Heho isthegateway hEhui" HEHO markets inthesouthernarea of Shan State. thathoststhelargesthighway of thefive-day Heho hasadusty It’s alsopossibletodothetripin It’s much more convenient tohire acar

market area market www.lonelyplanet.com

justoff the ). bark inKalaw fromanyof trains. these around nine hours later. Youcan alsodisem- 10.30am and2pm; US$4)andarrive inThazi Three trainsleave Shwenyaung (at8.30am, in Shwenyaung 5pmand6pm. between lages, railwayline. onapartially zigzagging theShan andlocalvil- through Mountains journey It’saspectacular curves. mountain back of acrampedpick-up,especiallyon can bemore thansittinginthe comfortable picturesque, andhaving therunof acarriage hours) isratherslow,buttheroute isvery tonine(ordinary/1st classUS$4/9,eight you as soon as you alight fromthebus. you assoonalight away fromthetouts,who’lldescendupon sip sometea andsortoutyournextmove is aconvenient placetowaitfortransport, the Heho-Nyaungshwe-Taunggyi junction, Teashop,The Pan Lat Za at situated right there’s no reason here. tospendthenight Shwenyaung forforeigners, butthenagain There’s nolonger anyaccommodationin toNyaungshwe.up inordertocatch ataxi theirTaunggyi-boundhop off busorpick- www.lonelyplanet.com p367 press atThazi.See trains anddisembark to take oneof theYangon–Mandalay ex- gon orMandalay theprogrammewouldbe train, butit’stime-consuming.FromYan- You canget allthewaytoShwenyaung by TRAIN they leave onlywhenfull. (K300) from5amtoaround4pm,though Shwenyaungbetween andNyaungshwe in yourdirection. it’s justextramoney–they’re already going up foreign touristsforonlyK500because inShwenyaung are willingtopick ervations on theirwaytocollectpassengers withres- just northof themarket. Someemptytaxis by thesideof theroadnear themonument nohelmetsarerate (though provided). find afreelancer onamotorcycleforcheaper relatively extortionate prices.It’spossibleto after 6pm – drivers inShwenyaung charge ung andNyaungshwe(K4000).Ifit’slate – Taxis Shwe plythe11kmroadbetween nya- CAR, PICK-UP &TAXI &Away There Getting A trainleaves Thaziat9am andarrives The trainfromThazitoShwenyaung Pick-ups ferry passengers backandforth From Nyaungshwe,oneoptionistowait for timetable details. fortimetable

a='"el"aui=' ing islands)and the rower tobetter see of thelake toanother. Italsoenables the ing –duringthelongpaddlesfromoneend to thearms–which are forrow- alsoused strange leg-rowingtechnique offers relief ping theotherlegaroundoar. This atthesternstanding ononelegandwrap- propelling theirflat-bottomed boatsby Shan-influenced. tecture andBuddhistsculpture isstrongly stupas. TheInlestyleof religious archi- kyaung are Buddhist;there are around 100Buddhist reach solidland. becomesunnavigable course andyou stacle and marsh untiltheob- paddiesget denser gets shallower hyacinths andthetangled you can’twalkdirectly aroundit.Thewater The lake really have doesn’t ashoreline – are mostly inhabited bythe Intha people. lands are hometo17villages onstilts,which few metres away.Thelakeshore andlake is- in aboattogossipwithneighbour onlya partiallypulledandyoumusthop has been like areal-lifeseems Atlantiswhere theplug contrasttothepeaksoneitherside–it stark encounter thelake –itsplacidflatnessin rage. Facts notwithstanding, whenyoufirst 875m above andacomplete level mi- sea Inle Lake 11kmwide, is 22kmlong,roughly INLE LAKE on theshores andislands of thelake. narrow channel. Around70,000 peoplelive Shwenyaung orfrom thelake viaalong, of thelake byroadfrom andisaccessed The townshipof namesitsnorth the same Danu, Kayah, people. DanawandBamar Intha, Shan, Pa-O (Taungthu), Taung-yo, ports apopulationof 130,000comprising municipal area of Nyaungshweandsup- of camera-carryingforeigners. aboatload leg-power methoduponsighting ately switch fromconventional rowingtothe of theirtourist-poster appeal,willimmedi- and more common,legrowers, fullyaware motors diesel areAlthough becomingmore –andtospotfish. path aroundtheobstacles uptoplota tostand sometimes necessary The hard-workingInthaare famousfor Like theShan, theIntha MonandBamar, The entire lake region inthe iscontained aroundthelake andperhaps1000 beda

(water hyacinth).It’s kyun myaw INLE LAKE (float-

181 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR and otherkindsof fish.Women inthevil- ermen harvest over woodandbambooframes,Inthafish- avenues of fortheIntha. transportation a networkof canalsthatprovide themain the islandsandpeninsulasthusformedis the lake bottomwithbamboopoles.Among ibly fertile thatare solidmasses staked to hyacinths have combinedtoformincred- floating islands,where marsh, soilandwater shwe. Many of cropsare these cultivated on the northernendof thelake aroundNyaung- year round.Theyalsogrowrice,especiallyat wide varietyof flowers, vegetables andfruit lake region supportthemselves bygrowinga 182 ShweInn Ohak Nyaung (50km) To Kalaw Thazi (142km) Pindaya (68km); Kalaw (50km); To Heho(8km); INLE LAKE Thein ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ ὅὅὅὅὅὅὅ Using cone-shapednetsstretched tautly The industriousvillagers inhabitingthe Meditation Kyaung & U Daung INLE LAKE •• History &Culture INLELAKE••History Trekking Trekking Centre Kyibawkon Route Route Indein

Walking Kanywa Trail Tone Lè Thandaung Kaung Daing Kyay SarKone Hot Spring Nam Hu Jay Paw Khone Shanywa (Floating Market) Taung Tho Kyaung nga-hpein Yetha Nga Hpe Chaung Ywama Helon ὅὅ ὅὅ ὅὅ Lin Kin Paung Pane (Silk Weavers) Daing Village In PawKone Pwe SarKone Hupin Hotel Inle Khaung Hsisone Magyizeik Daw Oo Resort Nyaung Wan Phaung Maing Pyo Taunggyi Zayatkyi Paya (30km) Nam Pan Tha Lay To Taung BoGyi (atypeof carp) Inleh BoTeh To Sankar;Kyauk Taung Kela Floating Resort Shwe InnTha Shwe YanPyay Chaing Kham Lake Inle Nat Shrine Golden Island Golden Island Naung Taw Cottages 1 Nyaung Nanthe Cottages 2 Pebin Inywa Win Bawrithat Tha LeOo Maing Thauk In Oo Thitseinbin Ma GyiGone Ingyingon Sizon Nyaungshwe Kyaukhpyugyi Paya Kon Lon Inle PrincessResort Shwenyaung (11km) To Kan TaPan Kaung Dat Gyi Moe from theirShan neighbours, the Intha are Both culturallyandlinguisticallyseparate &CULTUREHISTORY bring socksandasweater. and morningsinthelake area are cold,so pottery andlacquerware. Inle producesilver andbrassware aswell aren’t busy fishingorfarming,themenof country apartfromAmarapura. Whenthey more silk garments thananywhere inthe weaversraw silkfromChina,these produce style) shoulder bagsandsilk southern endof weave InleLake) Shan-style lages (especiallyYwamaandHeya atthe Pon Tae Loilem Tehe During January andFebruary thenights Kyauk TaLone Hti Nè Naung Lee Dag DawOo Ka Taung longyi Tha PyeGone Mai Law Loi Kaw Hti Plun

Ine Ne Naung Kae Mountain Range Mountain onwoodenhandlooms.Using Naung YaSein Naung Kham Saug Pho Ti Htat Kyaung Ham Se Hto Na Baung 4km 2miles 0 0 Hti HanSwe Pon SwePan Kyauk Daing Naung Ka Ham Pho Wong ya Zinme www.lonelyplanet.com

Kan Tan (ChiangMai- Approximate Scale Kakku town. at oneof around thehotels orguesthouses Thais andtheBamar. the 18thcenturytoavoid wars the between the Inthamigrated fromtheMonregion in that migrant families.Anothertheorysays are around InleLake descendedfromthese ilies fromDawei;purportedly, alltheIntha that heasked themtoinvite 36more fam- working demeanourof the Daweibrothers withthehard- The latter wassopleased a hereditary of chieftain theShan people). to serve aNyaungshwe to serve from DaweicametoNyaungshwein1359 ninsula insouthernMyanmar. Dawei ontheTanintharyi (Tenasserim) pe- tohavethought migrated tothisarea from www.lonelyplanet.com denced by thenumberof inexpensive but the country toexudeabackpacker vibe,evi- Kalaw, thistownisoneof the few placesin who profit from theirpresence. Besides abadthingforthemanylocals necessarily overruncan seem withforeigners. Thisisn’t is 3.5kmfromthenorthernendof thelake, Tree, alsocalled Banyan Yaungwhe), which Nyaungshwe(Golden season, tourist high lers here. whoextend theirstays Duringthe throw off theitinerariesof manytravel- boat ridestostrenuous hikes –combineto dation anddiverse activities–fromleisurely Laid-back Nyaungshwe’s choice accommo- e–;='er¯ NYAUNGSHWE this oneannualevent. to spendallof theirmeagre savings during religious that it’s notunusualforfamilies end of Theyare Waso(BuddhistLent). so celebrate the in newclothesandfervently ingyut early October. followedby It’sclosely oralmost three inlate weeks September around thelake inaroyalbarge, lastsfor four goldenBuddhaimages are ferried monial times of tovisitInleLake. Thecere- theyear andOctober areSeptember amongthebest FESTIVALS &EVENTS Tours enter zoneat theInleLake You paythecompulsoryentryfee (US$3)to INFORMATION According toonestory,twobrothers

(MTT; ChaungRd,Nyaungshwe; (MTT; , when the Intha andtheShan dress Phaung DawOo Phaung

(e 10) i which in p190), (see

sao pha Myanmar Travels & Myanmar Travels h (‘sky lord’, 7am-4pm) Thad- or a few computerswithreliable Internetconnections. alternative toCenturyTicket andalsorecommended. Has [email protected]; YoneGyiRd).An final wordregarding flightschedulesandfares. alsoprovidesmapsofthearea andsometimesthe the lake dollars(US$3)for tourists’ The sameofficethatcollects including in thecentral andsoutheastern parts of town, in oneof theshrine buildings. and ‘youwillbe sick’ figures inglasscases spired stupa. Lookforthe‘youwillbeold’ Paya The oldesttemple intown, SHRINES, MONASTERIES&STUPAS h seum in thenortheastern partof town,this inalargeHoused teak-and-brick mansion MUSEUM OFSHAN CHIEFS Sights &Activities &Tours Myanmar Travels a nicecoffee shopandoccasionalHotmailaccess. There are fivecomputers, oasisfortheemailstarved. veritable Rd;perhrK3000; (Phaungdaw Seiq Inle BloomsGlobalOnlineInformationBar Café &Internet Comet Travel other destinations,aswellonwardtransportation. to andtrips place canarrangeboatingexcursions,hikes ( &WholesaleCentre Retail Ticket Century access toguests. hotelslisted offer below,several Internet and bustickets. Apartfromtheoptions canhelparrange flights guesthouse every onYoneGyiRd,andvirtually small office Yangon AirwaysandAirMandalay have a Information andpancakes.specialising inspaghetti andrestaurants guesthouses comfortable north wing,behind thefrontbuilding. teak-floored throne-and-audience hallinthe royal costumes.Mostimpressive isthehuge displaysofrooms contain Shan furniture and lord’s palace)inKengtung. Many of the 1991 demolitionof the ing exampleof aShan-style palacesincethe isthebestsurviv- died injail.Themuseum when NeWincametopower(see p42 ) and dent of Myanmarin1948,wasimprisoned Thaike. Thaike, whobecame thefirst presi- of the33rdandlast Shan % There are good-sized monasteries several 9.30am-3.30pm Tue-Sun) 29061; Yone Gyi Rd) This recommended, friendly 29061; YoneGyiRd)Thisrecommended, friendly , isworthvisitingforitsunique step-

(Yaunghwe Haw Museum; HawMuseum; (Yaunghwe Third St;admissionUS$2; Kan GyiKyaung Kan INLE LAKE••Information

wasthe (MTT; Chaung(Strand)Rd) (MTT; , haw saopha Shwe GuKyaung h sao pha ( % Yadana Man Aung Yadana Aung Man 9am-midnight) A 9am-midnight) A 29126; inlay haw , Sao Shwe , SaoShwe (palace) (palace)

(Shan (Shan

and and

183 mu- NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR (meditation monastery). (meditation transformed intoa been and somevery oldplinths. Thecomplex has ofa set slender whitewashed Shan stupas built bytheNyaungshwe called of town,theruinof anold Shan monastery Yangon Kyaung 184 Springs To Hot To InleLake SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Shwe ZaliPaya...... Shwe GuKyaung...... Nigyon TaungyonKyaung...... Museum ofShanChiefs...... Monument...... Monastery...... Monastery...... Mingala Market...... Kan GyiKyaung...... Independence Monument...... Hlaing GuKyaung...... Handicrafts...... Yangon AirwaysOffice...... Telephone Office...... MTT Office...... Moe Moe'sBoat&Bicycle...... OnlineInformationBar...... Inle BloomsGlobal Hospital...... Golden IslandCottagesOffice...... Comet Travel&InternetCafé...... Bank...... Air MandalayOffice...... (see9) 1 3 2 NYAUNGSHWE (3.5km) YWA THA INLELAKE••Nyaungshwe 46 52 Nigyon Taungyon Kyaung 61 Nan Chaung 44 (Main Canal) 7 Ὀ Chaung Rd 62

(Strand Rd) AC 10 6 35 3 Kyaukhpyugyi Paya 31 32 . Onthesoutheastern outskirts

45 Canal 30 5 To Nanthe; Sports 54 Field 12 53 48 39 65 21 43

29 Kyauktein Rd kammahtan kyaung 50 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 sao pha 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 55 B2 A2 A3 A3 B3 A2 B2 B1 A2 C2 D3 D1 B1 B2 C3 B1 C2 A2 C2 A3 C2 –originally 33 4 24 SLEEPING Viewpoint Hotel...... Teak WoodGuestHouse...... Remember Inn...... Primrose Hotel...... Paradise Hotel&Restaurant...... Nawng Kham/LittleInn...... Nanda WunnHotel...... Mingalar Hotel...... May GuestHouse...... Joy Hotel...... Inle Inn...... Nyaungshwe...... Hu PinHotel Gypsy Inn...... Four SistersInn...... Bright Hotel...... Aquarius Inn...... Yangon Kyaung...... Yadana ManAungPaya...... Township Office...... Stupas...... Stupas...... Stupa...... Sri JagdishHinduTemple...... 63 2 –features B School 37 27 51 64 56

Main Rd Heho (35km);Airport Kalaw (64km);Kakku(73km)

8 Mingala Rd Mingala 57 Middle 16 14 School 1 25 Shwenyaung (11km); 17 To ShweYaunghwe

Taunggyi (31km); 41 Kyaung(1km);

Phaungdawpyan Rd Phaungdaw Seiq Rd Seiq Phaungdaw 47 ages inside. the premises hasBuddhaimages of various brick-and-stucco tangular with uniqueoval windows.A long,low,rec- a venerable wooden astery called trance, anold18th-or19th-century mon-

23 Yone Gyi Rd Gyi Yone Mong Li Canal 9 Less than1kmnorthofLess thetownen- 28 22 155 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 EATING 24 23 22 0.1miles 100m 0 0 20 A2 A2 C1 B3 C1 A3 D2 B3 C2 A1 D2 B1 A2 A2 A3 C2 B2 D2 B2 B2 C1 C1 3B1 A3 60 40 15 11 13 59 Shwe Yaunghwe Kyaung TRANSPORT ENTERTAINMENT Pick-ups toTaunggyi...... Pick-ups toShwenyaung...... Bus/Pick-up Stop...... Boat Landing...... Boat Landing...... Puppet Theatre...... Unique SuperbFoodHouse...... Smiling MoonRestaurant...... Shwe PyeSoeRestaurant...... Shwe InlayBakery...... Shanland Restaurant...... Pancake Kingdom...... Miss NyaungshweRestaurant...... La LibelludeRestaurant...... Hu PinRestaurant...... Htoo AungChinese&ShanFood.. Golden KiteRestaurant...... Full MoonRestaurant...... Eden Teashop...... Big DrumRestaurant...... Aroma Restaurant...... Myawady Rd 49 36 42 Middle School 58

thein Third St Third 18 www.lonelyplanet.com 38 pahto (ordination hall) 34 D (shrine) on features School High 19 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 26 A2 B1 B1 A2 A2 C2 C1 C2 B2 B1 A2 A2 A2 B1 B3 C2 A2 C1 A2 A2 US$6/12) Buddha, said tobe700yearsBuddha, said old. guardian deities)andstupasisahuge sitting tial beings), rounded bybrick-and-stucco Paya small butatmosphericruinsof eastern sideof themainchannel leadstothe US$6/12) www.lonelyplanet.com Aquarius Inn Aquarius BUDGET making air-con unnecessary. anmar massage (US$2toUS$4perhour). boat trips,hikes atraditionalMy- andeven to bookbustickets andarrange andflights, actastravelguesthouses agents. They’re able breakfast. Inaddition,mosthotels and competition.Allroomrates intense include are of opentonegotiationbecause the fairly counts, butatanytimeof yearmostrates and operated. dis- Mostoffer low-season inNyaungshwearehouses familyowned Many of the budget andmidrange guest- Sleeping more see details, p191 itors arrange boattripsaroundthelake. For Nyaungshwe istheplacewhere mostvis- BOAT TRIPS The main municipal MINGALA MARKET foreign-language booksonloanforguests. restaurant. Italsohas agoodcollectionof anexcellentbreakfast initslittle and serves from theLittleInn,itisquietand friendly a smallcompounddirectly acrossthestreet cosy andwarmall-woodrooms.In several is included. and asmall veranda. Anexcellent breakfast hasahot-watergood value. shower Each arethis guesthouse squeaky cleanandvery down aquietside street. Snugroomsat opposite HlaingGuKyaungmonastery, and textiles. products, there are pottery afew selling stalls fresh produce, Shan noodlesandotherlocal their wares. of Inadditiontomountains morning, whenvendors congregate tosell town’s northernentrance,isbusiestinthe A shortwalksouthof townalongthe Temperatures are mildtocoolatnight, May GuestHouse May , nexttotheInthavillage of Nanthe. Sur- Theexcellent-value Aquariushas Lookforthesmallyellowbuilding

( chinthe % 29352; 2PhaungDawPyanRd;s/d

(

% (half-lion, half-dragon half-dragon (half-lion, zei . 29417; 85MyawadyRd;s/d (market), nearthe devas Kyaukhpyugyi Kyaukhpyugyi (celes- puppet showisavailable onrequest. garden outtheback.AShan dinnerand rate. There’s sittingarea apleasant inthe rooms inthebamboobungalows are first is wellmanaged andquiet.Spick-and-span oldest privately ownedinnsinthecountry, inn ontheeastern sideof town,oneof the myanmar.com.mm; sUS$4-10,dUS$9-20; bamboo bungalows aren’t especially well canbean annoyance. Thethatched traffic galow over thewater, early-morning boat inabun- blessing. Whileit’s funtosleep on theotherside of thecanalisamixed hotel’s uniquelocationjustover thebridge money. porch, are nicerthan you’dexpectforthe each withtheirownprivate bathroomand different story.Thelarge all-wood rooms, roof paint,buttheinterior andpeeling isa pears worn,withacorrugated slightly iron ern partof ap- townneartheMongLiCanal terms of tripsoffered here. through tive it’sbesttoshop aroundin saleswoman; Teakwood withherfamily’shelpisanasser- rooms. Thewomanwhoownsandrunsthe ful teak oneforthenewer,more expensive for theoldbuildingandanothervery beauti- two open-airlounge anddiningareas –one building are asbasictheycome. There are in smallstones.Economyroomstheold draw isthebathrooms,which are covered beds andwoodenfurnishings,butthereal five orsointhenewannexe have comfortable of themostattractive roomsinthearea. The threehouse blockseastof the canalhassome 15) Fromtheoutside,thishotel inthesouth- Viewpoint Hotel Hotel Viewpoint Teakwood GuestHouse Inle Inn Primrose Hotel Primrose ing afew bucksforcommission. extra yourself. you’llprobablybepay- Otherwise etc. Befirm,andwhatever youdo,checkin closed, ithasanewownerandisnowdirty common excuses:theownerdied,hotel your happinessinmind,they’lltrysome In ordertoconvinceyouthattheyonlyhave the hotel where theyreceive acommission. from thehotel yourequest youto andtake self-appointed guidestodirect youaway It’s notunusualfortaxidrivers andother WARNING

( % INLE LAKE••Nyaungshwe

29016; YoneGyiRd;s/dUS$8/12)

( % ( % 29150; 40 Mingala Rd;s/dUS$10/ 29150; 40Mingala 29062; s/dUS$7/14)

( % 29250; teakwoodhtl@ i ) Thisguest-

This

This 185 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR US$7/12) paddy, about 1kmsouthof themainvillage. the canalandalarge between house rice their restaurant businessintoaquiet guest- have ahot-water showerandatoilet. two-storey Afew house. of thelarger rooms cheaper roomswithshared bathroominthe fairly basic(butclean)rooms.There are area overlooking thecanalmakes upforthe Asmallsitting from theotherguesthouses. Joy Hotel isolated feels –atleast pleasantly narrow, quietcanalwestof themarket, the mospheric viewsof thenearbystupa. ranged gardenwithat- aroundapleasant basiccarpeted roomsar-this innhasseven are better even viewsof town. roof of building,where anattached there onthe sles. Anexcellentbreakfast isserved small balconyyou’lleasilyforgive has- these liable, butafter anafternoon onyourown andthewater pressuremaintained, isunre- 186 s/d US$5/8) is opposite the Museum ofis opposite theMuseum Shan Chiefs. sage isavailable forUS$2 perhour. Theinn ting area withsatellite TV. mas- Burmese unattractive. There’s arestaurant andsit- of section thehotel are‘high-rise’ large but priced concrete roomsinthecavernous actually thebestvalue,while higher- The cheapest bamboofurnishedroomsare dress alltravel-related questionsandneeds. canad- theEnglish-speakingstaff though inn isnotascharming asthecompetition, have thecommissionsystem wired), this to transport them(theRememberseems with backpackers drivers andthetaxi who large atleastfour. familyroomthatsleeps wings,oneofwith several a which contains interior design.It’safairlymodernhouse means it’sunlikely towinanyawardsin Hotel are large, the mismatched furniture the obnoxious of revving motorboats. canal meansyourmorningwake-up callis have proximity balconies,though tothe value. Afew of thehigher-priced rooms in thiscategory, the GypsyInnisstillgood modern andmotel-like thanotherplaces Pyan Rd;s/dUS$5/10) .com.mm; ThirdSt;sUS$4-10,dUS$8-12; Gypsy Inn Joy Hotel Hotel Bright Four Sisters Inn Four Sisters Nawng Kham Remember Inn Remember INLELAKE••Nyaungshwe Theproprietors here have expanded Though the rooms at the Bright theroomsatBright Though

(Chaung Rd;sUS$5-8,dUS$10-15) ( %

( % 29083; Jetty Rd;s/dUS$5/9) 29083; Jetty

(Little Inn;

( Opposite Shwe Zali Paya, Opposite Shwe Zali % ( % 29137; 53 Phaungdaw Seiq Rd; 29137; 53PhaungdawSeiq 29190; 105 Nan Pan Quarter; s/d 29190; 105NanPan Quarter; 29257; remember@myanmar % 29195; PhaungDaw i ) Popular Ona More mptmail.net.mm; 66 Kan Tha Quarter; s/dUS$30/36; ThaQuarter; mptmail.net.mm; 66Kan Nanda WunnHotel MIDRANGE good beds. Rooms have afan,hot-water showerand point interms of pancake joints, andpasta tobereaching The townseems saturation Eating group. the same whichat theHuPinRestaurant, isownedby the rooftop restaurant oraroundthecorner gala Market. Allrates includebreakfast at and fridge. Thehotel isablock westof Min- ed air-con roomswithhot-water shower,TV have itdoes feel large athome,though attach - this smallvillage), HuPinwon’tmake you five-storeyChinese-style behemoth(well,for s US$22-25,dUS$25-30; with travel andair-ticket arrangements. and air-con. isquite helpful Thestaff TV ing. Allroomshave hot-water shower,fridge, niture andprivate porches are more appeal- the individualbungalowswithwicker fur- building are notespeciallygoodvalue,but roomsinthetwo-storeyStandard motel-like is popularwithFrench package tourists. Shan thishotel Chiefs, inalarge compound 25; .com.mm; 80YoneGyiRd;bungalowssUS$18-20,dUS$20- is available. extra bucks.TraditionalMyanmarmassage thefew and bathroomswithtubsdeserve ceilings,individualporches galows withhigh commodation, butthelarger, superiorbun- much pricierthansomeof thebudget ac- of themarket inaquietcompound,isn’t Hu Pin Hotel Nyaungshwe Hu PinHotel Paradise Hotel &Restaurant Paradise Hotel INLE OFFTHEBEATEN TRACK i east of the lake isanice resteast ofthelake stop ( p191 ) Ta-Eh Gu trek toKalaw ride( bike p189 ) hot springs south ofInle( p193 ) Sankar plantsinafield( like p192 ) Kakku ) TheNandaWunn,afew blockseast

Thousands ofstupaslinedup

An ancient wall in a lake far Anancientwallinalake This cave inthemountains You’llneedasoakafter the

( Itbeatsthebus( p176 ) % a 22540; nandawunn@myanmar ) Near the Museum of NeartheMuseum www.lonelyplanet.com

( %

( % 29291; hupin-hotel@ 22009; 40 Third St; 22009; 40ThirdSt;

a ) A patio and a selection ofpatio andaselection bottledbeers. here. MissNyaungshwehasaniceoutdoor ries, pluspancakes dishesare andpasta served a few andiscleanfriendly. tables Kite justdownthestreet, SmilingMoonhas cream of carrotsoupisK500. curryisK600andthe is K2000,thepotato creativity orlocalflavour. Thefiletmignon cater tothetouristpalate withoutsacrificing member Inn,thisrestaurant haslearnedto a gardenaroundthecornerfromRe- taurants opentononguests. taurants and Teakwood have GuestHouse, goodres- maung jeut ket morning.Anotherlocaldelicacyis every kauq-sweh local produce;there are alsoplentyof Shan vegetables. coming sickafter eatingimproperlywashed travellershygiene. Several have reported be- dollars withoutproviding of goodstandards ers anxioustotake advantage of tourists’ cautiousof newcom- till 9pmor10pm.Be restaurants thatcater open totouristsstay them.Most advertise pizzasbutdon’tserve dishes. Interestingly afew enough, places to travellers wearyof theusualcurryandrice aren’t unwelcome these necessarily though www.lonelyplanet.com pastas K1000) K2000) fricassees side onawraparoundporch. foreign travellers’ tastes. Tables are out- set excellent English andare quite familiarwith are alsoon offer. speak Mostof thestaff vegetarian version of itsdelicioustagliatelle cake joints.Omelettes, fruitshakes anda This isthereigning kingof andpan- pasta tart (K600). tart ashake asalad, sandwich, ordelicious apple watch canallife floatbywhileenjoyinga ideal placetosit in thelate afternoon and Libellude isan rant justacrossthe canal.La bridge andturnlefttoreach thisrestau- There’s anotherbranch inBagan. savoury Indianmeatand vegetable curries. modest-looking placealongthecanal serves K800) Aroma Restaurant Aroma Restaurant Miss Nyaungshwe Restaurant Nyaungshwe Restaurant Miss Restaurant Golden Kite Unique SuperbFoodHouse hotels, includingFourSistersSeveral Inn Mingala Market isagoodplacetoshop for Smiling Moon Restaurant Smiling MoonRestaurant La Libellude With asimilarmenutotheGolden The usual Chinese and Bamar cur- andBamar The usualChinese (noodle-soup)vendors atthemar- (round,flatricecrisps). Really onlyafew in set tables (dishes K800 (Chaung Rd;dishesK800)

(Yone GyiRd;dishesK1000) (Yone ) Walkacrossthe (3 Myawady Rd; chicken (3 MyawadyRd;chicken (Yone GyiRd;dishes (Yone (Phaungdaw Seiq Rd; Rd; (Phaungdaw Seiq This

fish andpork. menu isdividedintothree chicken, sections: and cleandiningarea. TheEnglish-language very foodinamodern goodChinese serves sells good sells bridge over thisteashop theMongLiCanal, eastern cornerof themarket nearanold Shanland Restaurant Daw NyuntYee Restaurant bean dip. alities are of themenu. thehighlight Aquarius Innhasafew Shan tables. speci- ing the high season (November season ing thehigh to February), Yangon toHeho, someviaMandalay. Dur- restaurants. 100m away,where there are acoupleof small haveso taxis to stopdowntheroad,over terminal inHeho is completely fenced off, or 20kmtoTaunggyi. Forsomereason the Heho it’safurther 11kmtoNyaungshwe region), 30kmwestof Shwenyaung. From all flytoHeho (the gateway totheInleLake Air(BA)Myanma Airways(MA)andBagan Air Mandalay (AM),Yangon Airways(YA), AIR gala Market. the HuPinHotel, oneblockwestof Min- port to/fromNyaungshweisjustnorthof Shwenyaung (see p181 ). gyi andtransferring inthejunctiontownof save acoupleof hours byskippingTaung- If yousimplywanttogothelake you’ll office.and thelocationof themain MTT go toTaunggyi, themaintowninarea and trouble. First of all,there’s to noneed optionsthatcansaveseveral youmuch time areaLake are time-consuming,butthere are Apart fromflying,alltheroutes totheInle &Away There Getting Shwe PyeSoeRestaurant Chinese foodisalsoavailable.Chinese soup, friedpeanutsandricecostsK1000. place. A Shan dinnerof fish curry,bean ern bankof themaincanal,thisisafriendly ofset thatched A-frame shelters onthewest- 800) Eden Teashop Big DrumRestaurant Also recommended: Hu PinRestaurant AM, BA andYA have from daily flights areaThe staging formostpublictrans- Htoo Htoo Aung Chinese&ShanFood Aung Htoo Htoo

This smallA-frame restaurant nearthe nam-bya INLE LAKE••Nyaungshwe

( h (dishesK700)

6am-5pm) (dishes K1000) (nan-typebread) with

(dishes K800) (dishesK700) (dishes K700)

Onthenorth- TheHuPin Made upof a

(dishes

187 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR ing around Nyaungshwe’s restaurants. the travel agencies orfreelance guidesroam- or oneofranged yourguesthouse through Any of the followingdestinationscanbear- you’re travelling in agroupof fourormore. significantly more expensive than abusif help make busreservations. inNyaungshwecan hotels andguesthouses inadvance.chased Travel agencies andmost the destinationslisted belowshouldbepur- waiting atthesideof theroad.Tickets for stopand pickuppassengersshwe. Buses nyaung junction,11kmnorthof Nyaung- only waitbythesideof theroadatShwe- but travellers inNyaungshweandInleneed tination of allpublictransportisTaunggyi, some warmclothes. an open-truckpick-up canbevery toInleLake coldin mountains January, thetripfromplainsover the Mandalay,Bagan, ThaziorKalaw. Around By road,mostpeopletravel from toInleLake BUS, PICK-UP &TAXI cheap waymaytake halfaday. gyi, it’sK300.Keep inmindthatdoingitthe (about K200).Ifyou’re continuingtoTaung- gotoNyaungshwe or buswilleventually (K350); fromShwenyaung, anotherpick-up pick-up orbustotheShwenyaung junction to hike outtothemainroadandwaitfora you’re attheirmercy.Thecheaper optionis airport totown,sincedrivers there know K15,000. It’smore expensive togofromthe airport andNyaungshwecostsK9000to terms of reliability andcomfort. as theotherairlinesare farsuperiorin with thegovernment-run airline,especially Heho aswell,butthere’s noreason tofly (US$75). from Heho toKengtung andTachileik daily for thislegcostsUS$75. withastopoverBagan inMandalay. Aticket Mandalay–Heho fare isUS$50. The Yangon–Heho fare isUS$105,andthe isless regular.other timesof theyearservice with oneof reliable these carriers, butduring day fromHeho toYangon andMandalay per you cancountonatleasttwoflights 188 Share are taxis quicker andgenerally not The initialdeparture pointandfinaldes- Heho ridebetween The one-hourtaxi MA fliesfromYangon andMandalay to AMandYA season During thehigh fly AM, BA andYA flydailyfromHeho to INLELAKE••Nyaungshwe

– make sure youhave halfway between thetwotowns. halfway between theAungban–Pindayaroad Ngan tomeet Ye- thehillsthrough andcrosses Kyaukse the Mandalay–Meiktila roadjustsouthof anewandshorterbuses, route bycar leaves hours. andtake aroundeight whole taxi are aroundK50,000toK60,000forthe NyaungshweandMandalay between taxis on theirwaytoMandalay from6pmto8pm. at 5am. departs Mandalay at7pmandthelatter daily departures forTaunggyi. Theformer Thar Express andShan Maw Mye,have the more reliable express companies,Taung depending onthebuscompany.Twoof to12hours)(eight costK5000toK6000, Mandalay between Buses andthelake area Mandalay which makes thesituationuncertain). Meiktila thetown, (anewroadnow bypasses goingtoMandalaysome buses maystopin to Yangon generally alsostopinThazi,and n yaung (three going tofourhours). Buses Mandalay- orYangon-bound businShwe - To reach Kalaw fromNyaungshwe,catch any ThaziKalaw, &Meiktila around12hoursin Bagan later. nyaung junctionataround5amandarrive leave passbytheShwe- at4am.Thebuses fromTaunggyibuses (K7000)that toBagan hours.to K60,000andtakes aroundeight of four. Theentire costsfromK50,000 taxi moreslightly expensive ifyou’re inagroup is more convenient thanabusandonly A share from NyaungshwetoBagan taxi Bagan night night ly Yangon-bound stopbrieflyin buses Yan gon andTaunggyi (see p195 ). Two or more forareturn trip. crowded back. and K300foraspotinthe for afrontseat hill triptakes onehourandcostsK500 lot twoblockssouthof thecanal.Theup- from6amto4pmasmall half-hour Pick-ups toTaunggyi leave virtuallyevery Taunggyi &Yangon Although it’sunlikely byAlthough to beused shareIf arranged guesthouses, through Shwenyaung pass through buses Several Shwe Hla MiandYe ThuAunger operate Several companies run buses between between companiesrunbuses Several route costsK12,000 along thesame A taxi

www.lonelyplanet.com Kaungdine) are some hours later. at Yangon’s busterminal Highway 16to20 Express charges andarrives K7000perseat Shwe State nyaung aroundnoon.Eastern www.lonelyplanet.com western edge of town andfollowthe rough, Cross the smallbridge over thecanalon holed 40-minute ridefromNyaungshwe. bicycle (see above ). It’sabumpyand pot- interested only inthehotspringsarrive by of hotels mosttravellers nearby.However, way) toKaung Daing,which hasacouple lake byboat.Aboatcharter costsK800(each Heho road,or about30minutes across the the topof thelake viaShwenyaung onthe 1½-hour drive fromNyaungshwe around Mayest between andAugust. The water isvery tobeclean- hotandsaid Private rooms are also available (US$2). bath. really littlemore thanaconcrete communal ruins temple outside thevillage are someinteresting Pottery and weaving Just canalsobeseen. hold isinvolved inthiscottage industry. asjustabout otherhouse- every ods used, themeth- and noodles.It’seasytoobserve of thelake isknownforitssoybeancakes This ex:='tiu=' KAUNG DAING Sights more informationonboattrips. and Phuang DawOoPaya. See p191 include theYwamafloatingmarket, Indein the lake costslessthanUS$10.Key sights travelled.distance Anall-daytriparound on twothings:thepriceof petrolandthe exact priceperperson orperboatdepends from justaboutanyonewhohasone. The To explore thelake, youcanhire aboat AROUND THELAKESHORE Kaung Daing. countryside, includingthehotspringsnear thesurrounding an excellentwaytosee aretown. Rates generally K500perday.It’s of ramshacklebike-rental shacks around do afew of thetravel agencies andacouple haveMost guesthouses bicyclesforrent, as Around Getting A littlenorthof Kaung Daing(alsospelt Kaung Daingandthehotspringsare a Intha village Longyi . are available forrent (K200).

onthe northwestern shore

hot springs

( h 7am-5pm) – Shan

for ers trying to sell theirvegetablesers trying to sell toafew souvenir hawkers, withafew localfarm- jam ofket isatraffic touristboatsand On market day,the Ywamafloatingmar- pened tothisonce-interesting local event. you mustalsoconsiderwhat has hap- local five-day market scheme. Sadtosay, must calculate the day accordingtothe To see Ywama’s famous râ;m YWAMA newerimages. mostly house havetained soldorstolen,sothecases been of theoriginalShan images theyoncecon- impressive astheBuddhasthemselves.Many builtfortheimages andcases aretals justas pedes- ornate wood-and-mosaic highly tall, Tibetan, andInwa(Ava) Bagan styles.The modest collectionof Buddhaimages inShan, itors. better Butaneven reason tovisitisthe willingtooblige vis- theyseem Otherwise with thingssuch aseatingandmeditating. mands whilethey(themonks)are occupied tion withvisitors whomake cat-jumping de- built fouryears before Mandalay Palace.) is awoodenmonastery onstiltsthatwas small hoops north . (Just of Ywama,NgaHpe photographed resident catstoleapthrough Hpe Kyaung porting ourtheoryare themonksat we don’tknowanythingaboutthis,butsup- onlygetsmeditation yousofar. Admittedly, Monks get bored just like therest of us– =:"fy'exYC='" CAT(JUMPING MONASTERY) NGA HPECHAUNG to have one. looks inviting,and The lake isvery shallowandclear, soaswim a='"ly' buil'tE INLEH BOTEH from Kalaw toInleendhere aswell. hot springswillbeonyourleft.Many hikes this hillypaved roadtherest of theway.The of hill.Turnlefthere asteep andcontinueon dirt roaduntilyoureach theforkattop place tostopforamid-lake picnicorswim. no longerassuch, butitmakes used agood inthemiddleofficial's house alake’. It’s soInleh BoTeh‘house’, isliterally ‘anof- means ‘officer’ or‘official’, and The monkshave expressed some frustra- INLE LAKE •• Around the Lakeshore INLE LAKE••AroundtheLakeshore

, whohave trainedtheirmuch- Inleh

Inleh BoTeh means‘middleof’, floating market is a good place isagoodplace

teh means means , you 189 Nga bo

NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR and your head, and dense jungleopensup to and your head,anddense vegetationOvergrown slaps againsttheboat from theIndiana Jones–like atmosphere. western sideof thelake detracts somewhat like entrancetothevillage of thewinding,maze- touriststhrough speeding A regular convoyof longboats motorised a='"tim'' INDEIN of infront The mainlandingatYwamastands efC='et;'W".ur;" PHAUNG DAWOOPAYA from NyaungshwetoYwamavillage. food.Regularboatsgo andChinese Bamar a middaysnackorlunch break, serving the lake are restaurants, several goodfor one) it’salovely Perched placetosee. over ing rush hour(and before the late-afternoon despite themarket scene,andafter themorn- Thauk, NamPan, IndeinandThandaung. the lake villages of Kaung Daing,Maing five-dayA secondary among circuitrotates Nyaungshwe willhave thecurrent schedule. orhotelaround Inle. in Anyguesthouse market fromthefive-day market schedule atmosphere of Ywama. any Simplychoose and withoutaddingtothealready crazy ing market thecrowds withoutfighting downhill fromthere. action isinfullswingby8.30am,andit’s day market. Arrivingearlywon’thelp:the farmerstable are already atanotherfive- and touristboats;of course, thesmartvege- there because most worse are onlysouvenir local buyers. Onnonmarket days, it’sal- 190 hat) is another popular purchase here.hat) isanotherpopularpurchase Ywama. Ashady speciality; there are over 200handloomsin ‘antiques’. Silkandcottonfabricsare alocal Shan shoulderbags,otherlocalcraftsand coloured brightly and nearbysell cotton voyage. thatcarrytheimagessels ontheirannual are sheltering theornate theboathouses ves- centre thechannel of thebuilding.Beside Oo festival (see p183 ), are enshrinedinthe the lake Phaung duringtheimportant Daw images, fourof which are ferried around site inthe southernarea of Shan State. Five The approach toYwamaisquite beautiful Don’t despair–youcanenjoyafloat- Stalls onthegroundfloorofStalls theshrine Phaung DawOoPaya Phaung INLELAKE••AroundtheLakeshore

khamauk , the holiest religious

(conicalbamboo Indein onthe rise upfromthelake.rise track runningalongthefootof thehillsthat fromNyaungshwe;followthebumpy tance monastery Further upthehillis Maing Thauk remain of thecolonial-eraFortSteadman. lage, afew crumbling boys’ orphanage onthehillsideabove thevil- village tary labourin2001.Justbelowthe from thelake’s shore wasbuiltwithvolun- bridge runningouttothefloatingvillage ‘floating’ halves. The0.5km-longwooden of Maing Thaukisdividedinto‘land’and On theeastern sideof thelake, thevillage miu='"eo;k'' MAING THAUK Indein. Centre &Meditation Monastery reveal They’re quite expensive (US$35to US$50 andvisiting tourists. monks, Buddha statues The lotusrobes are speciallymadefor drawn fromthelong stems of lotusplants. in weavingspecialises robesusingthreads where. Thefloatingvillage of pottery-making thatthere are potsevery- whole village of market ispartof thefive-day scheme). the lakeside there’s apopular complex of stupasat walkway leadstothepoorlyrestored hill-top On thesouthwestern sideof thelake, along SOUTHERN ENDOFTHELAKE ware isof goodquality. someofthough thelacquerware andsilver- ofpractically onelongtable touristkitsch, ment theystep fromtheboat.Thesite is ers thattravellers mustdodge fromthemo- visitors isunderminedbythesouvenir sell- stupas, of thecountrysidetowest. lake tothehillsineastand,behind the the hillsidethere are great viewsacrossthe have thankfullyescapedrestoration. From beaten stupasthat,fromoneperspective, Thein leading upthehill.Attopis lined withhundreds of woodencolumns Even more exoticlookingisthestairway mouldering complexof shrines andstupas. or UndertheShade of Trees), Banyan a Right atthesouthernend ofRight thelake, the It’s a1000mclimbtoreach the But thevery picturesqueness thatdraws , animpressive collectionof weather- Nyaung Ohak . Thevillage iswithincyclingdis-

Kyauk Taung (Groupof Trees, Banyan Thaung Tho Kyaung Tho Thaung gravestones www.lonelyplanet.com is so devoted to to issodevoted , justsouthof market Kyaing Kan East Kyaing Kan

are allthat site (the Shwe Inn U Daung forest forest . On longer allowed onthelake. several However, ferrying foreigncanoes passengers are no capsized,nonmotorised visitor after acanoe nately, followingthedrowning of aforeign come anattractive alternative. Unfortu- the villages along the lake channel hasbe- Activities of theyear. plants canonlybegathered forsixmonths of for ashawl)because theirrarity,aslotus www.lonelyplanet.com boats nowadays,aquiet southern endof thelake onnoisy power- With allthepackage tours headingto the CANOE TRIPS more dependingonyouritinerary. upto10.Youmaybeasked topay can seat K6000 perperson fortheday.Someboats sion. Pricesrange fromK6000perboatto touristy placeswhere theyreceive commis- more likely toferry youtothestandard ‘drivers’ are lesslikely tospeakEnglishand boats foundatthepierisfactthat ing around.Thedrawbacktothecheaper office andask- at thejettynearMTT outbysimplyshowing up can besussed tels charge more. Theleastexpensive trips As expect,thehigher-end youmight ho- Nyaungshwe canarrange motorboattrips. withsensitive eardrums. for those of theboat’smotor. isbest Thefrontseat sengers forthatmatter –over thethunder hear them–orthecommentsof fellow pas- an hourbefore youwon’t However, sunset. in formationover thelake dayabout every herons,warblers andegrets,see which fly since1985.Youcan birdsanctuary official an protected hasbeen bylaw,asInleLake and intheadjoiningwetlandsisreportedly cially waterfowl. All bird life onthelake souvenirs. estries, pottery, jewellery,andalltheusual bags, embroidered shirtsand Shan shoulder placesyou’llsee all these floating gardensandsouvenir shops. At Monastery, Indein,andtheJumping Cat tourists toPhaung DawOoPaya (Ywama), mous lawn-mowerenginestypicallyferry outfitted withenor-narrow dugoutcanoes on thelake duringavisittoInle. Long, It is MOTORBOAT TRIPS Virtually every hotel and guesthouse in hotelVirtually every andguesthouse The lake isrich inwildlife, itself espe- de rigueur

totake atleastone

canoe paddle longyi through boat trip , tap- lages on stiltsdirectly over the lake oronthe Nyaungshwe somewhere near theshore. primarily foundon thelake oroutside itself Upmarket places,some quite idyllic,are Sleeping monastery A goodandrugged all-dayhike istothe lages andpanoramicviewsof thelake area. into thehillseastof townleadto Pa-O vil- paddies dotted withShan stuparuins.Trails Nyaungshwe passamong extensive rice Extended walks tothenorthorsouthof HIKING hours. hour toK6000forseveral people range fromacheap K500forone area nearthebridge. fortwotothree Rates places asmotorboats,includingthecanal fee andcanbearranged fromthesame arusticaltar.contains woodenshrinesitsonstiltsand house-sized Nanthe village onthemainchannel. The of aswampybanyan-tree jungleopposite isthelargecanoe photography. The slow-moving are canoes alsobetter for fascinating andthevillagers are friendly. famous lake life sights, alongthecanalsis themore youwon’tgetAlthough tosee along theNyaungshwe shore of thelake. the canalsbranching fromthelake and people intowndoshorter tripson canoe Ma HtiandKalaw. Thar Gone,Pha Yar Phyu, InnWoon, Myin Su Ti Put TuPauk, Htain, KunLone,Lay Indein, NanYakr, Taung Mauk, Kha Kyauk Shan, Intha,Pa-O, DanuandTaung villages: typical route includesstopsinthefollowing common todoitintheotherdirection. A toKalaw,from InleLake it’smore though bottled water onanydayhike. cially encouraged. It’sagoodideatobring other thantoInle,are currently notoffi- lunch of riceandcurry.Multiday trips, charge US$5aday,which includesabasic orhotels. Guidestyp the guesthouses ically Kakku. on theway.Furtherawayare theruinsof Ta-Eh Gu All of thehotels built like floatingvil- aren’t subjecttothelakeCanoes entrance One placethatcanonlybevisited by An increasingly popularoptionisthehike Guided dayhikes canbearranged at INLE LAKE •• Around the Lakeshore INLE LAKE••AroundtheLakeshore . twoPa-O Youpassthrough villages

Koun SounTaungbo nat shrine andnearbycave inthemiddle

191 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR cultural shows are put onforbiggroups. Shan foodisexpensive but excellent,and on amonastery buildinginKengtung. The area, withitssoaringceiling, ismodelled others have gardenviews. decks andcushioned lounge chairs, while More expensive oneshave lake views,sun have outdoorall-stoneshowers andbaths. just afew of thetouches. Somebungalows original artwork,pyjamasandflowers are a concernforprivacy.Colourful pillows, andmaximum attention detail toevery vidual bungalowshave designedwith been Extravagant andsophisticated, theindi- the InlePrincessishoneymoonmaterial. themostluxurious placeonthelake,Easily U) and return boattripsto/fromNyaungshwe. line. Allof thehotels willarrange pick-ups anddiscountsare season, availablehigh on- mantic feelings bestexplored withothers. visiblefromtheeastern shoresets stirro- sun- back toNyaungshwe,andthefantastic feel somewhatlonely,asit’salongboatride quite idyllic,singletravellers willprobably lakeshore are topend.Whiletheyare indeed 192 www.gicmyanmar.com; sUS$35-60,dUS$40-70; treks andtripstoKakku andSankar. sion quartet andcoldtowels.Theyalsorun Both hotels welcomeguestswithapercus- to theshore andoutof earshot of mostboats. community. ThaleUisquieter asit’scloser tive, which meansthatprofits benefitthe opened in2000–are runasaPa-O collec- butterfish costs K2000). Pa-Onese, andShan dishes(sweet-and-sour restaurant inChi- specialises the affordable swimming area bottom,and withasandy furnished withbamboomatting.There’s a rooms are much nicerthantheolderrooms to beitsownlittleisland.Newerall-teak roomseems walkway,sothatevery elevated cottages (each withaprivate balcony)byan is connected totheindividualhardwood onbothsides.Themainlodgemountains structed views of thelake andsurrounding near thevillage of NamPan unob- affords erty, theGoldenIslandCottages’ location The equivalentof primebeach-front prop- 226; www.inleprincessresort.com; bungalowsUS$160) 226; www.inleprincessresort.com;

The spectacular diningroomandbarThe spectacular Golden IslandCottages I(Nampan)&II(Thale are recommended inthe Reservations Inle Princess Resort Inle Princess Both GICs–20roomsnearThaleUwere (GIC; inTaunggyi INLELAKE••AroundInleLake % 23136, inYangon

( % 29055, inYangon % 01-549 019; % i 211 )

Hu Pin Hotel Inle Khaung Daing Village Resort Resort DaingVillage InleKhaung Hu PinHotel and view. varydependingonroomsize views. Rates low roomswithprivate facilitiesandserene the lake’s bank.Itoffers 20spaciousbunga- a quietandrelaxing placeabout50mfrom western partof thelake, theRoyalOrchid is applies here. Whileforeign visitors are Southeast AsiaBuddhist ruinsthroughout stupas. Thetypical dilemmathataffects therowsof laid aroundandthrough been fencedbeen in,andpaved walkwayshave ists, bothforeign andlocal.Thesite has new roadhave comeconcessions totour- Taunggyi. Unfortunately, alongwiththe Kakku, makingiteasilyaccessiblefrom tohavesaid missionariesto theregion. sent whenIndia’sBuddhistemperorAsoka is BC, it ahistorydatingbacktothe3rdcentury the age of thissite, butalocallegend gives studies have conducted todetermine been reveredhighly Buddhaimage. No detailed also partof a thecollection; onecontains nate stuccomotifs.Twolarger stupasare and laterite, andsomeare covered withor- styles,thestupasareBamar madeof brick structed in amixture of Pa-O, Shan and laidoutinneatrows.Con- 3m to4mhigh, over 2000stupas,mostof which are only the Pa-O people,thesitetocontain issaid south of Taunggyi inaregion populated by scribed asanorchard of stupas.Some40km Kakku (alsospeltKekku orKetku) isbestde- kkûB Kakku AROUND INLELAKE Thai andEuropeanmenus(US$18). fromShan,Resort forameal.Choose Intha, hire aboattotake youtotheInlePrincess stops onanall-daylake tour. foodandmake Chinese nicelunch serve Oo Paya. restaurants withbalconies Several floating village of Ywama,nearPhaung Daw There are anumber of placestoeatinthe Eating FloatingResort Shwe InnTha ( d US$30-45) .myanmarinlefloatingresort.com; s/dUS$33/38) .myanmarinlefloatingresort.com; % Royal Orchid Hotel Royal OrchidHotel Also recommended: An all-weather road has been builttoAn all-weatherroadhasbeen For areal treat, albeitanexpensive one, 29291; [email protected])

NearKaung Daingonthenorth- (in Taunggyi www.lonelyplanet.com ( % % 23182; s US$25-30, 23182; sUS$25-30, 22077; www 65 WestCircularRd,Taunggyi) looks thesite. caters tobusloadsof package tourists,over- ahugetaurant, restaurant of thetypethat the immediate vicinity.HlaingKonnRes- attract. dollars thattheyhopetheirhistoricsite will able thePa-O toearnsomeof thetourist up topar,thisarrangement willatleasten- to thesite. WhiletheirEnglishisn’talways guide fromthisoffice willaccompanyyou trance fee andaUS$5guidefee. A Pa-O GIC office foreign visitors are required tostopatthe visitingthesite,tages atInleLake. Before lective thatownstheGoldenIslandCot- the restoration of theruins. religious meritbycontributingmoneyto dhist pilgrimscomespecificallytoacquire their ‘picturesque’ ruinedstate, localBud- ancientsites toviewthemin drawn tothese www.lonelyplanet.com origins in alove story involving tobuildthe wallexplainits nology used cals unfamiliarwith thematerials andtech- ruled byaShanfor asettlement chief. Lo- made of andlimeover sand 500years ago here istheremnants of an lage of Sankar. thewater Runningthrough nearthevil- tip of Inlewithareservoir winding canalconnectsthesouthernmost Along, and 3½hours inthedryseason. takes 2½hours fromOctober toDecember, venture here. ThetripfromNyaungshwe foreign hardlyany touristsin2003,though This area farsouthof Inleonlyopened to c®kC" Sankar hire aguide fromthere. inTaunggyishow upattheGICoffice and stupas). Thelessexpensive optionistojust waiting timeof acouple of hours atthe US$5 admissionperperson (thisincludes cost US$15andUS$25respectively, plus shwe (2½hours oneway).Thereturn trips Taunggyi (1½hours oneway)andNyaung- and guidescanbehired hotels in through line runsfromTaunggyi toKakku. Cars arailway transport tothesite, though even Foreigners aren’t allowedtotake public To visitKakku youmustfirst hire acar. THERE&AWAYGETTING So farthere isn’tanyaccommodationin Kakku ismanaged Pa-O by thesame col-

(Pa-O office; collective and payaUS$3en-

old irrigation canal old irrigation % 23136; fax23970; nat (spirit , the centre of town where you’re likely to Taunggyi has aninteresting SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES churches. varioustemples, mosquesandyou’ll see and Nepalis.AlongTaunggyi’s mainstreets tribespeople, Shan, Punjabis Sikhs, Bamar, the populationof 100,000peopleincludes many illegalimmigrants.Theremainder of enclavea Chinese residents whose include Taunggyi market, which isattheedge of market consumergoodsisdisplayedinthe enterprising towns.Anabundance of black- is oneof Myanmar’smostprosperous and Shu (MongHsu) gem tracttotheeast,this fortripstotheMaingIndia, andasabase goodsfromThailand,Chinaand smuggled warlords? armies oropiumandmethamphetamine black-marketeers, rubyminers, insurgent beyond Taunggyi isamatter of speculation: travellingleast forthose byroad.Whatlies for east-bound foreigners inMyanmar–at of town. handful of timbercottages, allonthefringes stone church, alineof cherry trees anda colonial eraisanovergrown graveyard, a area of Shan State. Allthatremains of the a growingtradecentre forthesouthwestern you’re inthemood,butbasicallytownis the plains.There are walksif somepleasant providesmese) acoolbreak fromtheheatof and more mundaneelectricalsupplies. refrigerators designerclothing toknock-off packed from everything buildingsselling from northtosouth.It’sflanked bytightly main commercialthoroughfare thatruns isthe of Thetown’sessence itsinhabitants. visible inthearchitecture andphysiognomy influence oriented Nyaungshwe,itsChinese Taunggyi fromthetourist- feels distant % et;='äkI" Taunggyi to five people,plusapermitfee of US$6. Cottage ( opposite ) charges K30,000forup tion withthePa-O collective. GoldenIsland monastery, surroundedbylushfields. beings). Amonklives intheoldpagodaand Because itfunctionsasaconduitfor Because Taunggyi endof istheofficial theline At 1430m,Taunggyi (‘BigHill’inBur- Trips toSankarare arranged incoopera- 081 INLE LAKE •• Around Inle Lake INLE LAKE••AroundInleLake

market area market

193

in NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR nothing else, youcanbegin identifyingthe nothing else, cal instruments, ceramics andweapons.If local native costumes,religious art,musi- Library State and backtoTaunggyi. and fromthere (inturn)toPindaya,Heho Pindaya), thentoKalaw onthethirdday, from Taunggyi toPwehla(ontheway fiveevery days.Thelatter market moves a dailymarket, plusonethatcomestotown rub shoulders withhill-tribe people. There’s 194 seum cultures, themodest rubies andsapphires are andsold. bought in the northeastern partof town,where jade, 12 4 1 3 2 TAUNGGYI There’s alsoadaily For those interestedFor those intheShan State’s West Circular Rd INLELAKE••AroundInleLake

28 (admission US$2; 23

Khwanyo Rd 9 13 Ὀ A are worthavisit.Items include 14 44 45 29 16

46 42 2

25 27

(Main Rd) (Main Bogyoke Aung San Rd San Aung Bogyoke Bogyoke 17 1 Park 18 5 35 31 21 36 15 32 40 h 3 34 26 39 41 24 33 38 37 19 10 20 4 gem market 9.30am-3.30pm) Kengtung (456km)

To Kakku(42km); Shan State Cultural Mu- Cultural Shan State Shu Thida Rd To InleLake(35km);

0.3miles 500m 0 0

Rd

Myaw Heho (35km) Khin 22 7 30 8

( B h

and East Circular Rd noon-4pm) 6 11 43 Shan by feel. of 50 withoutcounting –theyjudge simply dlers are abletoget cheroots intobundles technique is impressive, andcheroot bun- of theMyomaCinema. Thehand-rolling Tiger Mashua tional costumes. cordion, aswellbanknotes andtradi- instruments, includingatypical Pa-O ac- but well-laid-outcentre musical contains tre no extracosttoleadvisitors around. English-speaking lecturers are available at groups officially recognised inthestate. kinds of dress forthe35different ethnic TRANSPORT ENTERTAINMENT EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Yangon Airways...... Taxis, Pick-upstoInleLake...... Taxis &LocalBuses,Pick-Ups...... Myanma Airways...... Eastern StateExpressBus...... Buses toYangon,Mandalay,Bagan...... Myoma Cinema...... Sein MyanmarRestaurant...... Maxim's ChineseRestaurant...... Maw Kham...... Lyan YuRestaurant...... Khine ThazinRestaurant...... Htun Restaurant...... Daw ThwanShanNoodleShop...... Coca-Cola Restaurant...... Brother HotelRestaurant...... Taunggyi Hotel...... Salween Hotel...... Paradise Hotel...... Muse Hotel...... Khemarat Hotel...... Khemarat GuestHouse...... YMCA...... Yat TawMePaya...... Township Offices...... Sikh Temple...... Shan StateLibrary...... Shan StateCulturalMuseum...... St GeorgeAnglicanChurch...... Old Market...... New Market...... Myoe LeDhammaYonPaya...... Mosque...... Mosque...... GIC Office...... Gem Market...... Flying TigerMashua...... Clock Tower...... Church...... Catholic Church...... Baptist Church...... Asian LightSupermarket...... Post &TelecomOffice...... Myanmar EconomicBank(MEB)...... Mayflower Bank...... Hospital...... There’s acheroot factorycalled The Pa-O have a established

(98 Merchant St) (98 Merchant onasidestreet tothesouth nearthemarket. Thesmall www.lonelyplanet.com cultural cen- Flying 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 7 9 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 B2 A3 A4 A3 A3 A1 A3 A2 A3 B2 A2 A2 A3 A2 A1 A2 A3 A2 A2 A2 A2 A3 B4 A3 A2 A2 A2 A2 A4 A4 B4 A3 A4 A4 A4 A2 A2 A3 A4 A3 A2 B1 A3 A2 B2 B3 Rd) Rd) military types. military a mixof businesspeopleand well-heeled ism (MHT)–stylebarandrestaurant attract courts. TheoldMinistryof Hotels &Tour- water bathrooms andaccesstotennis Spacious roomscomewithattachedhot- grounds nearthesouthernendof town. placesprawlsoverprivatised landscaped US$25/30) day event. modation inNyaungshweduringthisthree- tourists, soitmaybeeasiertofindaccom- festival. It’svery popularwithBurmese daing), thecityhostsahot-air(orfire-) balloon full-moon festival of In October/November, tocoincidewiththe FESTIVALS &EVENTS www.lonelyplanet.com variety of pastriesandtea snacks. inanextensivesmall eateries thatspecialise road are anumberof decent teashops and temple andthecinemaonmain the Sikh Very littleEnglishisspoken here. Between andShan decentChinese dishes. area serves A rowof inthemarket smallfoodstalls EATING ard s/dUS$20/30) mind (see above ). November, keep theballoonfestival in compete. here Ifyoudodecidetostay in accommodation inTaunggyi simplycan’t shwe. Interms of quality,valueandcharm, inTaunggyinight ratherthanNyaung- There really isnoreason tospendthe SLEEPING and TV andbathtub. TV hotels. Rooms comewith‘extras’such as building butismore modernthanother travellers. It’sinanondescriptfour-storey ing company,thisplacecaters tobusiness Rd; s/dUS$15/24) floor. Note thatthere’s nolift. with plushsittingroomsattheendof each Therecurtains. are nicerrooms alsoslightly board tilefloors, wicker chairs andpink scheme that challenges theeye:checker- placehasaninterior-designChinese-style Paradise Hotel Taunggyi Hotel Khemarat Hotel Khemarat Hotel Empire Empire Hotel allhave singles/doublesforUS$10/20. ,

Muse Hotel Hotel Muse Salween Hotel

Perched onahillside,thissupposedly Thismodern,four-storey Owned by a Chinese trad- Owned byaChinese (

% (

( %

% (

% ( ( % % 22567; 6 Bogyoke AungSanRd) 22567; 6Bogyoke 23737; 31 Bogyoke AungSan 23737; 31Bogyoke 22009; 157 Khwanyo Rd;stand- 22009; 157Khwanyo 21127; Shu Myaw Khin Rd;s/d 21127; ShuMyawKhin 22605; 289 Bogyoke AungSan 22605; 289Bogyoke 22464; 4B Bogyoke Aung San 22464; 4BBogyoke

Tazaungmon (Tazaung-

Restaurant and timely. isconscientious owner ensures thatservice interesting free sidedishes,andthefriendly bunch, each dishcomeswithahandfulof (Main Thazin,thebestof Rd).AtKhine the one anotheronBogyoke AungSanRd cuisineandcanbefoundnear and Chinese inTaunggyi.taurants Bamar Theyserve serves decentChinesemeals. serves Rd) AblocksouthofLyanYu theBrotherHotel Restaurant, rant Brother Hotel Restaurant Brother Hotel sign). mese (there’swooden buildingontheright aBur- make animmediate left.It’stheunmarked get there, walkeastfromthemainstreet and and hasalate closingtimeforTaunggyi. To standards, andChinese Bamar serves taurant, ble abode,nextdoortotheCoca-ColaRes- area justnorth of the market. 20 hours) depart ataround 6pmfromthe of themarket. hours)K6000, eight departfromjustnorth at6am. starting to PindayafromtheShwenyaung junction, a ticket office. There are frequent pick-ups on Bogyoke AungSanRd,where there’s Express State from theEastern busstop riving at5.30pm.Thisbusgenerally leaves to Pindaya(K1500),leaving at2pmandar- US$10 orthekyatequivalent. route costsaround alongthesame A taxi Taunggyi market 6amand4pm. between leave frequently fromthearea justnorthof K500/300,one hour) (front/backseat Lake Public pick-uptrucksfromTaunggyi to Inle Bus, Pick-up &Taxi US$10 orthekyatequivalent. fromHehoA taxi toTaunggyi costsaround west of Taunggyi. See p187 formore details . tung, Mandalay andYangon; Heho is 35km gotoHehoDaily flights Keng- fromBagan, Air THERE&AWAYGETTING GuestHouse,thisplacedoesverygoodnoodles. Khemarat ShanNoodleShop Daw Thwan Khine Thazin Khine Maw Kham Kham Maw Other recommended restaurants: Several buses forYangon buses Several (K7000,16to headingtoMandalayBuses (K5000to There’s one busperdayfromTaunggyi

(dishes K1000) INLE LAKE •• Around Inle Lake INLE LAKE••AroundInleLake

(dishes K1000) (Mawkham St; (Mawkham

are three of thebetter res- (dishes K1000) (222 Bogyoke AungSan (222Bogyoke and h

to 8pm) , Just acrossfromthe Coca-Cola Restau- Coca-Cola Maxim’s Chinese Maxim’s Thishum-

195 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR % kYŸi='"t®u NH='¾ny'cp'eds dhist temples andafew examples of British a smalllake, anddotted withageing Bud- villages. Builtaround Shan, andLahu Akha culture, the state’sKhün surrounded byWa, Kengtung buthistoriccentre is thesleepy for Sai, Thailand)and1200mabove – level sea border townof Tachileik (opposite Mae northeast of Taunggyi, 163km northof the away inthefareastof Shan State –456km tung hittherare Myanmartrifecta. Tucked Keng-picturesque backdrop,sees mountain of isolationandthe sense with apleasant ity of design.Thisorganisation, coupled There’s aless ad-hocfeel andmore uniform- average medium-sizedMyanmartown. Kengtung appears more plannedthanthe % kYŸi='"tu® KENGTUNG (KYAINGTONG) a partof Myanmar. forgotten cornerof northernThailandthan turally Kengtung feels more like somelong- cultures west of cul- theThanlwin.Indeed, Thailand –thanwiththeShan andBamar ern YunnanProvince, China)andnorthern Xishuangbanna(southeast- kong –Laos, withthenearbyculturesaffinity of theMe- ranges. Hence, culturally,thearea hasmore of former byaseries north–southmountain valleys, itismore fromthe orlesscutoff theThanlwinandMekongbetween River tribe villages, attractive totravellers. valley, dotted withfar-flung minorityhill- remoteness of itthatmakes thismountain ling Kalaw andInle. it’sthevery However, stopforoverlandstandard travellers, rival- Taunggyi, Kengtung willprobably becomea are allowedtoreach thearea from byroad future domesticairfares droporforeigners others crossoverland fromThailand.Ifin are more likely tobeongrouptours, while whodoshellwould. Those outfortheairfare land attractsfewer visitors thanitotherwise andThai- region bordering China, Laos from withinMyanmar,thismountainous Kengtung isonlyaccessiblebyair Because BORDER AREAS KENGTUNG & 196 Although KengtungAlthough liesabout midway 084 084 KENGTUNG & BORDER AREAS •• Kengtung (Kyaingtong) ••Kengtung KENGTUNG&BORDERAREAS

5pm) Near the Mausoleum of the Khün Princes. oftheKhün 5pm) NeartheMausoleum Yangon Airways &Tours Sunflower Travel Information government inBeijing. and enjoysgoodrelations withtheChinese United Armyhas20,000troops WaState 1992and2002.It’sreportedtween thatthe resettled fromthenorthtosouthbe- groups claimthatover 125,000Wawere the country’sdefence. Somehuman-rights Asland andLaos. such, it’salinchpin in in fourcountries–Myanmar,China,Thai- tegic, asthearea isacrossroadswithoutlets illicit drugtrade. Itspositionisdoublystra- of Shanseas andWainsurgency andthe the Myanmargovernment amidtheshifting various spiritcults. attest. Therest of thepopulationbelongsto quite active here, astheirimposingchurches is Christian–Americanmissionarieswere the populationisBuddhist,andanother17% Aboutother ethnicities,such asLahu. halfof Shan-Chinese andtheremainder isamixof 15%is of roughly 180,000peopleisKhün; fortripstoethnic-minorityvillages.base the mostscenictowninShan State. It’sagood colonial architecture, Kengtung isprobably lake. Decaying they centred thetownonalarge natural intoKengtung,When theBritishsettled Sights &Activities block eastofthecentralmarket. clothing. todecorate their colourfulthat they use beadswith thesilver coins,buttonsandseed women in supplyingAkha that specialise also available. Lookfor ahandfulof stalls butsomehandicrafts aremain emphases, goodsareduce andhousehold themarket’s a varietyof hill-tribepeople. Fresh pro- all over theKengtung district,including strolls. is apopularspotformorningand evening ( Myanmar andIndia. provincial architecture foundelsewhere in squatters, are reminiscent of Britishcolonial over bytheMyanmargovernment orby naung Kengtung isalsoastrategic of stronghold About 80%of thetownship’spopulation The The lake inthecentre of town, istheShan wordfor‘smalllake’), central market

( % colonial-style buildings 22300; 36ZaytangyiRd;

drawspeoplefrom ( % www.lonelyplanet.com 21833) Justovera Naung Tung h , taken , taken 9am-

www.lonelyplanet.com

4 6

1 3 2 5 KENGTUNG (KYAINGTONG) Tachileik-

(456km) To Taunggyi (Main Rd) (Main

46 Taunggyi Rd Taunggyi SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION St Mary'sConvent...... Roman CatholicMission...... Pottery Works...... Paleng Gate...... Naung PhaGate...... Mosque...... Maung MingKyaung...... Maung MaiKyaung...... Tamawtaya)...... Jail...... Independence Monument...... Immaculate HeartCathedral....(see21) Chinese School...... Chinese ClanHouse...... Central Market...... American BaptistChurch...... Sunflower Travel&Tours...... Regional Offices...... Police Station...... Immigration Office...... Hospital...... Fax &TelegramOffice...... aslu fteKü rne. C3 Mausoleum oftheKhünPrinces.. Mangala Kyaung(Wat To PhaYang Gate (50m) Naung Yarng AC 10 Lake 64 47 To HotSprings(11km); Mong Yang(100km) 37 21 65 12

Pha Yang Rd 48 22 43

27 1 Rd Kan Naung Tung UNDCP 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Office 6 5 4 3 2 1 9 8 7

66

B3 A3 C1 C3 B1 D3 C3 C3 C2 A2 C3 A1 C3 C3 B1 C3 C3 B3 B2 D3 B3 Mai Yang Rd Yang Mai 50 KENGTUNG & BORDER AREAS •• Kengtung (Kyaingtong) ••Kengtung KENGTUNG &BORDERAREAS B Yang KhamGate...... Water BuffaloMarket...... Wat YangKon...... Wat Tuya...... Wat SiNaw...... Wat PhaThatJomMon...... Wat PhaKaew...... Muni)...... Wat NoiNaw...... Wat NaungKham...... Kyaung)...... Wat KaeMin...... Wat JongKham(ZomKham)..... Wat JomMai...... Wat In...... Wat HoKong...... Wat HoKat...... Wat ChiangYing(KengYun)..... Wat ChiangJan(KengSan)...... Wat ChiangIng(KengIng)...... Wat Asok...... Town Hall...... Tai KhunSilverworks...... Sports Field...... Wat PhaJaoLung(MahaMyat Wat MahabodhiVipassana(Kamathan B3 Wat ChiangKhom(KengKhom).. 29 Kanaburi 18 Village 39 54

26

7

au Myaing Y Myaing

44 Rd ng Zeigyo Rd Zeigyo 4 23 52 3 11 35 15 30 41

32 33

49 8 Loi Mwe Rd 25 Mwe Loi 14 36 40 68 60 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 6 42 24 A3 A3 C1 B4 B4 C4 C3 C3 B2 D2 A4 C2 C2 D3 C2 C3 C3 C2 C3 B2 B3 C3 C3 B3 16 59 28 51 Naung Kham

57

67 agnAras...... C3 Yangon Airways...... Pick-Ups toMongLa...... Myanma Airways...... Buses toTaunggyi...... Buses toTachilek...... Seik TieKyeRestaurant...... Quickly Café...... Mingalar Restaurant...... Lok TharRestaurant...... Lauo TienLuRestaurant...... Golden BanyanRestaurant...... Shein TipHotel...... Private Hotel...... Princess Hotel...... Noi YeeHotel...... New SamYweatGuestHouse... Kyaing TongHotel...... Hsam YawtGuestHouse...... Harry's TrekkingHouse...... Barami Motel...... Yat ThawMu...... TRANSPORT EATING SLEEPING 5 Kyainge Rd Kyainge Lake 58 63 45 20 9 13 31

55 19 Loi-mwe Rd Loi-mwe 0.3miles 500m 0 0

62 Naung Khum Rd 53 61 To MongLa 56 (90km) 2

Tachileik- Hospital Rd To Loi-mwe(32km);

Airport Tachileik (163km)

(Main Rd) 17 Mong Hypayak; 38 D Tanggyi Rd Talay; 34 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 Rd C3 B3 A3 A3 C2 D2 D2 C3 C3 C3 C2 D2 C3 B2 D2 B2 C3 B1 C3 B3 To Airport

(3km) 197 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR to beonce thelarge of thetown below. surrounding hillside provides goodviews with goodtinwork.The plaster sanctuary JomMon That pleted in2002. points outover NaungTunglake, wascom- Buddhathatmanding-looking standing is onahilloverlooking thelake. lection of woodenBuddhaimages. WatIn col- of isamust-see theprincipalsanctuary thealtar after theHindu godIndra. Behind images willhave afielddayat and temples, of busyandvisuallystriking 19th-century north of thetowncentre. and regilded is sincethen.WatJongKham renovated substantially The temple hasbeen the 13th-centuryChiangMai migration. his hair. Mostlikely the site dates backto sixstrandsofand thatthestupacontains Buddha dates backtoavisitbyGautama thatWatJongKham says bells. Legend sapphires andjade,hungwithtinygold stupa) inlaidwithsilver, rubies,diamonds, stupa toppedbyagold (Zom Kham), which features gilded atall influences. reflect andChinese Shan, Burmese Siamese, State hilltribes. State nearly 100orphanedboys,manyfromShan Visitors are welcome. Themissioncares for original townwasfounded1000years ago. dral and the12-year-old called watsratherthan Kengtung’s manywell-kept monasteries – MONASTERIES &TEMPLES 198 the British-era each –shippingisnotincluded. costfromUS$200toUS$500 Water buffalo if theywere dealers. dealingwithused-car largethese beasts,grillingtheirowners as groupsof menhuddledaround to observe the roadleadingtoTaunggyi. It’sinteresting in anemptydirtlotwestof town, justoff One of thegreat inKengtung sights was On ahilltothesouthof town, Construction on Right inthecentreRight of townare acouple The mostimpressive is A On theroadleadingtowardsTaunggyi, are stillthriving onahillsidewhere the KENGTUNG & BORDER AREAS •• Kengtung (Kyaingtong) ••Kengtung KENGTUNG&BORDERAREAS market water-buffalo Wat HoKong Wat Pha JaoLung Wat Pha features anolderwood-and- Roman Catholic Mission Roman Catholic . Aficionadosof rare Buddha Yat Mu Thaw Immaculate Heart Cathe- Heart Immaculate Haw Sao Pha Kengtung Haw SaoPha kyaung

( Maha MyatMuni) is held twice aweek hti

(pinnacleof a Wat JongKham by the Khün – bytheKhün Wat In ,

the com- , named (RCM) Wat Pha Wat Pha ,

US$5/10) Rd; s/dUS$7/14) surrounding villages. fast. Harry canarrange allmannerof tripsto Harry’s. Cheaperroomsdon’tincludebreak- infrontof (5am to8am)ontheroadright niacs there’s adailyearly-morningmarket people. Hotwater ishitormiss. For insom- larger roomswithporches forthree tofour also basicsmallwoodenbungalows,and ing countrysidefromtherooftop. There are bathroom andgreat viewsof the surround- immaculate roomswithprivatehas eight Chiang Mai. Anewlybuiltmodernannexe who spentmanyyears asatrekking guidein Harry, anEnglish-speaking Kengtung native this backpacker-oriented hotel isownedby of town,500mnorthof NaungPha Gate, nice andmodern. are thebathrooms are basicinside,though look extremely nicefromtheoutsidebut what neglected. Thebamboobungalows lookssome- thisguesthouse Restaurant, Harry’s Trekking House Harry’s Trekking BUDGET mid-April Water Festival. the beginningof February andduringthe NewYearduring theChinese festivities at Roomsareif youmake scarce reservations. Most hotels offer anairportpick-upservice Sleeping of theroad. view fromthemonastery ontheotherside not allowedinside,butyoucanget agood The compoundiswalledinandvisitors are Princes of theKhün domes looked like, check outthe eter. Toget anideaof whattheoldpalace toweronthehotel’s perim- and asentinel All that’sleftof theoldpalaceare thewalls KyaingTongHotel.way fortheunsightly ment demolished the palacein1991tomake thebuilding,Myanmargovern-preserve Islamic-looking domes.Despite protests to bined Buddhisttemple–style pavilions and mar. Thestucco-and-teak structure com- of Shan-style palacearchitecture inMyan- considered example themostoutstanding tad grubby, butthefaçade atleasthas some tad Yee better days.Therooms are has seen a Kanaburoy Village;rUS$3-15) Kanaburoy New SamYweatGuestHouse Noi Yee Hotel Aformerroyal residence, theNoi

Directly Tie opposite Kye Seik

( % , opposite WatChiangJan. 21144; 5MyaingYaung Rd;s/d

( % At the northern end Atthenorthernend www.lonelyplanet.com 21418; 132 Mai Yang21418; 132Mai Rd,

( % 21643; Airport 21643; Airport Mausoleum Mausoleum 5 Airport Rd;s/dUS$30/35) 5 Airport ing TongHotel. ment-owned hotels shouldbypasstheKya- verandas. rooms have tiledfloors, windowsandsmall cottages inthegarden,anddouble seven is popularwithpackage tourists.There are way infromtheairport,Private Hotel out front. character, andthere’s courtyard apleasant www.lonelyplanet.com soup is enough for two.soup isenough very spacious2ndfloor. ThespicyThai-style try LokThar,abanquet-style placewitha of andThai food, Chinese For heftyservings fortwo.grilled fish(K2000)isenough insmallprivate bungalows.The are served restaurant specialisinginShan cuisine. Meals mediately after lake NaungKham tofindthis out of im- townviaAirportRd,take theright Tie KyeRestaurant Seik Eating Hotel Princess MIDRANGE style toilets. squat toilets,whileothers have Western- quented bytruckdrivers. Someroomshave hotel are bare-bones concrete rooms,fre- thefactthatinside entrance disguise from theroad.Loadsof potted plantsatthe Shein Tip isalarge back green buildingset Across thestreet lake, fromNaungKham Rd; dishesK1200; is quite lackinginatmosphere. the amenitiescomeataprice–thisplace modern hotels inthispartof Myanmar, air-con, fridgeTV, andphone. Like most rooms are theyhave fading,though satellite intown;todayitsthe mostcomfortable south of Paleng Gate, wasonceprobably dishes at least anhour inadvance.dishes atleast is superattentive. Biggroupsshould order TieSeik Kyealsohasgoodicecream. Service is very forthree goodandenough orfour. The chicken withbean-curdhotpot(K6000) andThaidishes. hotpots andotherChinese the bestrestaurant inKengtung. Onoffer are Tie lation isnotanemptyboast–Seik Kye US$28-35; Travellers whowishtoavoid govern- Shein Tip Hotel Lok Thar Restaurant Restaurant Lok Thar Private Hotel Hotel Private Mingalar Restaurant Restaurant Mingalar a

) Thisthree-storey place,just h ( % ( %

11am-10pm) ( % 21319; fax21159;sUS$20-25,d 21438; www.ktgprivatehotel.com; 21438; www.ktgprivatehotel.com; 22208; Airport Rd;s/dUS$7/14) 22208; Airport (Best Choice; (chicken &porkdishesK1000) (chicken (Naung Kham Rd) (Naung Kham Another hotel onthe The Englishtrans- % KENGTUNG & BORDER AREAS •• Kengtung (Kyaingtong) ••Kengtung KENGTUNG &BORDERAREAS 21387; Airport 21387; Airport Heading

Pho Thong) for it. is onlyfair,buttheatmosphere makes up beneathahugetables banyantree. Thefood (Keng San).Itsmainfeature istheoutdoor restaurant JanChinese isnearWatChiang music andmovie-star posters. upcoffee, tea, snacks,pop hang-out serves gration checkpoint atthebordercrossing at thesmall touristoffice nexttotheimmi- anagent.through Thiscanbeaccomplished ranging arideto Kengtung mustbedone Tachileik–Kengtung busatlocal prices. Ar- fortravellersmake it difficult toridethe tour agents anddrivers have conspired to that theMyanmargovernment andlocal Mae land through Sai(see p203 ), you’llfind If you’re comingtoKengtung fromThai- Mae Sai/Tachileik reasons tokeep foreigners away. more insomeareasphetamines likely seem opium andtheproductionof metham- government, thecontinuedcultivationof signed reconciliation agreements withthe Shan SaandthePa-O underKhün have sinceboththe hazardous torisk.However, make theKengtung–Taunggyi journeytoo ernment andtheShan andPa-O insurgents theYangon between tinued fighting gov- claimrobbery andcon- convoys. Officials thisroad,andtheytravelmitted touse in moment onlycitizensof Myanmar are per- Taunggyi limitstoforeigners. isoff Atthe KengtungThe 456kmroadbetween and BUS &PICK-UP YA fliesfive daysaweek. onMondayandWednesday. twice aweek (both airlinesUS$138).AMfliesthiscircuit dalay (bothairlinesUS$92)andYangon (US$30 withYA; US$41withAM),Man- (YA) Kengtung flybetween andTachileik Air Mandalay (AM)andYangon Airways AIR &Away There Getting taurant with good southern Chinese food. withgoodsouthernChinese taurant It’sasimple,open-sidedres-Chiang Khong. familyinThailand’sowned bythesame restaurant intown–it’sabranch of one longest-running andmostreliable Chinese Lauo Tien LuRestaurant Quickly Café Quickly Café Golden BanyanRestaurant

Kengtung’s second-most-popular (Airport Rd) (Airport

Thismodernstudent

(Lawt Tin Lu)

(Shwe NyaungBin,Ton This isthe

199 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR 4WD (rates drop substantially perperson4WD (rates dropsubstantially price also generally includes transportina for aroundUS$25 perperson perday;this be arranged atmost of Kengtung’s hotels ted inthecompanyof aguide. Guides can Palaung, Shan, andWavillages are permit- (from YunnanProvince inChina),Eng, (Kaw), Akha Akhu (Musoe), nearby Lahu of anytripto highlight Kengtung. Tripsto are warmandwelcomingtovisitors, isa residents stillleadvery traditionallives but Visiting nearbyvillages, where mostof the Villages AROUND KENGTUNG that helmetsmaynotbeonoffer. explore thetownandsurroundings.Note out motorcycles–anexhilaratingwayto hirecosts aroundK500.Somehotels might the towncentre. such asfromHarry’s Trekking to House within townandK300forlonger rides, vests –thatcharge aroundK200foraride –thedriverstaxis wearnumbered coloured Kengtung of hasasmallfleet motorcycle Around Getting For information,see opposite . Mong La army post,andthevillage of town withinteresting Shan temples andan the waymainrest stopsare WaandShanmerous Akha, villages. Along inSoutheastAsia,estation aswellnu- scenesofthrough someof theworst defor- to fourhours over arecently paved road Thetriptakes aroundthree the frontseat. Corolla‘van’,orUS$17for inaToyota seat onthebus,US$14foraback US$6 foraseat Thai bahtorUSdollars andare charged Tachileikup between andKengtung. on demandatanyof thefive roadblocksset to complete aformthatthedriver willshow islocated.offices Eitherway,youwillhave whereor atthebusstation, alineof agent’s 200 K4000 perperson. when fullfrom6amtonoonandcost leaveto noon(K7500perperson). Buses pick-upsleaveToyota whenfullfrom5am ally easiertoarrange andlessexpensive. the mostpopularfoodstop. A car or motorcycle taxi fromtheairport A carormotorcycletaxi Foreign passengers are asked topayin Leaving KengtungLeaving forTachileik isgener- KENGTUNG & BORDER AREAS ••AroundKengtung KENGTUNG&BORDERAREAS

Mong Hpayak Talay

, asmall , willing towait. costs aroundK500each way,anddrivers are fromtown spa isbusiestatweekends. A taxi easily spendanentire afternoon here. The noodlesandothersnacks,soyoucould sell four-wheel drive. Vendors onthegrounds ina wind downafter alongdayoff-roading intown.It’salsoanicewayto guesthouses up ifyou’re atoneof staying thecold-water sothisisagreatable forsale, spottoclean Shampoo, soapandsmalltowelsare avail- and aspigottocontrolthevolumeof water. selves are small,narrowroomswithbathtubs large public hot-springs West of townontheroadtoTachileik isa Hot Springs priate gifts. goodssuch asmedicinesarecertain appro- hasneither.tance Ask yourguidewhether while anEngvillage withinshoutingdis- running water limited andeven electricity, village, forexample,mayhaveOne Akha villagestween onlyafew minutes apart. of to thelevel unevenness be- development toforeigners,exposed there’s though areal as Kalaw andInle. Thevillages here are less than tootherplacesinShan territory such ifcostsarego, even higher substantially cycling distance. knew where tofindthem.Afew are within them isnotfeasible ifyousomehow even end of dirtroads,hikingdirectly rough to esting villages are faroutsidetownatthe done so. mostof themore inter- Because travellers several ted, though report having invillagesstays are notofficiallypermit- for groupsof three ormore). Overnight port between Kengtungport between and Loi-mwe. tobeany regular publictrans- seem doesn’t have tohire acarormotorcycle, asthere forests, terraced ricefieldsandalake. You’ll through ascent toLoi-mwe, which passes isthe sceneryontheattraction, though, a century-oldCatholic number of old At over features 1600m, this hillstation a Loi-mwe, 33kmsoutheast of Kengtung. tocareted ifyouvisit radius,no-oneseems itliesalittleoutside thepermit- Although liâŸ='mVy' Loi-mwe large K300/600; A tripwithavehicle isthusthewayto

h

3-8pm) colonial buildings . The bathhouses them- . Thebathhouses www.lonelyplanet.com spa complex church . Themain andover

(r small/ open ed byUSaiLin,alocal Wa/Chinese of entertainment life. modern Chinese gay andtransvestite scene)and otherstaples karaoke venues, discos(includingathriving are ontheother. There are alsoplentyof while mostof thehousingandsmallshops The casinosandmarket are ononeside, dividesthetown. parades astolocaltraffic, fare, of thekindsuited asmuch tomilitary all of Myanmar. Thebroadmainthorough- model private cars thanyou’re in likely tosee by timeandnationalboundaries. of adisplacedland overlookedcanny sense –itallproducesanun- at thegamingtables the buzzandclinkof yuanbeingwagered streets duringashift change atthecasinos, of workers uniformsonthe wearingspiffy forgot. Thehivelike activity, theswarms more likethem seem buildingsBeijing the dirtycarpetsandchipped paintmake inspection from faraway,butuponcloser China Sea. in Macau ships intheSouth andoncruise of chance isthattypicallyseen –thesetup are andWestern games theusualChinese from almostanywhere inthecity.Inside Hotel &Casino Hotel of thelargest andplushestisthe and togambleinthedistrict’scasinos.One well-knownwildlife market MongLa’s ruse border, ferrying touristswhocometope- sideofport notfarawayontheChinese the from otherpartsof arrive China attheair- people live here. dailyflights Seventeen sincehardlyanyMyanmarmakes sense isspoken, hardlyanyBurmese whichused; modern oversized buildingstothecurrency government coffers. casinotourism–tothe (Y) fromChinese if itmeansaddingcash–cold,hardyuan appears willingtorelinquish sovereignty relations withthegovernment. Myanmar Yangon troops butnowenjoypeaceful against led byethnicWa,whooncefought it’scontrol- out withtheMyanmarmilitary mainly aThaiLüdistrict,indealworked is MongLa it’s sometimesspelt).Although border districtof (orMengla,Mong La as About 85kmnorthof Kengtung liesthe miu='"l;" MONG LA www.lonelyplanet.com During 1997 a The casinoparkinglotsholdmore late- The casinoslookgrandandimpressive Mong La isentirely fromthe Chinese, Mong La

, abigpinkcomplexvisible Drug EradicationMuseum Oriental Oriental was KENGTUNG & BORDER AREAS ••MongLa KENGTUNG &BORDERAREAS for your safe conveyance. At somepointin hold onto this,sincehebears responsibility it works).It’sprobably besttoletthe driver to admityouMyanmar (hey,it’stheway copy of adocument thatwilllater beused tempt). Yourdriver willthenbe handeda of typewriters these asaidsinanescapeat- Supremacy youtoentertain pleted maycause (and thelongwaitforprocessto becom- then addedbylarge and ancienttypewriters information aboutyou.More informationis bon-copy documents,oneof which contains filesof car-comb through important-looking whereto theimmigrationoffice, will officials ThedriverHouse. willthenaccompanyyou Janthe WatChiang Guest andKyiLinStar to K6500)thatidlearoundinthelotbehind inoneof pick-ups(K5000 theToyota seat accomplish this.Youmustfirst arrange a (see p198 ) canhelpindependenttravellers atHarry’sfice. Thestaff Trekking House register attheKengtung immigrationof- fromKengtungTo gotoMongLa you must &Away There Getting pork, riceandnoodledishes. munu inEnglish. Onoffer are basicchicken, loops above themainthoroughfare, hasa to arrange. difficult ence, though around Y30–amore interesting experi- forheadman inhisThaiLü-stylehouse withthedistrict at Y60.Youcanalsostay Hotel and Paradise Hotel are goodvalue Lai speaking tourists.RoomsattheBai orEnglish- to dealingwithnon–Chinese out alongthemainroad,noneaccustomed There are modern hotels spread several Sleeping &Eating to Buddhism. Council (SPDC)toconvert theborderareas forts of Peace theState andDevelopment built inthepast10years aspartof theef- garden. display inthemuseum lucrative illicitdrug.Poppyplantsare on astheregion’sby methamphetamine most replacedwhat accurate, asopiumhasbeen an ‘opium-free zone’.Thismaybesome- washenceforthtobe area around MongLa declared –towidespread disbelief–thatthe Shanthe Eastern Army(ESSA),who State figureturned establishment andheadof Kaw ontheroadthat HlaingRestaurant, Many have of been thepayain MongLa –like aboutthepotential fantasies

Bourne Bourne

201 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR from Mae for SaiinThailandhead straight Most travellers whocometoMyanmar % t;xIYlit' TACHILEIK large sumsforpermission tocrosshere. andMyanmargovernmentspay theChinese aficionadoswho ‘caravans’ –withoff-road have abletocrosshere been have donesoin So fartheonlythird-countrynationalsthat intoDaluo,China? border fromMongLa to skipthisstep. possible ply wanttoavoid thehassleitseems return, butifyou’re pressed fortimeorsim- the Kengtung immigration office uponyour expected to handoneof thedocumentsto direction, minustheentrancefee. You’re isolated villages.several breathtakingpassing through sceneryand and over switchback mountain roadsand where fromthree tofourhours, goingup immigrationofficetakes any- the MongLa from theKengtung immigrationofficeto to findonyourown.Theentire journey on amuddysidestreet that’simpossible time of day)inasmall,nondescript house who’s often inpyjamas,regardless of the nothing more byaman thanadesk(staffed immigrationoffice. Thisis the MongLa toanothercarboncopy–at rubber stamps which involves more signatures andseveral Youmustregisterhoop tojumpthrough. – a Y36(US$5)entrancefee. There’s onefinal requiresnot farfromMongLa, youtopay from Kengtung Thesecond, toMongLa. change kyatordollars toyuan. this process,visittheKengtung market to 202 The obviousquestionis:canyoucrossthe The procedure isrepeated intheopposite There are twocheckpoints ontheroad cannot enter Myanmar fromLaosatthis border. Then again… become anofficialcrossing forallnationalities. isthatyou The onethingthat doesseemcertain border crossing,yet plentyofBurmeseandLaodouse it. Soonerorlater, however, thiscould political situation,obviously, aswellthemoodoflocal officials. It’s notalegalinternational you already possessavalidLaovisa. Then again, youmightnot!Muchdependsonthelocal with roadstoLuang NamTha andUdomxai.You Xieng KokinLaos. fromMuangSing,whichconnects FromXiengKokthere’s aroadnortheast Laos andMyanmar. At thesmalltownhere, Wan Pasak, youcangetaboatacrosstheriver to from theNamManyangroadandheads east-southeast totheMekongRiver, theborderbetween ofTachileikAbout 19kmnortheast ontheTachileik–Kengtung road,asmallerroadbranchesoff CROSSING THE BORDER TOLAOS 084 KENGTUNG & BORDER AREAS ••Tachileik KENGTUNG&BORDERAREAS

US$5/200B) is recommended. border, theMae ontheriver SaiGuesthouse ernment owned. placeinTachileikcomfortable butisgov- overlooking thetown,isprobably themost noisy, roomswithattached bathroom. in town,thishotel hasclean,ifsomewhat accept bothUSdollars andThaibaht(B). better respect. inevery Allhotels inTachileik option, you’llfindtheaccommodationthere If crossingtheborderintoThailandisan Sleeping outsidetownontheMekongCasino River. der togambleatthelarge GoldenTriangle trickle of VIPs thebor- fromThailand crosses other cheap importsfromChina. Asteady mushrooms, herbalmedicines,cigarettes and Tachileik dailyare Thaiswhoshop fordried 3000 orsopeoplewhocrossthebridge to there’s littletodoinTachileik. Mostof the accepts baht)andeatingShan/Bamar food, priceasontheThaiside–everyone the same sides shoppingforShan handicrafts(about pass tovisitTachileik fromThailand.Be- here, butit’spossibletoarrange aone-day Kengtung tothenorthratherthanlinger Kengtung, see p199 . Yangon. of Fordetails roadtravel to/from to/from Kengtung, Heho, Mandalay and stop inTachileik aspartof theirdaily route Yangon Airways andMyanmaAirways &Away There Getting 800B) Ye St;rUS$18/600B; might In Mae Sai,ontheThailandside of the The GoldenTriangleHotel, onahill The Dream FlowerHotel Dream have decentrooms. bepermitted tocrossintoLaoshere if Mya ShweYe Hotel Justsouthof themainintersection

a ) andthe

( % ( www.lonelyplanet.com %

21318; Padonmar Rd;r 51792; 3/52MyaShwe Kanne Hotel Hotel Kanne (r 200- www.lonelyplanet.com takes approximately anhour. 3pm. The entire border-crossing process long lineof day-trippers ifyoucrossafter half anhour. OntheThaisidethere willbe passport (10B).The paperworktakes about paperwork andmake three copiesof your willfillout a bitofWhen youexit,officials arrangedwith a60-dayThaivisa inYangon. on arrival,oryoucanarrive attheborder simply incorrect. ation changes, which it alwayscan,thisis situ- Unless the politicalandsecurity nose. atravelthrough agent the andpaythrough order tocrossyoumustmake arrangements is eithernotopeninthisdirection orthatin government willtell officials youtheborder On thewhole,travel agents andcertainly you’llprobably notbeallowedtocross. visa ifyouhaveHowever, anexpired Myanmar culties crossing fromMyanmartoThailand. In general, travellers report nothaving diffi- Myanmar toThailand unpredictability of roadtravel inMyanmar. if you’re drivingfromKengtung, given the canbeaproblem closing timeonweekdays 9pm onweekends andholidays.Theearly ahead of Myanmartime),andfrom6amto aware that Thailandtimeishalfanhour (be open from6amto6pmonweekdays rity situation. pendent ontheshiftingpoliticalandsecu- inMyanmar,thisisde- as withmuch else expect tobeablecrosshere –although, the October2004coup.Ingeneral youcan border wasopenexceptforafew daysduring At thetimeof research theMae Sai–Tachileik BORDER CROSSING You canget atMae a30-dayThaivisa Sai The Mae Sai–Tachileik borderisusually families fleeingfortheThai border. there were ofagovernment reports militaryoffensive inthearea andthousandsofKarenni Fightinga railwaybetweenAungban andLoikaw. continues,though;aslate asNovember 2004 plant at nearbyLawpita.hydroelectric Aceasefire agreement allowedthegovernment tobuild Myanmar government andthevery hasconcentrated important onsecuringthecapital,Loikaw, whoformthemajority. Yinbaw, Bre, and Kayah, the east.Eightethnicgroupsreside inthismountainousregion, includingtheTaungthu, Padaung, State andwest,Karen tothewestandsouth,Thailandbetween ShanState to tothenorth ofthesituationchangingwas noprospect anytimeinthenearfuture. This smallstate iswedged StateAt forforeigners thetimeofresearch, wasstillnotpermitted, travel andthere toKayah STATE KAYAH Until the early 1990s, Kayah rebel groupscontrolledmuchofthe eastern halfofthestate.Until theearly1990s,Kayah The

beaten track. Those interestedbeaten track.Those inmore than gems fortravellers wishing to get the off the mainChina–Myanmar traderoute, are only pitstopsfortruckersLashio, plying The market Gokteik and townsbetween the railwayviaductvisiblein distance. before descendingintotheGokteik Gorge, PyinU Lwin Plateau andpassingthrough bon of hairpinbendscrisscrossing the Shan The roadfromMandalay isarib- toLashio PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO online. wasobtained border iftheirMyanmarvisa travellers report beingturnedawayatthe actly asifyou’dflownin.Awordof caution: andcantravelstamp aroundMyanmarex- youget(FIT) visa, a28-dayentry-permit enter withaForeign IndependentTraveller west fromTachileik orKengtung. Ifyou priortoyourtripandthenfly in Bangkok toarrange and soon,you’llneed thevisa Mandalay,on toInleLake, Yangon, Bagan border). (ontheChinese La permits youtogoKengtung andMong you canget attheborder,butthisonly leik ona14-daypass(150B,US$10),which another 30-dayvisa. yourpassportwith willstamp Thai officials check ontheThaiside. Uponyourreturn, dius of 5km.There’s avery cursory customs you holdadaypassyou’re restricted toara- atthebordercrossing.If gration officials US$5, which youpaytoMyanmarimmi- A daypassfromThailandtoTachileik costs Thailand toMyanmar If youwanttoenter atTachileik andgo You canalsoenter MyanmarfromTachi- PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO

203

NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR Shwe Htay Internet Internet Shwe Htay Information live inthetown. more than5000Nepalisand10,000Indians influx of southAsians moved here. Today colonial daysan andduringthose station, From 1896PyinULwinwasaBritish hill here. Infantry,who wasstationed Bengal in 1887after BritishColonelMay, of the5th U Lwinwasrenamed Maymyo (May-town) Originally asmallShan Danuvillage, Pyin History and May. hottest months elsewhere: March, April for domestictravellers) coincideswiththe Academy. the cadetsatnearbyDefence Services Many shopscater of totheclothingneeds –but not tennis shoes in variousfatigues–includingcamouflaged cooler thaninMandalay. More it’sabout6ºCor7ºC importantly, the WellsFargo daysof theAmerican West. ature wagonsthatlooklike replicas from itallarethrough pony-ledcolourfulmini- are nowgovernment-run hotels. Trotting Railway Bazaar inPaulmortalised Theroux’s homes, like (im- thefamousCandacraig on grassyplotsoutsidetown.Someold or sweater shops,andcountrycottages sit Nepaliteatown’s mainstreet houses house colonial-erabuildingsonthe dalay, stately here 1050m),69kmeastof (elevation Man- resort of PyinULwin.Inthecoolfoot hills the Britishcolonialerasuch asthehill-town Few placesinMyanmarevoke thevibeof % ¨p='wI"lâ=' ULWIN PYIN them. upbeyond scenerythatrises ing mountain Myanmarstructurestarian –andthestrik- bygone erasandmore contemporary utili- –architecturalsettlements mishmashes of in Myanmarwilldiscover coolmountain the glittering pagodasthatexisteverywhere 204 here too. International calls(aboutK1250per minute)canbemade stand. online atthissmallshop oppositetheshare-taxi Peak inPyinULwin(particularly season Much of thetown’spopulaceisdecked out 085 PYINULWINTOLASHIO••PyinLwin

, which makes astophere) (per minK25; everyone h 8am-9pm) Get 8am-9pm) Get is military. ismilitary. The Great h ourful immigrants,thecol- Built byYunnanese CHINESE TEMPLE K2000, camera/videofee K200/K1000; run 176-hectare joint venture), thisformerlygovernment- Run bytheWoodlandGroup(aSingaporean amY¬i'"s;"kn'et;'äkI"wyY;w' NATIONAL KANDAWGYI GARDENS Sights tival Golf Cup in April (see tival Golf CupinApril(see p340 ). hole course. Ithosts theannualWater Fes- U LwinGolfClub On thesouthern edge of town,the Activities playing 16notes before thehour. that thetower’schime stillcopiesBigBen, Armenian traders. What’sknown for sure is dent of Mandalay whowasdescendedfrom in 1934andpaidforbyaMrPurcell, aresi- of thestoryhasitthatclockwas made Town,SouthAfrica. AnotherversionCape toria, whooffered anidenticaltowerto Purcell Tower On themainroadintowncentre, the PURCELL TOWER and drinks. snacks holidays. Acoupleof teashops serve with picnickingfamillesonweekends and forestelevated walks.Thegardenispopular picturesque isletonthecentrallake, and lift forK1000.There’s asmallstupaon offlights stairs, ortake anair-conditioned Nan MyintTower trance. View-houndscanwalkuptoanew of theinvitingL-shaped in 1915. beganbuildingthegarden British botanists species of orchids fromaroundMyanmar. tree, which isextinctelsewhere) and250 and foreign trees (includingtheginkgo tures therich life of 482speciesof local study calligraphyhere. students and couples.SomeChinese-script spots forbetel-nut chewers, studyingteens areas thatare frequently ashang-out used include asix-storey towerwithseating grounds the compound.Theshoe-friendly to anorphanage andnursing homewithin inMyanmar.dhist sites you’ll see It’shome Admission tothegardenincludesuse 7am-dusk) Chinese temple

is a fairly well-maintained 18- is afairlywell-maintained was a present from Queen Vic- wasapresent fromQueen

, where youcanclimb10 (green fee inclclubs&shoesUS$15;

garden isunlike otherBud- www.lonelyplanet.com

pool ( % h neartheen- 22130; admission 8am-5pm)

Pyin fea- www.lonelyplanet.com blossoms. trees often covered andred inbright-yellow west of town alongrollingroadslinedby hotels –are tobefoundsouth andsouth- most relaxing options–manyare midrange toaccommodate foreigners.licensed The Few of the hotels in the towncentre are Sleeping 4 1 3 2 5 PYIN ULWIN Hotel(CraddockCourt) ὈὈ ὈὈ Mandalay(69km) Tonbo (50km); To AnisakanFalls(8km); To Mandalay Mandalay-Lashio Rd Nann Myaing INFORMATION SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES Church oftheImmaculate Police Station...... Hospital...... Dahlia Motel...... April Inn...... Purcell Tower...... Nan MyintTower...... Conception...... Chinese Temple...... Shwe HtayInternet......

AC

(Main Rd)

Sandar Nan Myaing Kandawgyi Gardens National

Lan Pyin ULwin Golf Club St 1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 22 B4 B3 C5 D5 B3 B5 C3 D4 B3 17 Temple Hindu 6 Kandawgyi 12 11 Church Cinema

Lake Aung Zay Grace Hotel2...... Grace Hotel1...... Golden DreamHotel...... Lay NgoonRestaurant...... Htate TanRestaurant...... Café&Bakery...... Golden Triangle Diamond Confectionary...... Aung PadamyaRestaurant...... Royal ParkviewHotel...... Kandawgyi Lodge...... EATING Mosque 10

Ziwaka Ya B

7 Lan 3 Hwy Rd 20 1 Methodist Monastery To Lashio 25 24 Church Kandawgyi Gardens 26

Entrance (100m) 21 Lan Bogyoke

Station 16 To National

Station Rd Station Train 5th St 5th

Lake Zeigyo Lan Zeigyo 19 2 To NaungKan Kachin Baptist St Matthew's Gyi Paya Church US$5/10) have afan. rates includebreakfast. Mostroomsdon’t Rooms intowntend tobebasiccheapies. All IN TOWN and more character than theothers. The strip, this hotel has agardenoutthe front PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO••PyinLwin

Shwezigone Grace Hotel 1 Grace Hotel Lan Nandar Gandamar Myaing Paya Hotel(Croxton) 14 13 12 11 10 19 18 17 16 15 5 13 14 Acoupleof blockssouthof themain B3 C3 B4 B3 D3 C5 C5 B3 B4 B3

Circular Rd TRANSPORT SHOPPING Win Yadana...... (see26) TMD...... (see 26) Share-Taxi Stand...... Pick-ups toMandalay&Lashio.. Pick-ups toHsipaw&Lashio.... Shan Market...... Pacific WorldCurio...... Night Market...... La VieArtGallery...... (see20) Central Market...... Football

Pitch Ein

18 ( St daw Hotel(Candacraig) Cantonese % Temple 9 Thiri Myaing 21230; 114ANanMyaing Rd;s/d 0.3miles 500m 0 0 23 Chantha Aung Paya 8 15 Football Pitch 4 Shwe Myan Tin Paya D 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 Hotel (2km);Pwe Kauk Falls(7km); B3 B3 B3 C3 B3 B3 B3 Myaing (26km) To MyaNanda U Chanti Paya Peik Chin

205 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR in 2002, thisclassyretro Singapore joint of abathtub. There’s asmallrestaurant. rooms have noair-con andashowerinstead and sometimesfillupinadvance. Cheaper on lushgrounds,justoutsidethering road, 20stylishwood-floorThese rooms are set ing forcomfort,theRoyalisaheck of adeal. and thenturnleftatthenextfork. hotel, take thefirst after RoyalParkview right treks toShan villages (US$8).Toget tothe canleadday and shinytiledfloors. Thestaff rooms inthenewerwinghave bigger TVs andprivate bathroom;thebigger have TV choice. Itscheapest rooms,intheolderwing, eatsporksometimes’)isanexcellent beer, outgoing ‘rock-and-rollMuslim’(ie‘drinks 18) Royal Parkview Hotel Hotel Royal Parkview OUTSIDE TOWN–MIDRANGE Motel Dahlia OUTSIDE TOWN–BUDGET habits of theprevious occupants. bathroom) maydependonthesmoking ofstate thebasicrooms(which have private 206 30, superior sUS$30,dUS$35; 30, superior bathroomUS$4/5,dUS$10/8) Rd; swithout/withprivate the back;allcomewithafan. withprivate bathroomaredesk andthose at withsharedrooms. Those bathroomhave a hotel above asweater shophasoldbutclean Indianfamily,this1st-floorby apleasant Lashio Rd;swithout/withbathroomUS$3/4,dUS$8/6) bungalows s/d US$40/50,ste US$50/60) 202071; fax22497;www.woodlandgroups.com; NandarRd; a signontheleftafter 200morso.) the forkbyDahliaMotel, thenwatch for easy toget lostafter dark.(Take at aright happen.Ifyou’re Insects biking,it’s night). karaoke bar(butitwindsdownbefore mid- youmayhearsomewailingfromthe night inthecoffee plot;by from farmers’ hoes your breakfast. comes Bydaytheonlynoise twinbedsandaporch for bathroom, TV, features sixbungalows,each withprivate AprilInn 1kmfromtheringroad, Over small desk.Allshowers have hotwater. cony. Roomsincludetwolowbedsanda little musty.Roomsatthefronthave abal- locationisfriendlybutaGrace’s second Kandawgyi Lodge Kandawgyi April Inn April Golden Dream Hotel Golden Dream Grace Hotel 2 Grace Hotel This traveller-oriented motel, runbyan PYINULWINTOLASHIO••PyinLwin

( ( % % 22255, 09-2044153;sUS$5-12,dUS$10-

21918; 51FEindawSt;s/dUS$8/16) ( %

( ( 22081; 46/48 Mandalay-Lashio 22081; 46/48Mandalay-Lashio % %

ai ( % 22647; standards/dUS$25/ 21839, inYangon 21302; 42/43Mandalay-

) For those look- ) Forthose

Opened % Run Run 01-

but it’spricedasadvertised. local families.Thefoodisdefinitely good, andwoodenboothsits tables with nightly Ngoonnevertheless fills nearly dingyLay town asbeingtooexpensive, thebasic, 8pm) the Nan Myaing Hotel (Craddock Court). the NanMyaingHotel (CraddockCourt). the GandamarMyaingHotel (Croxton) and homes: theThiriMyaingHotel (Candacraig), geous) placesconverted fromoldBritish gor- (otherwise hotels shouldbypassthese atmosphere. but it’snotequaltothesouthof townfor bathroom withhotwater. Thearea isnice, desk,fan,carpeted floors andprivate TV, this hotel hasgoodroomswithbalcony, about 2kmnortheastofwards Lashio, town, off photostaken atCandacraig. show might with poppadomandrice. Staff mutton, fish andveggie curriesthatcome chicken,simple Indianrestaurant serves of blockssouthof theShan market, this espresso isK400. a French-style bakery inside. Areal cupof onthecoveredhas wicker seats deckand an American,occupiesagrandbuilding,and you findthisplace. Thislovely café,runby It’s notyouraverage dayinMyanmarwhen the clocktower. and southof Mandalay–Lashio Rdaround restaurantsnese onthesidestreets north can enjoy.There are manyvery basicChi- Many hotels have restaurants thatnonguests Eating phones intherooms. Putting peacefirst, or there are noTVs to thenearbyNationalKandawgyi Gardens. Kandawgyi lake, andguestsget free entry garden outside. Allaccommodationfaces English lodge andnewbungalowsinthe venture includessuites inaconverted 1921 the central market) gets going atdusk. Lán,northof marketnight (along Zeigyo Shan market) forexcellent Shan food. here (ablocknorthof circlebythe thetraffic dishes K1200-2200; Lashio Rd;sandwiches&pizzasK1400-1800; Htate Tan Restaurant Htate Those keen onavoidingThose government-run Lay NgoonRestaurant PadamyaAung Restaurant &Bakery Café Golden Triangle Mya NanDarHotel For after-dark snacksandnoodles,the Nestled intoaneighbourhood acouple

h 8am-9pm) ( %

(No 50,11ARd) 21922; s/dUS$15/20) www.lonelyplanet.com

(4 Mandalay-Lashio Rd; (4 Mandalay-Lashio

(dishes K800; Knownallover

( % 24288; Mandalay- h Localsrush 7am-10pm) 7am-10pm) h 11am- To- 5.30pm) and otherobjects. marionettes, oldBritish clocks,lacquerware masks, decades –spillover withShan wooden and antiqueshop–openfornearlyfour mond Confectionary The stand. but thebestisneartaxi modern renderings of Myanmarscenes. street onthesouthsideof themarket, hangs Muu Muu,thistinygallery,which facesthe www.lonelyplanet.com dalay and Hsipaw; askatyourhotel. Man-possible, tohailabusgoing between butperhaps It’s difficult, regular busservice. andanir-Pyin ULwinhas nobusstation BUS build anairportnearPyinULwin. At thetimeof research, there were plansto &Away There Getting edge of town,isbusiestinthemorning. 200g box of beansorgroundscostsK1700. &Bakery ( Café opposite ) isalsoavailable; a in thenearbyhillsatGoldenTriangle Mandalay–Lashio Rd.Organic coffee made You’ll findthemhangingoutsidestores on are anotherpopularlocallymadeproduct. months, jam’. sell of sugar,heatfortwohours, store for18 ‘clean strawberries,mixinanequalamount vendor explainedthejam-makingprocess: wine (K800)andgrape(K600).One jam on theroadsoutsidetown. ruary toApril.You’lloften flowerstalls see runsfromFeb-product. Strawberryseason town have madestrawberryjamabiglocal Strawberry fieldsinthehillsaround growth of manyvegetables andflowers. Pyin ULwin’stemperate climate aids the LOCAL PRODUCTS Pacific WorldCurio ART &ANTIQUES Shopping mutton puffs (K70)amongothersnacks. mutton puffs coconutand,despite itssugaryname, serves h La Vie Art Gallery Art La Vie Several snack shops sell Indian goodies, Indiangoodies, snackshops sell Several The smallerShan market, onthenortheast here,Owing tothecoolnights sweaters At thecentral market youcanget local 9am-5pm)

(about K250), plus a sweet strawberry (about K250),plusasweet Theaislesof thisexcellent handicrafts kalaga

RunbyEnglish-speakingartist (embroidered tapestries),

(75 Mandalay-Lashio Rd; (75 Mandalay-Lashio

(Mandalay-Lashio Rd; (Mandalay-Lashio

(No 7-8, AM Block, Central Market; (No 7-8,AMBlock,CentralMarket;

h h 6am-9pm) 7.30am- Dia- PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO••AroundPyinLwin

few outsidethestation. foodstalls and isparticularlybeautiful. and Hsipaw takes inareas theroadmisses 8.30am. Thestretch PyinULwin between one northtoHsipaw (US$2/4,sixhours) at (ordinary/1st class US$2/4,fourhours), and trains dailytoMandalay at5amand4pm quired toget lovely tothe tall, afairly longandsteep walkisre-Although anI'"cxn'" e7t®xVn' Falls Anisakan World Curio( left ). &Bakery ( angle Café opposite ) orPacific Lwin. Ask at yourhotel, theGoldenTri- share (andpossiblyaguide)inPyinU taxi manyvisitorsing, though prefer tohire a a combinationof publictransportandhik- are outside town. Mostcanbereached by Most of PyinULwin’snatural attractions ULWIN AROUND PYIN town isabout K1000orK1500. fromthecentreA taxi toahotel outside and Kandawgyi Gardens isK1500toK2000. fareting about; asample thecentre between wagons are anotherpopularmeansof get- or K2000perday.PyinULwin’shorse-led Hotels canarrange bike rental forK1000 Around Getting train station At thetimeof research, thelittlered-brick TRAIN north of themainstrip. onMandalay–Lashio Rd, share-taxi stand or Hsipaw isbyshare There’s taxi. asmall By fartheeasiestwayto/fromMandalay PICK-UP &TAXI (K3500, twohours); toMandalay westside,handlestaxis stand’s free) banyan tree, opposite theshare-taxi stand. (K3500)leave Lashio at6amonlyfromthe Pick-ups goingtobothHsipaw (K2000)and when fulltoMandalay (K1000,2½hours). wer alongtheMandalay–Lashio Rd,going isabout K20,000. whole taxi to runfrom7am2pmor3pm.Hiringthe ShareK500 extraforthefrontseat. tend taxis (K5000,fourhours). hours) It’s andLashio themtoHsipawthe east,sends (K4500,three Trains frequently runlate. There are a White pick-upswaitnearthePurcellTo- , thehike there isworth it.Atthevillage

( %

22021) Win Yadana was sending slow wassending TMD

( %

( 21090) falls % 22490)

(admission (admission , on the , onthe

, on , on 207 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR dangerous. at thebottom,where theundertowcanbe you canswimintheupperreaches, butnot spot. Duringorjustafter therainyseason, theymakespectacular, avery picnic pleasant thefallsthemselves aren’tAlthough that northeast of town,off theroadtoHsipaw. Pwe Kauk Falls Pwe Kauk HampshireCalled Falls inBritishtimes, epâ"ek;k'ert®xân' Falls Pwe Kauk is K15,000. withguide about K8000toK10,000;ataxi fromPyinULwincosts than down.Ataxi a bicyclethere, buttheridebackismore up day forthewholetrip.It’spossibletoride per person. Youshouldallowatleasthalfa regularly village gotoAnisakan forK300 market andmainroadinPyinULwin is particularlyimpressive. falls, which consistof five thethird sections; ariverdescent through gorge toreach the where youcontinueonfoot.It’sa45-minute about 500myoureach aparkingarea from fork, where youagaintake aleftturn.After dirt roadandcontinueforabout 800mtoa to therailwaycrossing,thenturnleftona continueabout 600m at thetrainstation, Lwin ontheroadtoMandalay, turnright of about9km Anisakan, 208 Myanmar. that oneof theBuddhasdidn’twanttoleave beforeclaimed thatthenight hehaddreamt hauled backon,thedriver (conveniently!) in April1997.After theBuddhacouldn’tbe here aBuddha-ladenChina-bound off truck Tha Kan Facing the fallsisthenow-famous Mandalay-bound pick-ups aroundthe Putao –needwesaymore? and remote first, are starting points for day trips orlongerstaysinsurroundingvillages. pointsfor day trips and remote first,are starting Kengtung area Inle Lake Namhsan Putao Kalaw TOP FIVETREKKINGAREAS INNORTHEASTERNMYANMAR either shore. and Inle Lake make forgoodovernightdestinations. make and InleLake PYINULWINTOLASHIO••AroundPyinLwin , ashrinehousingBuddhathatfell

( p176 are fun,allowedandnottoodemanding. Pindaya Mosthikes ) Thegranddaddyasfarpopularity. (p224) If you have the money and the time, go mountaineering in the remote Himalaya just north of justnorth intheremote Himalaya (p224) Ifyouhavethemoneyandtime,go mountaineering ( p181 there are otherdestinationsclosertoInle in themountainson toKalaw, ) Besidesthetrip ( p213),

(admission free) ( p200 villagesonfoot. outofyour4WDandsee hill-tribe ) Get Kyaukme

south of PyinU are about 8km poie) & ( opposite) Aung Htu Htu Aung Hsipaw ( opposite) guided daytrips. Dahlia Motel inPyinULwin( p206 ) arranges times hire a bullockcartinPweKauk. The road. fairly level shrine of thefallenBuddhaisreached ona K8000. Cyclingisanotheroption,asthe continue ontoPeik Myaingforabout Chin Lwin. It’spossibletohire ashare and taxi only headthiswayat6amfromPyinU guide tothecave. You canaskaroundatPweKauk foralocal bylocalmeditators. Buddhas thatisused Naung Gu Kauk youcangoonaone-hourhike to to PweKauk Falls. Alternatively, fromPwe and Ye Ngeye –canbevisited ontheway tion before the bridge toget thebestview. undue stress onthestructure. ing theviaductinordertoavoid putting shows: trainsslowtoacrawlwhencross- railway bridge inMyanmar,anditsage vated. It’stheoldestandlongest modern the bridgehowever, hasrecently reno- been theviaductmuch; ernment didn’tservice theMyanmargov-while itwasineffect ish insurancepolicyexpired years ago,but railwaybridgehighest intheworld.ABrit- in onlyninemonths, itwasthesecond- Bridge over Gokteik Gorge thedeep in1903 Pennsylvania SteelCobuilttheGokteik Lashio. When,onbeh north east of PyinULwin,enroute to unusual The gut'qip't®t;" Viaduct Gokteik To visittheShan villages, youcansome- Pick-ups boundforHsipaw andLashio Three If yougobytrain,get offatthesta-

These three towns,listedwiththemostbeautiful , anaturalcave several containing Shan villages Gokteik railwayviaduct Gokteik

–Mogyopyit,Yechando alf of theBritish, www.lonelyplanet.com is55km U Kyaukme –notreally alarge group–may related ambitions. localsharboursome vaguetourism- several ing toforeigners atresearch time,though 12,000) bathroomK7500/ shared bathroomK4500/6000,withprivate tivated enough toenforcetheban. tivated enough officer ismo- train car–andifthemilitary on thepresence of inyour officer amilitary todependentirely allowed toornotseems thebridge.it approaches Whetheryou’re plies forphotographyfromthetrainwhen ap- todoit.Thesame seems everybody fromthebridge,forbids photo-taking but Hsipaw orLashio. supposedly Themilitary back onthetrainifyou’re continuingonto have afew minutes before youmustget wanttodestroythespan.You’llonly might in someareas tofend insurgents off who land mineshave reputedly planted been bridge issafe, don’tgowanderingaround– While thearea immediately aroundthe www.lonelyplanet.com called NaungPhe. On thewaytoLweSarisabeautiful lake the Palaung stilllive atraditionalwayof life. Only 11kmfromKyaukmeisLweSar,where remote, little-visited villages intheregion. teacher/guide whocanhelporganise tripsto ( below) AttheAYoneOoGuestHouse two weeks. regionand exploringthemountainous for report having rented motorbikes fromlocals ranging anitinerary.Twointrepid travellers more optionsandgreater flexibilityinar- ing inKyaukme,butitalsomeansthere are it hardtoguarantee anythingbefore arriv- upon oratleastdiscouraged. Thismakes information meanstheactivityisfrowned the lackof guidesandofficial sanctioned bitions aboutforeigners trekking inthisarea, pact town. making ‘factories’inandaroundthiscom- villages. There are cigar- several andpaper- explore and thesurroundingmountains lar Hsipaw, rubshoulders withlocals,and looking toavoid thesocialsceneinpopu- ellers withado-it-yourself attitude. They’re atrickleof trail-blazingKyaukme sees trav- ekY;k'mE KYAUKME Guest House The young, hipandkaraoke-inclined of Besides the clean and comfortable thecleanandcomfortable Besides thereAlthough are nogovernment prohi- ,

there were nootherfacilitiescater -

ask for U Aung Gyi, a local English ask forUAungGyi,alocalEnglish

( % 082-40183; ShwePhiOoRd;s/dwith A YoneOo A Sights &Activities town withfriendlysmiles. the groupsof foreigners around shuffling ofState itsown,andresidents lookon paw wasoncethecentre of asmallShan phere asifitwere apuzzletodecipher. Hsi- how Hsipaw itsbucolicatmos- maintains Some travellers generate theoriestoexplain to oneof thepayasperched onahillside. cupied bywalkstotheriver oroutof town nephew of thelastShan prince),andare oc- Mr Book’sbookshopandDonald(the fromMrFood’srestaurant,guesthouse MrCharles’s thatseparates short distance or two. Daysare happilyconfinedtothe they arrive intending onlytospendaday their itinerariesthrownoutof whack after paddies, travellers often get stuck here, narrow footpaths rice snakingthrough quaintsmall-townairand matic sunsets, Hsipaw ( Withitsdra- Thibaw inBurmese). The outside worldfeels very farawayin % oIep: HSIPAW willcostK10,000. until around4pm;ataxi expensive comingfromMandalay. morning. Note thatfares are generally more five hours) thatleave whenfullearlyinthe Mandalay there (K3000, are buses several paw (K6000perperson). FromKyaukmeto that youwouldpaytogoallthewayHsi- inMandalay price taxi thesame forroughly here.off Alternatively, youcanhire ashare Hsipaw-bound busyoucanalsoasktobe let six hours) thatgotoKyaukme. Ifyouget a fromaround5amto6am(K2000,buses a hotel. are planstoconvert partsof thebuildinginto live There musiconsomeweekend nights. (K4000 perhour)andarestaurant-bar with sion, hasprivate modernkaraoke rooms This place,knownbylocalsasDog’sMan- ‘Weddings&ReceptionRestaurant’). says the traintracksjustoutsidetown(thesign be foundatalarge colonial-stylemansionby h is European indesign–a Shan-style palace paw. Built in1924,thecharming building atthenorthernendof stillstands Hsi-mese, Pick-ups leave regularly forHsipaw (K200) From Mandalay there are early-morning haw saopha PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO••Kyaukme after 4pm) after 082

, knownas

(Shan palace;suggested donationUS$1;

sawbwa haw inBur-

209 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR bombing. Thelast WWII that waslocated nearbydidn’tsurvive 210 gent, whowasthepopularMahadevi ( memoir byAustrian-American Inge Sar- over Burma:MyLife asaShan Princess vanquished royaltyisthetopicof heardfromsince.been Thisstoryabout takeovering themilitary of 1962andhasn’t palace is aresidence, This notamuseum. pecially if thenephewisn’t there), since the (es- with very though modestexpectations, about hisfamily’s life story.It’sbestto go entranced bythe nephew’smonologue visitors, manyof whomrave aboutbeing take care of thepalaceand welcomeforeign the takeover. Theprince’snieceandnephew pha 4 1 3 2 HSIPAW Mandalay (209km) Kyaukme (35km); Bawgyo Paya(8km); Sao Pha(8km); To RuinedMausoleumof Station Route Trekking Train Rice Mill To Waterfall; ’s wife) of Hsipaw fromthe1950suntil PYINULWINTOLASHIO••Hsipaw To Mandalay (208km) 18

20 Madaw Rd Madaw

Stream Kantha Kyaung(4km) AC Nat Shrine(3km); To BoGyi

12 Awtha Rd Awtha 27 7 sao pha 15 29 28

24 43 25

2 35 42 32 Rd) (Main Rd Namtu 3 4 39 38

Bogyoke Rd Ὀ 19 wasarrested dur- 31 30 16 1 8 34 6

13 Aung Thabye Rd Thabye Aung 9 22 40 26 Central Market 33 B 10 37 41 17 Twilight

23 36 Haw SaoPha(ShanPalace)...... Clock Tower...... Cheroot Factory...... Cheroot Factory...... Cheroot Factory...... Bo TreeNatShrine...... Post Office...... Police...... Hospital...... SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION eehn fie...... B1 Telephone Office...... sao River Dokhtawady 5 14 , a (72km) Lashio To 21 Lake’s PhaungLake’s DawOoPaya (see p190 ). It northern Shan State–equivalent toInle gyo Paya Mandalay–Lashio Rd,istheShan-style ( p234). its Mandalay namesake, Mahamuni Paya alargecontains Buddha image inspired by outskirts of town.Ashrineinthecompound paw is centre of townpasttheoldjail. sao pha Visitsaresale. allowedafter 4pm.The only afew photosandanumberof booksfor to aroomoff thesideentrance,which holds means thataccesstotheinterior isrestricted Approximate Scale 11 Eight kilometresEight southwest of town,off One of thebusiestreligious sites inHsi- isabouta15-minute walkfromthe Mahamyatmuni Paya Mahamyatmuni . Thisisthemost revered payain To Lashio To FiveBuddhaHill(1.5km); Nine BuddhaHill(1.5km) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 B1 B3 B3 A3 B3 B2 B3 A1 B3 adlyLsi...... B3 Yedagun ExpressBusto Mandalay/Lashio...... Pick-ups/Vans to Dokhtawady ExpressBusto Yamin ShweZin(GoldenDoll/ Mr Charles/MyatYatanaRest Mandalay...... Buses toLashio...... Buses toLashio...... Buses toLashio...... Boat Dock...... Cinema...... Yin Kyan...... Nin WaiAungTeashop...... Mao Shan...... Law Chun/MrFood...... Hwai Ta...... Burmese Cuisine...... Ah KongKaikRestaurant...... MrKid)GuestHouse...... Nham KhaeMaoGuestHouse... House...... Zedi...... Tea Traders...... Sports Field...... School...... School...... Sandal Factory...... Popcorn Factory...... Noodle Factory...... Mr BookBookshop...... Mosque...... Morning Market...... Monastery...... Mahamyatmuni Paya...... Hsipaw NatShrine...... Yoma ExpressBustoMandalay.. Mandalay...... TRANSPORT ENTERTAINMENT EATING SLEEPING www.lonelyplanet.com 200m 0.1miles 0 0 atthesouthern D 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 Baw- A4 C4 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B3 B2 B3 B3 B2 B3 B3 B3 B3 A3 A3 B3 A2 A4 B3 B2 B4 A4 B4 A1 B1 B3 A3 B3 B2 haw haw Mr Book’sbookshopisthelocalNational for youtogotubingdowntheriver. Near MrBookcanarrange during thehotseason, that youcan hike tofromtown.Ifyouvisit gives outhand-drawnmapsto Shan villages Hsipaw andthesurroundingarea. He also Nanthu Rd(Main Rd)forreliable adviceon to manytravellers) athisbookshop on is said thatthe is said www.lonelyplanet.com bookseller Ko Zaw Tun(knownas KoZaw bookseller grown inthesurroundingmountains. of thattradeintea merchants’ shophouses ofthe snack.East themarket are ahandful an alarminglyexplosive technique tomake factories anda‘ weaving smallcheroot shoulder bags,several thatleads1.5kmtobothsmallhills. right walk about200m.Lookforapathonyour First road,and crossthebridge ontheLashio either Five BuddhaHillorNineHill. and clear. or Namtu),justeastof themarket, iscool River (alsocalledtheMyitnge Dokhtawady ple fromnearbyvillages cometotrade. The morning, whenShan andothertribalpeo- pha over grown andruinedmausoleumof the city limitsof Hsipaw isthe fromBawgyo, appeal. its situationbytheriver stillgives itsome ated tolooklessShan andmore but Bamar, during which thebuildingwasredecor- of itscharm followingrenovations in1995, deference tothepaya. Theplacelostsome ing bythepayabendsover atthetopin Hsipaw’s large Visit the hospitable andwell-informedVisit thehospitable Also worthchecking outare loomsfor To catch agreat inHsipaw, sunset walkto On ahilltotheleft,justasyouenter the the night. and are returned toHsipawfestival-free for rived toolate orhadthedates mixed up drive they’re commonlytold that theyar- the interesting bash.After a long,fruitless tothevillagehostingfor private transport topaycash(aroundUS$10) upfrontasked ers outofdollars. touristsare Unsuspecting pretext ofalocal festival tomilkforeign- in Hsipawhave beenknown tousethe Strange buttrue:afew shadycharacters WARNING of Hsipaw. sagawa popcorn factory central market hardwood tree grow- ’ thatemploys isbestinthe Mr Book sao

K2500/3500) new annexe. original home. Thenicestroomsare inthe the cheapest roomsonthe2ndfloorin in tosleep other guests,itcanbedifficult of from noise to theoriginalhome. Because pound thatincludesanewandoldannexe the northernendof towninasmallcom- Mr Charlesisjustoff themainroadat vibe that’snotoften foundinMyanmar. tributes to thelaid-back socialandfriendly con- for anafternoon beer, tea orevening with Hsipaw. A2nd-floor balcony,perfect MrCharleshasbecomesynonymous worse, room US$3, s/d with private bathroomUS$7/10) room US$3,s/dwithprivate myanmar.com.mm; Rd;rwithshared bath- 134Bogyoke Mr CharlesGuestHouse Sleeping offer ricetotheimages. Palaung pilgrimscomefromallaroundto on thedayof thefullmoon,hundreds of dawn lives) Before –isperformednightly. onJatakabased (storiesof theBuddha’spast ways. festivalgoers whopaytribute totheoldShan draws alarge encampmentof traders and (February/March). TheBawgyo the first dayafter thefullmoonof Tabaung gyo fromthemoon’s10thwaxingdayto the One of theoldestandlargest Shan festivals, Festivals &Events at MrCharlesGuestHouse. trips northorsouth,canbeeasilyorganised trips,and train andtaxi guests. Overnight ing avisitto depends onthenumberof people),includ- boattrips(thecost half-day season, high sion’ toavillage ornearbywaterfall. Inthe below ) leadsathree-hour ‘morningexcur- up withostentatious red lights. curiouslylit forDemocracyoffice, League House tower occurs hour from7amto6pm. every minder thatyou are just eastof theclock MaoKhae isnevertheless friendly. Are- ofcrumbling andinneed apaintjob,Nam US$6/15) K3000, s/dwithshared bathroomUS$3/6,with % Nam Khae Mao GuestHouse Mao Nam Khae Most days at about 8am, Mr Charles (see Most daysatabout8am,MrCharles(see Yamin Guest ShweZin(GoldenDoll/MrKid) 80105; fax80407;105AwthaSt;rwithoutbathroom Bawgyo Paya Pwe PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO••Hsipaw (in Hsipaw Zat pwe Forforeign travellers, forbetter or

Westof theclock tower,this % –acostumeddance-drama kyaung, 66; Bogyoke Rd;s/dwith bathroom 66; Bogyoke , isheldinnearbyBaw-

(Myat Yatana House; Rest are alsooffered to

( % 80088; nkmao@ Mouldy, pwe

still

211 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR There’s noEnglish menu. Shan eatery hasthebestnoodlesintown. busstop,thisexcellentsmall Dokhtawady the market andaroundthecornerfrom restaurant. and afew metres Chun southof theLaw noodleshopisacrossthestreettasty from cheap foodtobe had inthemarket ifyou’re 11pm orso. of themarket openlate tend tostay –until of snacks.Teashops onthe southernside opens very earlyandhas agoodselection and nexttoabigorange-coloured building, opposite thenorthernsideof themarket Wai AungTeashop (noEnglish sign),just southern sidesof themarket. Therustic Nin in town–lookaroundthenorthern and bythetrucksparkedtaurant alongtheroad. Mandalay–Lashio Rd.Youcanspottheres- and isafavourite of truckdrivers whoplythe decentShan fare, andChinese place serves the roadintoHsipaw fromMandalay, this Burmese Cuisine Eating should bealastresort. thisplace thefamilyishospitable, Though fairlydepressingplace hasspartan, rooms. 212 two orthree family-styletables. dles make thingsquite romantic.There are out,which isfrequently,power goes can- the pumpkin,are equallygood.Whenthe stand-bys. Thevegetable curries,especially butchicken, night, every fishandporkare Notallcurriesare available curries served. Cuisine’andalistof ‘Burmese the enough) pots, ared signannouncing(appropriately Chun(MrFood).LookforarowofLaw cuisineisthissmallshopopposite Burmese noodle dishes.Fresh fishisalsoavailable. similarrice,curryand this placeserves with rice,curryandnoodledishes. formany,anEnglish-languagetantly menu and,impor- and welllit,ithassatellite TV Convenient ellers season. duringthehigh (or MrFood)isswampedwithforeign trav- wave Hsipaw, through Chun sweeping Law dinner) Mao Shan Mao Ah Kong Kaik restaurant Ah KongKaik Until mid-afternoon there’s goodand There are tea andsnackshops several Law Chun Yin Kyan Yin Hwai Ta PYINULWINTOLASHIO••Hsipaw One of thebestplacestotryauthentic

(Namtu Rd)

( (Mr Food;NamtuRd) h (Namtu Rd;

lunch) (Namtu Rd;dishesK300; Next door to Law Chun, Next doortoLaw A few doors southof h

(Mandalay-Lashio Rd) (Mandalay-Lashio breakfast &lunch) Part of the‘Mr’ h lunch & This

On On in Hsipaw. allofvehicles which toLashio, make stops wady Express stop. ket onMadaw Rd,across fromtheDokhta- areLashio usuallyparked alongsidethemar- Expresswest of stop. theDokhtawady depart dailyopposite themarket, ablock two hours), which is72kmtothenortheast, (K600, way toMandalay. forLashio Buses asaticketU LwinisK2300,thesame allthe (K2300). Allof stopinKyaukme. thebuses Hsipaw toMandalay dailyatabout6am 5.30am (K2300).Five gofrom orsixbuses the others. leave Buses Mandalay ataround repairs butdon’tneed fortable asoften as are Express buses uncom- and Dokhtawady on theoutsidebutbreak downfrequently; gun Express; YomaExpress lookgood buses couraging. Localsexpress disdainforYeda- Hsipaw isnoten- three buslinesthatservice The scoutingreport forthequalityof the BUS &Away There Getting beansalads. nutritious andtasty Itoffers avarietyofnicknamed MrBean. belongs tothevery friendlyAungKyaw, justinsidethenorthernentrance One stall willing topoke aroundandlookforit. luck). To guarantee a seat, tickets should be aseat, luck). To guarantee 4am and arrives inHsipaw at3.30pm(with class US$3/6)departs fromMandalay at The Mandalay–Lashio train(ordinary/1st TRAIN direction costsK10,000). (thewholetaxi toKyaukmeintheother fortaxis goes same are already full,sothewaitcanbelong.The Mandalay, Pyin ULwinorKyaukmeand (per person K3000).Mostare comingfrom tower toflagdownashare toLashio taxi Mandalay (K10,000perperson, 4½hours). It’s generally more expensive comingfrom break records speed fordilapidated taxis. person, 3½hours). Drivers tend totry ners atMrCharles(see p211 ; K6000per very simpletoarrange oneandtofindpart- Hsipaw andMandalay isbyshare It’s taxi. The mostconvenient waytotravel between TAXI See See p244 Vans andpick-upstoPyinULwin The priceof aticket fromHsipaw toPyin Stand outonBogyokeStand Rdnear theclock

for informationonotherpublic www.lonelyplanet.com

from Mandalay bysomeothermeans. from Hsipaw toMandalay andget toHsipaw makes much totake more thetrainback sense ofcause themore departure civilised time,it and arrive inMandalay ataround8pm.Be- class. ticket forthislegisUS$2/4ordinary/1st at7.30pm.Thepriceof a arriving inLashio trainleavesThe same Hsipaw atabout 4pm, 6amand4pm. between dalay trainstation atleastadayaheadtheMan-purchased www.lonelyplanet.com climbing to a bridge over River and the Dokhtawady Konzaleik, Mo-te andMali before crossing thelowlandShan through villagespasses of trucks thejourneycantake days.Theroad takes atleastsixhours; ifit’sblocked by road barely sincecolonial times, maintained ing theroadforhours ordays. are aparticularhazard,sometimesblock- overloaded trucksheadingforMandalay April toAugustand,duringthemonsoon, runsfrom boiled orpickled.Thetea harvest number of In Namhsan andnearbyPayagyi, there are a opiumpoppiesarethough faraway. never Palaung andmake aliving fromtea, al- Most of are theinhabitants Shwe (Golden) to2000m. thatrise valleys andmountains narrowridge,1600m-high surroundedby Shan stateof Tawngpeng. Itclingstoa nickname astheSwitzerlandof Myanmar. its points furthersouth.Theregion deserves which isgranderandmore picturesque than raving aboutthearea’s stunningbeauty, Hsipaw asfarNamhsan, andallreturn A few sortshave pioneering madeitfrom nm'¾cm' NAMHSAN from themarket totheShan Palace. trishaws, which costaroundK200foraride The onlypublictransportaroundtownis Most placesare withineasywalkingdistance. (see p211 are ). Rates aboutK500fortheday. Bicycles are available forrent atMrCharles Around Getting to theriver again atthesmallvillage of Namtu to thelead,silver, zincandgoldmines market townatthe junctionwiththeroad Trains alsoleave Hsipaw at9.30amdaily The 80kmjourneyfromHsipaw, ona ofNamhsan wasthecapital theformer , 43kmaway. Theroadthen descends tea factories tea

Panglong

(BigVillage), adull where tea is roasted, Li-lu

at , traveller-friendly asHsipaw. Consequently, or isn’t aspleasant inhabitants Chinese This townshipof mostly Shan-Chinese and % l;"Túui" LASHIO bycar.passable old roadfromNamhsan toKyaukmeisnot to hire apick-upinHsipaw (K30,000). The common, soyoumaybebetter trying off waiting forpassengers. Breakdowns are out where thetruckorbusisparked while Tun (MrBook;see p211 ) inHsipaw tofind cargo warrantarun.CheckwithKoZaw the numberof passengers andamountof from Namhsan (K3000,6½hours) when leaveTrucks andbuses Hsipaw andreturn &Away There Getting for breakfast. There are alimited numberof noodlestalls of early(about9pm). thetown,theyclose along thenarrowmainstreet. Like therest pillows are provided. onthefloor,andblanketsGuests sleep and the price,butvery goodfoodisavailable. in English. Breakfast isnotincludedin butunfortunatelyfor sale, there’s nosign main road;asigninfrontadvertises DVDs isbeforeU Shwe Tun’shouse aforkinthe runs treks for US$5adaytwopeople. hasfourbeds,andtheowneralso house ers DawMay upforUS$1anight. SawNu’s May SawNuandUShwe Tunputforeign- butDawNamhsan hasnoguesthouses, Sleeping &Eating ture dropslike astone. downthetempera- out. Oncethesungoes or thickblanket inHsipaw before you set cember orJanuary, considerbuyingajacket to Shan andPalaung villages nearby. is possibletomake dayandovernight treks thatsupplies Namhsan withwater.ervoir It paya, amonastery andthegreen, shadyres- that clingtothesteephillside,acoupleof houses town, pasttypicalwoodencarved way toNamhsan. thatrun allthe tea plantations side through checkpoint, before skirtingthemountain- where there are afew teashops andanarmy Several Chinese restaurants Chinese areSeveral found If youattempt tocomeuphere inDe- A cobbledtrackleadsupbehind the PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO••Namhsan 082

213 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR open Lashio toforeignopen Lashio visitors. China, have prompted thegovernment to along withatremendous boostintradewith truces withmost of groupssince1989, these Communist Party totheeast.Fragile (BCP) north, andtheWafighters of theBurmese Kachin IndependenceArmy(KIA)tothe State Army(SSA)tothewestandsouth, the flanked1950s, thetownhasbeen bythe Shan well asethnicinsurgent territory. Sincethe communists)as(and thehated Chinese foreigners of because itsproximity toChina limitsto wasonceoff Burma Road,Lashio border. a stopover onthewayto/fromChinese ismore popularasadaytripor Lashio 214 (235km) Mandalay (62km); To Hsipaw 4 1 3 2 LASHIO

(2km) To TrainStation

At thesouthernendof the infamous Puta Rd Puta PYINULWINTOLASHIO••Lashio 27 19 Palaung Villages

11

To Shan& (Station Rd) (Station 6 3 5

A Ye Kan Taung Taung Kan Ye 15 9

8 1 Rd (Tank Rd) (Tank Rd 12 Airport Central Market 2 (Big Lashio) 18 Lashio Gyi

Thein Ni St 400m 0.2miles 0 0 (Little Lashio) Lashio Lay Market Night 22 Chinese Border 17 26

To Mu-se; Kyar Phyu St Phyu Kyar Airport

16 (153km)

Bogyoke St Bogyoke 7 20 San Kaung St Kaung 14 13 29

28 Rd

21 Rd Theinni 10

23

Thu Ka Thu St 25 B (Chinese Temple; 24 4 Quan YinSan

Lashio

(High To Lashio 2km) Hot Spa To

(5km)

Thein Rd) Mansu Market Mansu it’s quite modernandorderly.Thesmaller It’s notespeciallycolourfulorexotic, but Built around 40years ago, it’sthemain SanTemple QuanYin dhist shrinesintown isthelarge andbusy better off inHsipaw orKengtung. various ethnicgroupsparticipating, you’re peoplefrom Gyi.Ifyou wanttosee Lashio to fresh iscloser produceandfoodstuffs, newer andbigger of thetwodistricts. isthe Lay connected byTheinniRd.Lashio Gyi(BigLashio), andLashio (Little Lashio) Lay divided intotwomaindistricts:Lashio liver rainatalmostanytimeof theyear. Itis tude of 855m–cloudsmay formandde- p222). tion travel intheopposite direction (see sanc- late inKunming(China),itdoesn’t attheconsu- withpermitsobtained Lashio allows foreigners totravel fromChinato There’s alarge Sights &Activities TRANSPORT ENTERTAINMENT EATING SLEEPING SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Bus Station...... Cinema...... Teashops...... Sun MoonCafé...... Shwe LaWinRestaurant...... Lashio Restaurant...... Jupiter Restaurant...... Ya HtaikHotel...... Thi DaAyeHotel...... New AsiaHotel...... Lashio Motel...... Union FirstBaptistChurch...... Sasana 2500-YearPaya...... Mosque...... Monument...... Mansu Paya...... Mansu Market...... Mahamyatmuni Paya...... Lashio DegreeCollege...... High School...... Fire Station...... City Hall...... Telephone Office...... Post Office...... Police Station...... Police Station...... May DayBookstall...... Inwa Bank...... Hospital...... More interesting thananyof theBud- Lashio is in a mountain basinatanalti- isinamountain Lashio thegovernmentAlthough of Myanmar

(Theinni/Hsenwi Rd) (Theinni/Hsenwi central market , 2km away in Lashio Lay. Lay. , 2kmaway inLashio

www.lonelyplanet.com incentralLashio. , focusingon 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 B2 B4 A3 B4 B2 B4 B4 B3 B4 B3 A3 A3 B2 B4 A3 B2 B2 A3 A3 B3 A3 A3 B3 A3 A3 B2 A3 A4 A4 largest inMyanmar. andpossiblythe temple inLashio Chinese www.lonelyplanet.com stupa isalsoknownasKyawHein’s Paya and offers goodviewsof thecity.Thelatter Kantha Hillinthenorthernpartof town name, Buddha image. stupaof Asecond similar aBagan-era in thepayacomplexcontains area, SaoHonPhan. Oneof theshrines edly builtbythelastShan Sasana2500-Year ( Pyi LonChantha)Paya years old.More impressive isthenearby of tobeover TheinniRd,andissaid 250 Gyionahillthewestern side and Lashio Mnu Paya Mansu and homewares. pharmaceuticals, processedfoods,clothing traders bringfinished goods,suchasautoparts, major smugglingroute Inthereverse toChinaforopium,heroin, gems,jadeandteak. direction, State remains oftheLedo road,which quicklyfell intodisuse. chief post-war effects ofthe Bhamo–Myanmar roadnetworkwastheopeningupofKachin in theworld,wasdeemedanobstacle toriver trafficandwasdismantledin1947. Oneofthe which spannedtheAyeyarwadyRiver southofMyitkyinaandwasthelongest pontoonbridge a yearlater, whenallAllied units were withdrawn fromtheCBItheatre. The MyitkyinaBridge, dubbed theroute the'man-a-mile road'. between Ledo andWanting. Somanymenwere lostalong thewaythatbuilderssardonically jungle, upgradingtheBhamotrack,andspanning10majorrivers and155secondarystreams Burmese, Indian,BritishandChinesetroopstotackletheenormoustaskofcutting throughthick was slowandworkabandonedinMay1942. road in1942.Althoughtheengineers originally had5000labourers attheirdisposal,progress building the800kmLedo RdfromLedo, Assam (India), totheBhamoterminus oftheBhamo engineers, usingatrailcreated Burma,began bywarrefugees fleeingtoIndiafromnorthern State andYunchangbetween BhamoinsouthernKachin inYunnan Province, China. BritishArmy original Lashio–Kunmingroute, butwitharoughdry-weathertrackdeveloped bytheChinese Myanmar. roadfromIndiatoChinavianorthern two-lane The planwastolinkupnotwiththe alternative route fromIndia. line fortheKMT, butasJapanesepressure fromthesouthincreased, foran theAllieslooked asthemainsupplya totallengthof1200km.Earlyinthewar,thisLashio–Kunmingroute served 1937 and1939.They thenlaidanextension intoMyanmarfromWantingtoLashioin1940,for China. The Yunnanese builttheoriginal Burmaroad fromKunmingtoWanting,China,between army,whowere fightingtheJapaneseinwestern nationalistKuomintang(KMT) Chiang Kai-shek's peaks thatseparate MyanmarandChina. the Chinafront,however, required dangerousflightsover the'Hump',aseriesofhighHimalayan for thegroundwarfoughtinLowerBurmawere easilyflownorshippedinfromIndia. Supplying south viaThailand. InwhatwasknownastheChina-Burma-India(CBI) Theatre, Alliedsupplies viaChina,andfromthe when JapaneseinvasionforcesclosedinonMyanmarfromthenorth anetworkofthreeThe BurmaRd–actually so-called major routes –cameaboutduring WWII, ROAD BURMA The mainLashio–Kunming route, thoughinpoorconditionnowadays, seesmuchtrafficasa Completed inMay1945,theLedo road–alsoknownasStillwell Rd–wasmaintaineduntil A hugecontingentofAmericanengineers tookover inNovember 1942;theyassembled35,000 American GeneralJoseph'Vinegar ofanall-weather, Joe'Stillwellproposedtheconstruction 1000airmendiedflyingthisroute,Over promptingtheAlliestolookforanewwaysupply New PyiLonChanthaPaya stands between Lashio Lay Lay Lashio between stands

sao pha , sitsonMya , report- inthe lowing places. Breakfast isnotincludedatanyof thefol- really encouragedoesn’t anovernight stay. border,thechoice ofthe Chinese hotels you’re breaking up atriponyourwayto isn’tespeciallywelcoming.Unless Lashio accommodationinThe Chinese-style Sleeping to it. but lookslessinteresting youget thecloser City Hall, isquite colourfulfromthestreet The newlybuilt namepaidforitsconstruction. the same filmactorof thefamousBurmese because PYIN ULWINTOLASHIO••Lashio

Mahamyatmuni Paya Mahamyatmuni , nextto

215 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR shared bathroom US$5/10, with private bathroomUS$15/25) shared bathroomUS$5/10,withprivate Moon intoaShangri-la onahotday. ioned chairs, fans,popmusic–turntheSun tively cush- luxuriousdécor–glasstables, It maynotsoundlike much, buttherela- (K500) andfriedchicken andrice(K1000). including excellentchicken dumplings of townisthishipcaféwith asmallmenu of abuildingnearthemosque inthecentre shared bathroom US$8, with private bathroomUS$5/10) shared bathroomUS$8,withprivate off taking thetrain. taking off fromMandalayweek (US$45),you’re better anma Airwaysallegedly fliesthere oncea hasanairport andMy- Lashio Although AIR &Away There Getting rant food,whilethe and Chinese the market. ing southfromthesoutheastern cornerof market upontheroadlead- ings anight sets teashops westof thepostoffice. Intheeven- Taung Rd(Tank Rd),andarowof good small, nearthecentralmarket onYe Kan There are Shan several restaurants, large and Eating 216 Rds, isgovernment owned. tersection of Mandalay–Lashio andStation the calltoprayerbeginsat4am. much). Some roomsfaceamosque,where doubles are acutabove (butthat’snotsaying are grotty,whiletheall-concrete upstairs Here singleswithsquattoilets thebasement rooms withshared bathroom. bathroomaswellafewattached dark ern four-storey placehassimpleroomswith Northeast of thecentralmarket, thismod- private bathrooms are preferable. rooms have squattoilets;larger roomswith butcleanrooms.Sharedhas spartan bath- A four-storey place,Ya Chinese-style Htaik very good for Chinese andShanvery goodforChinese dishes. Gyi, but different typesofseveral satay. foodaswell Chinese the cinema,does taurant Ya Htaik Hotel Ya Htaik A blockeastof themarket, the Sun Moon Café Sun MoonCafé The sprawling DaAyeHotel Thi Hotel New Asia There are fewer restaurants inLashio

PYINULWINTOLASHIO••Lashio (dishes K800)

(Thu Ka St) Ka (Thu Shwe LaWinRestaurant onthecornersoutheastof

(Bogyoke St) (Bogyoke

is reliable forgoodBamar ( ( % (

% % Lashio Motel, atthein- Lashio 22165; 218 Thiri Rd;s/dUS$5/15) 22165; 218Thiri 23622; San Khaung Rd;rwith 23622; SanKhaung 22655; Bogyoke Rd;s/dwith 22655; Bogyoke

Onthe2ndfloor Jupiter Restau- Jupiter

(Airport Rd) (Airport Lashio Res- is

northwest of thecentre Lay. of Lashio is3km the trainstation quickly. InLashio outvery days ahead,andtheysell to seven come by.) train andwaitfortheticket collectorto asking. Atapinch, youcanjustboardthe foreigners, but if1stclassisfull,it'sworth ordinaryclassisn'tavailable to (Officially, Pyin ULwinthefare isUS$10in1stclass. the only1st-classcoach onthetrain.From in for ordinaryclassandUS$12aseat switchbacks.around fourmonumental famous Gokteik Viaduct( p208 ) andwind son. Alongthewayyou’llcrawlacross hours of themorningduringcoolsea- departs at5am, trainforMandalayunusual). TheLashio by trackconditions(late arrivalsaren’t around7pm–whenit’snotdelayed Lashio leaves Mandalay at4.45amandarrives in a chance thelocals.TheNo131Up tomeet who are interested inbeautifulsceneryand the trainisbetter alternative forthose cheaper) thanthetrain.As usual,though, graded, travelling bybusismuch faster (and up- Since theMandalay–LashioRdhasbeen TRAIN Market. Rd southof Mansu Paya andnearMansu isonTheinni inLashio main busstation Pyin ULwinorHsipaw alongtheway.The idea toschedule atleastaday’sstopover in at 6am.Tobreak upthetrip,it’sagood day aheadtoget aseat. 4amand6am.Buyticketstween atleastone by five different companies departdailybe- corner of operated 26thand82ndSts.Buses from thecentral/mainbuscentre nearthe hours)(around K3500,eight thatoperate From Mandalay there are toLashio buses BUS at theNylon Hotel ortheRoyal Guest the one-way tripforabout US$40.Inquire own caranddriver inMandalay tomake but theyfillupfast. Youcanalsohire your deliverthese their passengers to thedoor, atthefront/back);(K8000/6000 forseat roofs) travel fromMandalay toLashio Small air-conditioned Super- vans(Toyota CAR & VAN Tickets forthisroute one canbebought The Mandalay fare isUS$6 toLashio toMandalay fromLashio leaveBuses

and isvery coldinthe wee www.lonelyplanet.com these. cansometimeshelptoarrange in Lashio, of Rds theMandalay–Lashio and Station Motel, attheintersectionowned Lashio Asia Hotel ( opposite ) andthegovernment- quarters. Taxi attheNew drivers orstaff a permitfromtheregional head- military youmusthaveentrance (towardsMu-se), travelnight-time inbothdirections. there tobeplentyofpractice, though, seems at6pm.InChina, are toclose supposed ontheborderwith dalay andfromMu-se, according tothepriceof petrol. inMandalay.House As usual,rates vary www.lonelyplanet.com during the monsoon. tremely andvery rainy hotinthedry season you’ll receive lots of friendlyattention. of foreign visitors venture here, soit’slikely Kachin villages inthearea. Onlyahandful pointfortripstopealing asthestarting Kachin ethnicorganisations, ismainly ap- fortheregionment offices andforofficial of Myanmargovern- theseat kyina itself, journey thatmakes itworthwhile. Myit- durance toget toMyitkyina,but it’sthe If youdon’tfly,ittakes patienceanden- % ¨mc'äkI"n;" MYITKYINA know others journey. onthesame stops are occasionstoshare foodandget to the longboatandtrainrides,where regular withMyanmarpeopleon nity tosocialise thetripnorthisanopportu- this, though, waters were thetownsquare. More than perched on theirheads,asifthemuddy delicaciesfromplates confidentlyto sell longyi ofas theyquicklyheftsacks goods,while children excitedly hailthearrivalof theferry pageantry of river life. Oldmenandyoung boat, isachance towitnessthelethargic threatenstill andsandbanks tobeach the tostand whereexpanses seems everything to thewater’s edge, slow-moving through narrow gorges where thejunglecreeps up A boattripdowntheAyeyarwady,past MYITKYINA TOKATHA If youwanttoleave townviathenorthern fromMan- entrancestoLashio The road The town is set in a flatvalleythatisex- The townisset 074 -clad womenwadeintothewater

15 enced bymissionaries,andthere are around around Myitkyinahave stronglyinflu- been Ayeyarwady River. Thelarger ‘wish-fulfilling’ stupaonthebanksof the Myothit Rd)Unreliable Internetaccess. designed toursinthearea. agency intownandcanhelpwithflightscustom- h sion US$2; Museum Cultural State Kachin community. nary. ThetownisalsohometoasmallNepali and thelocationof aBibleschool and semi- a sacred site forKachin andLisu Baptists kled in.About 14kmnorthis few Methodist onesare andCatholic sprin- the poor roadcondition. but this is notrecommended, of because driverswheel willmake thetripforless, way over avery road.Some three- rough negotiating skills. It'sabout an hour each from K8000toK30,000,depending onyour return fare taxi fromMyitkyinaisanywhere Nanthida Hotel overlooks the water. The Ayeyarwady River. TheChinese-owned ers, islocated atthebeginningof thegreat confluence of theMayhka andMalihka Riv- Myit-son, 43kmnorth of Myitkyina,atthe ¨mc'z®u MYIT-SON and aTaoist-Buddhist Temple Hindu Saraswati Gurkha religious structures of interest includethe are acoupleof adjacentmonasteries. Other tooth relics andaBuddhafootprint;there boasts asilver-plated tocontain stupasaid YMCA andthelarge bustling gregate aroundthetraintracksnear Herds of andtrishaws con- motorcycletaxis Sights &Activities YMCA Snowland Tours Information 3km fromthecentre of town. isapproximately Themuseum in Burmese. and musicalinstruments.Mostlabelsare such aspipes, baskets, fishing nets,looms of costumes,andKachin andShan artefacts in 1994.Ondisplayistheusualcollection Most of theKachin peoplelivinginand Hsu Taung PyeZedidaw Only ahandfulof visitors have visited the Mon-Sat) Near the market area, thisistheonlytravel Mon-Sat) Nearthemarket churches MYITKYINA TOKATHA ••Myitkyina ( % h 23010; [email protected]; 12 in town; most are Baptist, but a intown;mostare buta Baptist, 10am-3pm Tue-Sun)

( % 23498; snowland@mptmail;

Chinese temple isapretty, gilded sinceitwasbuilt , the

Praying Mountain (Youngyi Rd;admis (Youngyi Andawshin Paya market Ja-me Mosque . . 217 Sri Sri

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NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR and drink all of them.Participants dance,playmusic hours), which hasaguesthouse. the lakeside village of From here pick-upsmake the42kmtripto the village of Hopin(US$4,fourhours). from Myitkyina,take amorningtrainto 30 rarely visited villages. Toreach thelake the Myanmarpeacockandsurroundedby Lake of Kamaing isthehuge andserene escorts, isprohibitive tomany.Southwest cluding thefee forthetworequired military costof thetotal kyina; however, US$300,in- can usuallybearranged byhotels inMyit- of Myitkyina. Permission isrequired and jade-mining centre of unconventional ideas. for travel advice,ashe’slikely to dismiss any are –don’trely lessglowing, though onhim of Reviews theowner and have satellite TVs. maculately kept, androomsare attractive town. Thehotel isquite modernandim- Aye ChanThaiseasilythebestvaluein .net.mm; 127ShanSu; s/d US$20/30; bathroom US$7/12; Myothit Rd;s/dwithshared bathroomUS$5/6,withprivate the 28 Jinghpaw the 28Jinghpaw oneforeach of29 cowsand/orbuffaloes, Aye Chan Tha Inn Aye ChanTha Sleeping over thestateandbeyond. in MyitkyinadrawsKachin groupsfromall cate orpayhomage totheJinghpaw festivalsimportant heldperiodicallytopla- manao On Festivals &Events 218 cerns. Breakfast isnotincluded. information available overrode othercon- tresses were andthehelp comfortable, in somecorners of ourroom,butthemat- water pressure. There wasanantproblem Y have mismatched furniture anderratic inMyitkyina. Roomsat the place tostay this isthemosttraveller friendly andsavvy US$8/15; this four-storey behemoth (forMyitkyina blocks from themarket and river front, Another spotformerlyofflimitsisthe YMCA YMCA A typical Xing XianHotel MYITKYINA TOKATHA ••Myitkyina , hometo120 bird speciesincluding Kachin State Day State Kachin (alsospelt a

( %

) churu Lit uplike the acasinoatnight, 23010; [email protected]; 12 manao ai

(rice beer). (ricebeer). ( ( % nat % involves of thesacrifice manau (10January) amajor

22281; xingxianhotel@mptmail 23109; 53SipinthayarRd;s/d plusonededicated to ) There’s nodoubt that Hpakan Lonton or a (K2000,two , 148kmwest manaw ) Only afew Indawgyi ; the nat ) international direct dialling(IDD)phone. fridge andwater bathroom,satellite TV, amenities, includingair-con, hot- attached are professional,staff androomsdohave is showingwearandtear. the Nevertheless, days. Someare quite small,andthecarpet place behindtheYMCA, better have seen posite achurch, hours aren’t demandingactivities. –after all,sittingandlooking for needed Maybeenough. isallthenutrition abeer dishesare andChinese satisfying ard Bamar quality of thestand- thefoodissecondary, views,sowhilethe fantastic affords taurant Bamboo Field Restaurant Bamboo Field Restaurant Eating speaksEnglish. the friendlystaff rooms have air-con, and hotwater andTV, musty at least)openedin2001.Theslightly dishes K3000) s/dUS$30/35) 11 ThidaAyeQuarter; a doesn't look like much but serves quite look like doesn't much but serves to theYMCA. dian curriesandis aroundthecorner,closer Kashmir Restaurant Kashmir ries easywithhelpfulphotoson the wall. makes orderingoneof theirdelicious cur- dishes K2000) looking theriver. porch, andthere’s agreat deckspaceover- eachhowever, concrete bungalowhasasmall paint,aren’t peeling especiallygoodvalue; spacious rooms,withfrazzledcarpetsand government typesandbusinesspeople. The a formerKachin official,isafavourite of outside townandownedoperated by and beers. fish, andthere’s of awideselection spirits The menuincludesbarbecuedmeatand boa. Thewhite-shirted waiters are attentive. tume change involves adifferent-coloured petitive fashionshows where theonlycos- noncompetitive modellingcontests orcom- ineither man eatanddrinkwhiletaking types andtheoccasionalforeign business- find here. Younggovernment-connected oped’ restaurant expectto thanonemight FieldsisamoreTha Inn,Bamboo ‘devel- Sumpra Hotel Sumpra Hotel A shortwalkfromtheYMCA andop- Pan Tsun Hotel Seikdaichya, oneofSeikdaichya, the besteateries, Riverview Restaurant Restaurant Riverview )

Rooms inthePan Tsun, a four-storey

A shortwalkfromtheAyeChan As expect,thisres- youmight ( ( % Shamie Restaurant %

(curries K900) (curries 25051; [email protected]; 25051; [email protected]; 22748; fax22749;s/dUS$15/20; ( % ( www.lonelyplanet.com % 23227; 313UnionSt;fish 23780; fish&prawn This hotel, 8km This hotel, 8km also does In- alsodoes

(curries K900) (curries , along theriver justnorthof town. steamed andbarbecuedfish) rants (serving Palay KyawiKan Thayaare Kachin restau- reasonable food.Malihku and Restaurant www.lonelyplanet.com picnics. out along withgroupsof locals andtheir front of theboatwhere youcanspread ney. There’s alarge, openspaceinthe andenjoyablequite jour- acomfortable the Myitkyinajetty.Onceyoudepart, it’s asked to keep alowprofile whilestillin tract toomuch attention, soyoumaybe of foreigners boardingtheboatwouldat- fortheir‘permission’. Groupsboat captain pay asmallgratuitytotheticket and seller three travellers atthemost, may beableto reported thatsingletravellers, ortwoto guide canhelpsecure permission.It’sbeen still inplacewhenyouvisit,aMyanmar tion maybelifted inthefuture but,ifit’s apparently safety istheissue. Thisrestric- trip fromMyitkyinatoBhamo (K8000)– that leave morningfortheseven-hour every oneoftaking the long,narrow‘fast’boats too shallowtonavigate safely. travel northof Bhamo, theriver because is three-deckLarge ferries passenger don’t BOAT town, butitsopeninghours are irregular. There toobtain. in difficult isanMAoffice andtickets areduring therainyseason, according toastrictschedule, especially kyina costsUS$35.MAoften fly doesn’t fromBhamoThe 25-minute flight toMyit- Myitkyina viaBhamo (US$180oneway). day, MAmakes fromYangon theflight to pursued inYangon, OnWednes- isneeded. return) butpriorpermission, more easily (US$90 It’s possibletocontinuePutao Mandalay toMyitkyina(US$70oneway). fromanma Airways(MA)hasaflight on Tuesday,Thursday andSaturday.My- AirfliestoMyitkyinafromYangonBagan AIR visitors bother. the limited numberof meanthatfew sights, the town’sinaccessibility,combinedwith drawbacks toeach methodof travel, and share there ortrain.However, taxi are You canreach bus, Myitkyinabyair,boat, &Away There Getting Foreigners are barred supposedly from

what you want. Otherwise, it’spotluck. what you want.Otherwise, over thetrainsandcars inperson and select tolook fromaguesthouse a memberof staff is togowithaguide, aMyanmarfriendor only sure waytoknowwhat you’re getting and itshould beonsuch alongtrip–the very thincushions.Ifcomfort isaconcern– to straight-backed woodenbenches with that reclinecushioned seats all thewayback thicklyfairly widelyspaced,comfortable, are therefore delays. subjecttothesame track,and thesame use services that these agency Theproblemis oryourguesthouse. atatraveldays of ask fordetails theweek; what better trainstoMyitkyinaoncertain companiesrunsome- lay. Twosemiprivate for informationonbuyingtickets in Manda- cially ifyouwanttobookasleeper. See p244 threechased atleast daysinadvance,espe- class isUS$40/27.Tickets shouldbe pur- sulting indeaths. Thefare forsleeper/upper ments have occurred inthepast,afew re- the poorconditionof the rail bed.Derail- often takes longer –upto40hours –dueto in Myitkyina24hours later. Inpracticeit and 5.45pmdaily,are toarrive supposed Government trainsleave Mandalay at1.40pm TRAIN MogokandBhamo.between Myitkyina, asroadconditionsare quite bad Mogokand along theroadbetween services hours). and Mandalay (K100,000forsixpeople,20 hire Bhamo ashare allthewaybetween taxi convince drivers thatyouare cluedin. checkpoint alongtheway.Thisalsohelps ies of toleave yourpassportandvisa ateach tomakeformalities, itmakes five sense cop- place toprevent upthe Tospeed smuggling. so armycheckpoints, which are primarilyin moreeven thefive timetopassthrough or to take foreigners, ittakes ifonlybecause day.Somedrivers8.30am every are reluctant pick-ups leave frominfrontof theYMCA at practice it’squite anotherstory.Several travel to/fromMyitkyinabyroad,butin Strictly speaking,you're to notsupposed inallweather.Myanmar border,ispassable itkyina, which runsparalleltotheChina– BhamoThe 188kmroadbetween andMy- PICK-UP &TAXI Upper-class runsthegamutfrom seating There are noregular public-transport Some travellers report thatit’spossibleto MYITKYINA TOKATHA ••Myitkyina

219 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR day andK500intheevening. cle trishawaroundtownisK200duringthe TheaverageIndawgyi Lake). costof abicy- market fortripsfurtherafield(such asto available fromtheairportandopposite the and even playagame ofeven chess ortwo. conversationsand sustained andmaybe Myanmarpeople,havetunity tomeet real with whatever youfind. andsitdown foryoutodisembark enough culinary adventure, withsomestopslong stopisa Inaddition,every to yourseat. dishes; attendants canalsobringthefood restaurant carcooksgoodriceandcurry orintheaisle. Aplaced undertheseats onthatcanbe bamboo matsforsleeping clothes andablanket. Attendants hire out Haung (Old City of Bhamo). the horse-cart driver togo Bhamo Myo overgrown pileof rubble. Toget there, tell by horse cart is of more interest thanthe north of theride outthere town–though around3km old Shan kingdom,canbeseen portion of theoldcitywallsof inthewayof traditionalcostumes.A to see there’srounding countryside,though little Kachin andShan participantsfrom thesur- quality accommodation. charming with thanMyitkyina,andblessed attention, asit’sleafierandmore though, more to Mandalay. deserves Thetownitself AyeyarwadyRiver downthemighty cruise of Myit point forakyina, isthestarting For many,Bhamo (ba- % bn'"em;' BHAMO itkyina (called K200 perday. The YMCA willalsohire outbicyclesfor thesurroundingcountryside. town andsee it’saveryHowever, funwaytoget around quality of thebikes isgenerally fairlypoor. ers. Don'tthinkaboutgoingtoofar,asthe out motorcycles(perdayK6000)toforeign- directly behindtheYMCA ( p218 ), willhire A numberof repair shops,includingone Around Getting 220 All caveats aside,it'sawonderfuloppor- It gets sobringwarm fairlycoldatnight, The bustling Covered three-wheelers motorised inMy- 074 MYITKYINA TOKATHA ••Bhamo bee is wheel) are iswheel) everywhere. Taxis are

thonbeecars

daily market maw – ), 186kmsouth drawsLisu, Sampanago thon Theindawgyi Theindawgyi isthree , an bathroom US$15/25; .mm; rwithfan&shared bathroomU$5,s/dwithprivate food. Yamona Tea Shop isaHindu-run place Chinese serve and Nanthida Restaurant good Indiancurries. doors downfromHeaven, theShamie does lunch &dinner) a Friendship Hotel Friendship Sleeping &Eating mar Times the numberof peopleinthegroup. US$10 toUS$30perperson dependingon tobeanywhere rate from seems standard are worth,butthe decide whathisservices phant campifgiven notice. It’suptoyou Kachin villages inthearea andtoan Wintakes foreignersSein ondaytrips to ele- he ismore thanwillingtoshow visitors, ently inspired bytheJames Bondfilms)that addition tohaving builtahelicopter (appar- Hotel ( below ). He isajackof alltrades.In found byaskingforhimattheFriendship stupa. Paya décor and'extras'such asslippers. and theroomsare large, withChinese-style option. Thehallwaysare rathercavernous this hotel isnevertheless avery decentsecond of Bhamo. Bhamo. of foryou.Askboat tripsandflights foramap Naing, are extremely helpfulandcanbook here, andespeciallythemanager,staff Moe bar andrestaurant belowstreet The level. intheverycoffee. cosy Breakfast isserved fridge, tea and minibar,andcomplimentary TV, have air-con, phonewithIDDservice, spick-and-span. Themore expensive rooms rive here byboat.Everything ismodernand especiallyifyouar-a comfortingsurprise, Bhamo, thefive-storey FriendshipHotel is setting. outdoor dim suminapleasant and seafood of adeliciousselection chicken, pork serves ral springwater of name. thesame Heaven by thesignoutfrontadvertising natu- in thispartof thecountry.Don'tbefooled change of pacefromtheusualfare found Sein Sein Restaurant, Crown Restaurant Crown Restaurant Restaurant, Sein Sein Shamie Restaurant The Three Star Bookshop sells the The Three Bookshop sells Star Win,whospeaksEnglish, canbe Sein Heaven TeaHeaven Shop Grand Hotel ) Less grand-lookinginsidethanoutside, Less , inthetowncentre, features anolder

.

This placeoffers arefreshing

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a ( % 50317; Post Office Rd;s/dUS$10/15; 50317; PostOffice ) (dim sumK220;

50095; [email protected] The largest buildingin (curries K1000) (curries www.lonelyplanet.com Justafew h breakfast, Myan- AIR &Away There Getting tunedintoaHindichannel. satellite TV anda on themaindragwithgoodsamosas www.lonelyplanet.com the locals. and befriendgood opportunities tomeet ferry fromKatha to Mandalay. Both afford from Bhamo toKatha andthenthelarge the‘fast’boat it’sworthtaking by boat, ling allthewayfromBhamo toMandalay Bring yourownfoodandwater. Iftravel- bench. on awoodenormetal cramped seat ordinary classmeansyouget a rather while inthepilothouse, ably get youaseat on sandbars. A1st-classticket willprob- the numberof timestheboatgets stuck from five hours, dependingon toseven class K3500/10,000),which take anywhere long boatsfromBhamo (ordinary/1st oneofit’s worthtaking thesmaller,‘fast’ before continuing byferry toMandalay, help ateitherof thehotels. monastery). Alternatively, simplyaskfor about nearTat TwinKyaung(amilitary the boat)inBhamo isopposite theround- (whereport office youcanbuytickets for rockgorges. steep through passes with bambooandotherfloratheboat of Shwegu, where theriverbanks are lush the Ayeyarwadyisvery fine,especiallynorth has fewer people. upper-deckenclosed classissmallerand more Compared details. tolowerdeck,the can take aslong2½days.See p223 for river journey),butwhentheriver’s lowit takes asthedown- 1½days (about thesame isatitsoptimum,theupriverlevel journey Thursday andSunday.Whenthewater upper deck/cabinUS$9/24/54)onTuesday, Mandalaytween andBhamo (lowerdeck/ ferriesLarge plytheAyeyarwadyRiver be- BOAT at around2pm. toMandalayflights andYangon leave Bhamo to Myitkyina(US$40fromBhamo). Return via Mandalay isUS$130.Itthencontinues the fare allthewayfromYangon toBhamo originates inYangonand Friday.Thisflight – Mandalay (US$50,onehour)onMonday Bhamo Myanma Airwaysfliesbetween and If youwanttostopovernight inKatha The government’s InlandWater Trans- The sceneryalongtheupperreaches of

MYITKYINA TOKATHA Valley &Namhkam ••Mu-Se over emerged thenorthern frontier states people fromall of Christian proselytisation; free sion inorderto offer medicalservice Mis- sociations withthe AmericanBaptist Center. renounced DoctorSeagrave hisas- AmericanMedicalDr GordonSeagrave's renowned astheWWII-eralocationof ethnic groups.Thetownof Namhkamis land inthisarea are Shan andotherThai paddies. Mostof the thepeoplelivingoff beautiful patchwork of bambooandrice Valley Namhkam east isstrictlyoff limitstoforeigners. labs.Thisareaas methamphetamine tothe majoredly several heroinrefineries, aswell alongtheborder,thereMu-se, are report- ince, andfromthere of toHongKong.East fromShansmuggling State toYunnanProv- the primarypipelinesforopiumandheroin alcohol. goodsincludeteak, cigarettesSmuggled and cement andotherbuildingcomponents. trucks carryelectricalgoods,spare parts, On thereturn tripfromChina,thesame freshwith driedfish,rattan, beansandfruit. shop, keeping themoneychangers busy. of here. to touristsflocktoMu-se Chinese cuts commonaroundMyanmarare unheard tricity issuppliedbyChina,sothepower border tradewithChina. Thetown'selec- phere sweptawaybythebustling hasbeen andtravelat Mu-se southtoLashio. have received permission toenter Myanmar corted package tours entering fromChina fromMyanmar.se peopleones- However, You're notlikely tobeallowedvisitMu- stronger here than elsewhere inShan State. influenceisofbeyond), theChinese course (andtosomedegree all thewaytoLashio nan Province itextends Although atMu-se. Myanmar’s Shan State andChina'sYun- side)formstheborderbetween Chinese The Shweli River (calledRuiliRiver onthe mUzy' ànm'¾xm'"xYŸi='¾0Hm'" VALLEY MU-SE &NAMHKAM Bhamo tovisitonfoot. issmallenough about K400perperson forthereturn trip. city) canbehired anywhere intownandcost Horse cartstoBhamo MyoHaung (theold Around Getting Cut bytheShweli River, theverdant isoneofThe territory surroundingMu-se Trucks fromMyanmarcrosstoChina frontier-town oncesleepy Mu-se’s atmos- , southwestof isa Mu-se,

221 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR and pleasant, partly because of partlybecause itsrelativeand pleasant, Bhamo totheeast,Katha ismore peaceful Compared withMyitkyinatothenorthand ks; KATHA some moneyforfuel,plusalittleextra. any driver whoagrees totake youwillwant possible toarrange liftsinprivate cars, but con are available forK3000perperson. It’s are very uncomfortable. Share withair- taxis possibly packed withpeopleandcargo, and either direction –butbewarned:they're im- ups (K1500perperson) atabout 6amin start catering totruckdrivers.businesses Pick- haslivened upwith lay, theroadtoLashio andManda- Mu-se between creased traffic of adistance 176km.Withthein- Lashio, up orcaralongthefamedBurmaRoadto it’sfourorfiveFrom Mu-se hours bypick- &Away There Getting Hotel Muse Sleeping &Eating and nurses. from hismedicalcentre trainedasdoctors 222 Friendship GuestHouse. YadanaHouse, and Theingi GuestHouse rustic accommodationattheCherryGuest to visitNamhkam,you'llfindcheap but Lucky Hotel. Yan Yan TokyoMotel and GuestHouse, or maynotacceptforeigners, includingthe grubby. and atad water bathroomsandair-con butare noisy have 40-roomMuse vatised attached hot- Roomsinthepri- popular placetostay. If you’re toget lucky enough permission There are cheaper thatmay placestostay Note that youcannottravel intheopposite direction (iefrom LashiouptoMu-se). taxi allthewaytoLashio orHsipaw.There are atleastthree policecheckpoints alongthisroad. (24 hours).Onthe Myanmar side,theguidehelpschange moneyandcoordinates passageby the day-longpaperwork maze. FromKunming,Ruilicanbe reached byair(50minutes) orbybus side oftheborder,where agovernment-approved guidefromMyanmarwillwalkyouthrough at theKunmingCamelia willorganise everything youneeduponreaching RuiliontheChinese ments. The LaotianConsulate happensto beonthesamefloor. ForY1300(US$140)thepeople Camelia Hotel mar –ifyou've broughttheproperpaperworkfromKunming. Atravel agencyinthe to crosstheborderfromMyanmarinto China,butitwaspossibletocrossfromChinaintoMyan- A bridgeover theShweliRiver linksthetwo countries. At thetimeofwriting itwasnotpossible BORDER MYANMAR– CHINA MYITKYINA TOKATHA ••Katha

(s/d US$10/15;

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0871-317 6609;154EastDongFeng Rd,Kunming) a

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the novel). tor namedKrishnaswami (DrVeraswami in from dengueandbefriendedanIndiandoc- the writer spentsometimerecuperating huge where walledjail,andtheoldhospital still there, the includingthepolicestation, critical of theBritishcolonialsystem, are tioned inOrwell’snovel, which ishighly novel andKathalice officer, forhis wasthesetting cember 1926toJune1927asacolonialpo- George Orwell)wasposted here fromDe- Blair (knowntotheworldbyhispenname, Katha hasalittle-known distinction.Eric Sights plus asmallNepaliminority. tion isamixof Kachin Bamar, andChin, halfway uptoMyitkyina,Katha’s popula- attention.celebrity-level Located roughly many foreign visitors, soyoumayreceive is easilyexplored see byfootbutdoesn’t small-town Myanmarriverine life. Katha an excellentplacetoabsorbtherhythmof is mostlycentred ontheriverside road– up duringferry arrivalsanddepartures and inaccessibility. Whatactivitythere ispicks end of StrandRdwelcomeforeigners to behind it. beside ittothewoodenbuildingdirectly –andthenfollowthepath overhead serve tions tothetennis court–justmimican the formerclub.Ask anylocalfordirec- andtheeasiestwaytofind ingly, stillinuse long gone,butthetennis courtis,surpris- arecoop. Theclublibraryandbilliardtable is nowtheheadquarters foranagricultural around which much of thenovel revolves, Most interestingly, theold Monks fromthelarge Burmese Days

can make therequisite canmake arrange- . Mostof thesites men- www.lonelyplanet.com monastery British Club British Kunming onone , K2000/4000) included. the ferry embarkationpoint.Breakfast isnot town’s twohotels are onStrandRd,near rustic accommodationreflects this.The Katha gets few foreign visitors, andthe Sleeping &Eating impromtu footballgamesintheafternoon. participate intheirratherheated butfun www.lonelyplanet.com or more toreach Bhamo Katha. Between days theyrunaren’t instone). set river three (butnote thatthe timesaweek dishes. Snacksare alsosold.Ferries plythe noodles,soupsandcurry a kitchen serving fouled ratherquickly).Thedeckbelow has given thatdeck-classfacilities tend toget given keys totheirownfacilities(aboon, the rear, butpassengers incabinclassare Thetoiletandbathrooms arelight. towards two beds,awashbasin, afanandreading cabinhas bed inatwo-person cabin.Each can dipbelowfreezing) andUS$42fora ommended inwinter, whentemperatures camp onthelowerdeck,which isnotrec- are provided; youmustbringamatand It costsUS$7fordeckclass(nochairs to Mandalay (alittlemore goingupriver). storey ferry Chinese takes around24hours from Mandalay orBhamo. Thelarge three- ferryby passenger ontheAyeyarwadyRiver The mostenjoyablewaytoreach Katha is BOAT &Away There Getting rant does the best Chinese foodintown. thebestChinese rant does Restau- has very curries.Sein goodBurmese fire onaroadparalleltoStrandRd, station, nearthe you want.MyintRestaurant, onthebench andpointtowhat grab aseat eral makeshift noodlejointswhere youjust squat toiletsare outtheback. at leastget someventilation. Ashowerand cubicles, like others onthe1stfloor,theydo rooms here. theyare Though mere wooden toilets are inside. isanissue.that noise Ashowerandsquat road have viewsof theriver, butthismeans better choice. Upstairs roomsfrontingthe foreigners inKatha, theAyeyarwady isthe r K3000) Ayeyarwady GuestHouse The ferry fromBhamo hours takes eight Katha hasalively market night withsev- Annawah GuestHouse Annawah

Of the two guesthouses thataccept Ofthetwoguesthouses Be sure totake oneof Be theupstairs

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( % 25146; StrandRd;s/d 25140; StrandRd; lay onWednesday andSunday at4.40pm. Mehka Mandalar company departManda- they're littlebetter thancattlecars. you wouldn'twant toridethemanyway– but, unlessyou’re somekindof masochist, ers are notallowedinthelower-class cars express trainisrecommended. Foreign- dalay at4.50pmand8.20pm;the earlier you’re lucky).Trainsleave Naba forMan- 5.45pm. Thetriptakes about12hours (if way toMyitkyinaleave daily at1.50pmand Naba (1st/upperclassUS$12/18)ontheir from Katha toNaba leave at2.30pm. arrives fromMandalay orMyitkyina. Trucks to Katha atrain (K300,onehour)whenever totake passengers wait attheNabastation towns, which ismore convenient. Trucks opt instead thetwo totake atruckbetween Naba leave at1pmand5pm.Mostpeople (K100, onehour).TrainsfromKatha to one trainadayanditleaves at5.30am fromNaba toKatha,goes butthere’s only mately 25km westof Katha. Arailwayspur Katha andmake astopatNaba, approxi- Trains fromMandalay orMyitkyinagoto TRAIN rainy season. Palweshwe. duringthe Thisroute isclosed boats canbehired fortheshortcrossingto Katha ontheotherside of theriver. Small the village of Palweshwe, directly opposite Express, leavescompany, Aunglentaw from five-minute walkfromthejetty.Another leaves a atnoonfromthebusstation, Golden LionExpress (K3500,12hours) Mandalaybetween andKatha ispossible. ararelyThough explored option, bustravel BUS Mandalay orBhamo. the safe sideit'sbetter toarrange aticket in passage tobeon withlittlenotice,though thereopposite canarrange thejetty.Staff Inland Water inKatha Transportoffice is north of Katha whentheriver islow.The Irrawaddy dolphinsare sometimesspotted calling fromthethickjungle. Podsof rare a steep gorge, andgibbonscanbeheard of through Shwegu, whentheboatpasses stretch especiallynorth isquite spectacular, deck/cabin class.Thesceneryalongthis and Katha thefares are US$4/28forlower- Privately runtrainsoperated bythe Government trainsfromMandalay to

MYITKYINA TOKATHA ••Katha

223 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR Indian border, where insurgency low-level head-hunters, live inthe valleyandalong the still feared of because theirreputation as withouteither).TheNaga, Myitkyina goes wear uniformsand carryweapons(KIAin operates intheHukuangValley, where they (KIA), which inMyitkyina,still hasoffices theKachinHowever, IndependenceArmy largely free of politicalconflictandviolence. suboptimal interms of agriculture, it'sbeen in Yangon. much of thenorthis Because as partof theirpeacetreaty withthejunta mines, which were given upbytheKachin to get involved; there however, are alsoruby forthegovernmentnot significantenough Tibetans. Drung,Daru,Nungand are theRawang, northof tribes livinginthehighlands Putao gument fordomesticatingbeasts.Other can cite passages fromtheBibleasanar- thanks toenterprising missionaries–they don't have wordsforemotionalstates,but– Asian pygmygroup,whoare hunters. They of istheTawon, Putao theonlyknown peaks asthe‘icemountains’. The localsoften refer tothesurrounding destination ifmadeaccessibletoforeigners. Asia andcouldbecomeamajor ecotourism most pristineHimalayanenvironmentsin north of are Putao considered oneof the alpine scrubabove 3000m.Thehighlands and subalpinesnowforest thatbecomes temperate rainforest from2000mto3000m bysubtropicalconditionsupto2000m, ised the tropicof Cancer. Thiszoneischaracter- andthesurroundingareaPutao lieabove old-growth forest andalpinemeadows, a frontierarea, ecosystem, withanintact appealing totheadventurous traveller. In the farnorthof Myanmarisundoubtedly One of theleastvisited regions onearth, THE FAR NORTH on Saturday,TuesdayandThursday. Myitkyina forNaba (enroute toMandalay) private trainsdepartfrom 7 and8.These the Mandalay atwindowsNos trainstation are tickets at These thesame. canbebought and Friday,thefare anddeparture times Mandalar companyrunstrainsonMonday Upper-class are US$25.TheMalikha seats 224 The minorgoldminingintheregion is One of thesmallestethnicgroupsnorth THEFAR ••Putao NORTH

fect fora propeller of awrecked WWII aircraft. hamuni Paya videos atamarket teashop. Nexttothe Sunday morningmassactivityis watching at US$35. Thecostof toobtain. apermitstarts weeks gon onlyandcantake fromtwo tothree or withMyanmaAirwaysdirectly inYan- ranged of withtheassistance atravel agent tovisitPutao.necessary Thiscanbear- arenights coldbutrarely freezing. time temperatures are and quite pleasant visit isfromOctober toApril,whenday- areaPutao in2003–04.Thebesttimeto Around 300to400foreigners visited the Information forsurvival. yet sonecessary mineral, which issoeasilytaken forgranted aphrodisiacs) were theonlysourceof this interested inanimalpartsformedicinesand Previously, traders fromChina(whowere the equallyrare mineralof butvital salt. toprovideefforts peopleinthearea with have on focused species, conservationists stop thedecimationof rare andendangered for trade,notsustenance. Inanattempt to groups. TheLisuare proficient hunters – Shan Bamar, andvariousothersmallertribal 10,000 are Kachin andLisu,followedby maps. Mostof thepopulationof around stead of –itstillappears Putao onsomeolder WWII mostWesterners thisnamein- used Fort Hertz inPutao. wasbased Bytheendof late postcalled Britishcolonialera,amilitary issmallandpicturesque.Putao Duringthe ofAt an elevation 402mabove level, sea pšt;aui PUTAO ments continues. against theMyanmarandIndiangovern- the cines madefromlocalplantsare at onsale andwooden Bamboo handicrafts andmedi- camp). its nine-holecourse near themilitary by quenchable passionforgolf,evidenced a strongpresence (andanapparently un- to multipleremote borders, thearmyhas As beexpected might foranarea soclose Sights &Activities Multiple footpaths leadout of town, per- Official permission granted by MTT is permission granted byMTT Official Myoma Market short day short hike isachime bellmadefrom the intown.Apopularpost–

www.lonelyplanet.com or as the starting orasthe starting Ma- sleeping equipment,isUS$1100. sleeping fare fromYangon, guides,porters, foodand cost foratypical11-daytrip,includingair- bridges crosssparkling,pristinerivers. The isolated villages,pass through andbamboo raphy andsceneryare Trails trulyfantastic. willberewarded.fees, yourefforts Thegeog- hoops andpaythesometimesexorbitant thebureaucraticIf youdojumpthrough portersmaybe even tobearranged. need mission, supplies,campinggear, guidesand undertaken onthespurof themoment:per- The latter are demandingandcannotbe tomonth-long point forweek-long www.lonelyplanet.com Putao to Putao eigners have madethe35-daytrek from Last Village ing andfascinatingmemoir authorof theveryAlan Rabinowitz, mov- Society,headedby Wildlife Conservation to thetireless of theNewYork–based efforts yearbythegovernmentsame inresponse the wasestablished around HkakaboRazi the summitin1996.Aprotected reserve and UNamaJohnson of Myanmarreached two failedattempts, Takeshi Ozakiof Japan ilege of andafter climbing themountain, US$40,000 tothegovernment forthepriv- snowcapped yearround.After forkingout Adung Valley and massifs include camp.Satelliteto base peaksinadjoining it’sanadditionalninedays Hkakabo Razi; animals’ movements andnumbers. thevalleyin 2002torecordthroughout the and theleafdeer. were Cameras installed such asthecloudedleopard,marbledcats to atleast50rare animaland bird species, puttogether.tiger reserves It’salsohome at 8400sqkm,islarger thanalltheIndian area tiger-conservation Valley Hukuang intheregion. observed been and thered goral(smallgoatantelope) have the Himalayanblackbear,red panda Along withhundreds of butterfly species, viewsofmit of Indiato thewest. itaffords thesum- 10- to11-daytripfromPutao; Valley.Seingku hopes to pioneer hopes topioneer a subsidiaryof AyeyarwaddyExpeditions Haao Razi Hkakabo Ultimate Descents Ultimate alsoworked tocreateRabinowitz the Tahaungdam ( p72 ). Onlyahandfulof for- stands 5889m high andis 5889mhigh stands Phongun Razi Razi Phongun Namni-Lka Namni-Lka rafting Diphuk-Ha Diphuk-Ha

(www.ultimatedescents.com) , thelastvillage before and (4664m) inthe (4360m) inthe kayaking (3500m) isa Beyond the , which, trips treks . , Room 212,SummitParkview Hotel) Balloons overBagan(see p268 ). peoplewhorun The sameadventurousandenterprising [email protected]; Hotel) Suite03-06,Sedona landgroups.com; 7FJV CommercialCentre, BotataungRd) Myitkyina to Putao legisUS$90return.Myitkyina toPutao may change six months every orso. The inmindthattheschedule Saturday. Bear viaMyitkyinaon Wednesday andPutao Friday andSunday,fromYangon to via Mandalay andMyitkyinaonMonday, (US$210one way,fourhours)gon toPutao toflyhere. must besought MTT only indryweather. Permission fromthe narrow, unsurfaced356kmroadispassable byroad.EvenPutao withpermission,the Foreigners are notallowedtotravel to &Away There Getting nearMyomaMarket.Khamsuko, the travel agency. an all-inclusive package arranged through fireplace. Accommodation willbepartof ditional homes)willbecentred onanopen the individualbungalows(designedlike tra- dition toamainlodge withtwofireplaces, River.Nam Lang Plansindicate that,inad- lodge calledtheLisuperched above the was intheprocessof constructingaluxury research, ( AyeyarwaddyExpeditions above ) or more likely incampsites. Atthetimeof which wedon’trecommend,Rest House, for guestsineitherthegovernment-owned andarrange accommodation Putao sleeping A numberof travel agencies runtripsto Sleeping &Eating &Tour Woodland Travel Tours Co & Travels &Culture Trekking Myanmar Himalaya Lisu &AyeyarwaddyExpeditions trips tothenorth: Travel agencies inYangon specialisingin Tours up: thethrillsdon'tcomecheap. here.tains Awordof cautionbefore signing plans tooffer skiingvacationsinthemoun- man travel mentioned companyhaseven lenging Mayhka River (see p333 ). OneGer- River on theNamLang Myanma Airways(MA)fliesfrom Yan- restaurant,The townhasoneChinese

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225 NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR NORTHEASTERN NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above-‘Doright thetermsandconditionsonoursiteforalongerwayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,massemailitto only. Inotherwords,pleasedon’tuploadthischaptertoapeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfairtoaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercialpurposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasierforyoutouse,accessthischapter isnotdigitally Tomake 226 © LonelyPlanetPublications

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