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© Lonely Planet Publications 170 www.lonelyplanet.com NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR •• Climate 171 Northeastern CLIMATE and more bearable the higher up you go; this Parts of this region have the most pleasant also makes the region favourable for opium climate in the country, attested to by the fact cultivation. In the far north it gets downright Myanmar that the British built several hill stations in cold at night – the snowcapped mountains the area so that the colonial authorities could are a dead giveaway for frigid temperatures. escape from the oppressive heat of the low- Temperatures can also drop to near zero at lands. Even during the hot season (March to night in the highlands around Inle Lake dur- June) daytime temperatures become more ing December and January. From the muddy crawl of the Ayeyarwady River to the rapids rolling down from the Hima- 0 200 km laya, and then on to the watery vision of Inle Lake and the switchback roads that carve NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR 0 120 miles through mountain passes, revealing hills and rice paddies on the other side, this geographi- TIBET Hkakabo Razi cally and culturally diverse landlocked region is a world unto itself. (5889m) Tezu INDIA Large swaths of this territory, extending from Tibet in the north to Thailand in the south, Malihka CHINA Dibrugarh and encompassing Shan, Kachin and Kayah states, remain unexplored by foreigners, as Maykha they’re officially off limits or simply too demanding to access for many. Putao River Jorhat Hukaung River For the most part, people live in the valleys formed by the Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin Mon Valley Rivers and their tributaries, which divide Kachin and Shan States down the middle. Because the northeast is home to so many different ethnic groups, including the Bamar, Shan and Tanai SAGAING KACHIN Kachin, with significant populations of Wa, Padaung, Kokang, Atsi, Jinphaw, Lahsi, Lisu and DIVISION Kumon Taung STATE dozens of smaller minorities, travelling here is special just for the opportunity to socialise Myit-son Hpakan with your fellow passengers on those slow-moving boats, buses and trains crawling through Myitkyina Moegaung the interior of Myanmar. Indawgyi Ayeyarwady Lake Imphal The best way to visit the multitude of ethnic groups is on foot, and the region abounds Moehnyin with fantastic trekking destinations – Kalaw, Inle Lake, Hsipaw, Namhsan, Kengtung and River Luxi Paungbyin Naba Shwegu (Mangshi) Putao just for starters. Bhamo Katha Ruili 31 36 Mu-se Mawlaik Namkham CHINA River NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR Shweli 3 SHAN Kalewa STATE Hsenwi HIGHLIGHTS Namtu Namhsan Ye-U Lashio Mekong River Kin-u Mogok You can hike around the trekking centre SAGAING Gokteik Hsipaw DIVISION Shwebo Viaduct of Kalaw ( p176) and anywhere else you Kyaukme so desire – anywhere, that is, that’s not Naunghkio Gokteik 445 off limits Monywa 3 Mandalay Pyin U Lwin People live, work and sell things around Dulao Kyaukse Mong La Inle Lake ( p181 ), a mountain-framed Myingyan Padah-Lin 44 watery oasis Pakokku Cave Kengtung Ayeyarwardy Ye-Ngan 4 (Kyaingtong) NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR River Bagan Mong Yaung Drift down the heart of the north on the Pindaya Pindaya Loi-Mwe MAGWE Meiktila Thazi Caves Nam Manyang Shwenyaung 4 Ayeyarwady River ( p217 ) as the country DIVISION Heho Mekong River 1 Mong Hpayak glides by Namhsan 2 Kalaw Taunggyi Hsipaw Aungban Nyaungshwe LAOS (Yaunghwe) River Tachileik Overnight stays and morning walks in MANDALAY Inle Xieng Kok Pyin U Lwin DIVISION Kakku Mae Sai and around remote villages near Hsipaw Magwe Lake Mong Tong Thanlwin Taungdwingyi ( p209), Namhsan ( p213) or even remoter Kengtung 5 Chiang Rai Kengtung ( p200 ) Kalaw 2 Pyinmana Loikaw Inle Lake Lawpita Charming colonial architecture in cool Myayde Mae Hong Son Myohla KAYAH RAKHAING STATE climes awaits visitors to Pyin U Lwin STATE 5 ( p204) Taungoo KAYIN Chiang THAILAND Pyay BAGO STATE Mai 172 THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW •• Thazi www.lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.com THAZI TO INLE VIA KALAW •• Kalaw 173 DANGERS & ANNOYANCES topography looks tame and organised, a restaurant and rest house are run by the The Thazi–Taungoo and Thazi–Mandalay Although there is active insurgency from patchwork of farmland and unspoiled for- friendly Htun family. There are simple rooms routes both take from five to six hours; or- national groups in the region, primarily in ests, whereas from the road to Kalaw (com- with two beds, mosquito nets and shared dinary-/1st-class seats cost US$5/15. De- southern Shan State, foreigners are gener- ing from Thazi or Inle Lake) this Shan State shower and toilet, and two larger rooms parture times for Taungoo are the same as ally prevented from visiting these areas. territory is formidably mountainous and with air-con and attached shower. The din- for Yangon. rugged. It is perhaps the area in Myanmar ing room downstairs serves good Chinese, Trains go from Thazi to Kalaw at 9am GETTING THERE & AWAY in which foreign tourists have the most free- Bamar and Indian Muslim food, including daily and take five hours to inch their way Most travellers pick only one, or at the most dom and flexibility to tailor their itineraries – fresh yogurt. The proprietors also invite trav- through the mountain passes. two, of the routes in the northeast because after all, it’s feasible to hike between all the ellers to bathe and rest upstairs while waiting There’s a US$1 fee to use the waiting travel in these parts is time intensive. A few primary destinations. Once you arrive in for onward passage, and can arrange bus and room at the Thazi train station at night- areas of the northeast are completely off the area, public transportation is fairly con- train tickets. If you arrive by train and are time, whereas during the day it’s free. For limits to foreign travellers, including the venient, but extra time is necessary to truly carrying heavy baggage, it’s worth taking a information on the train to Shwenyaung, land route between Taunggyi and Keng- appreciate everything, from the hill-tribe vil- horse cart or hiring a porter, as the rest house the junction for Inle Lake, see p181 . tung, all of Kayah State and the southern lages to the pastoral highlands and the watery is about 1km from the station. Shan territory. Most of the towns are linked oasis of Inle Lake. KALAW by both trains and buses, and while the Getting There & Away kel; former may be more appealing they are also THAZI BUS %081 undoubtedly slower. Many travellers enter o;c–' The Thazi bus stop is a couple of hundred One of the few places in Myanmar to project a the area by flying into Heho, the gateway to Many visitors begin or end their journey metres from the train station – just an backpacker vibe, Kalaw is 70km west of Taung- the Inle Lake region. Taking a flight is the in Shan territory in this rail-junction town empty building and a patch of dirt. Buses gyi, about halfway between it and Thazi. The only way to get to the Kengtung area. Flying about 65km west of the Shan State border in to Kalaw and Taunggyi cost K2500 (three town sits high on the western edge of the is the only way to get to the Kengtung area. the Mandalay Division. It’s little more than hours) and K3500 (six hours) respectively; Shan Plateau, at an altitude of 1320m. Once Last but certainly not least, the Ayeyarwady a place where people embark or disembark there are usually several departures from a popular hill station in British colonial days, River cuts down the centre of the entire from the train when travelling to/from 7am to 11am daily. Kalaw’s population of Shan, Indians, Mus- region and provides a good opportunity to Bagan or Inle Lake. On the other hand, it’s It’s possible to skip Meiktila when travel- lims, Bamar and Nepalis (Gurkhas retired test out Myanmar’s local ferry industry. easy to bypass Thazi altogether by travelling ling between Thazi and Mandalay, but there from British military service) rubs shoulders on express buses from Bagan to destina- are more buses to Mandalay that go through with fatigue-wearing soldiers and foreign tions in Shan State and Yangon or simply Meiktila. The simple solution is to get to tourists drawn by the cool climate and rugged THAZI TO INLE VIA by flying to Heho. Meiktila by pick-up, then wait for a bus to mountain scenery. As recently as the 1970s Mandalay (see p289 for information on buses there were American missionaries teaching KALAW Sleeping & Eating to Mandalay). If you reserve a seat you can in the local schools. Because of the British Moon-Light Rest House (Thazi–Taunggyi Hwy; r with wait for a Taunggyi–Mandalay bus to come colonial and missionary heritage, many locals This geographically diverse narrow corridor fan US$3, s/d with air-con US$8/15; a) On the top through Thazi; otherwise, the odds are that speak English. About 20,000 people live in NORTHEASTERN MYANMAR is probably the most popular tourist route floor of the Red Star Restaurant (dishes K700), this there won’t be any seats. A pick-up between and around Kalaw. to Mandalay after Bagan. From the air the is Thazi’s only licensed lodging. Both the Meiktila and Thazi costs around K300. The size and breadth of the town is deceptive since it sprawls up and over a 0 20 km THAZI-TAUNGGYI CORRIDOR 0 12 miles CAR number of hills – only a portion of it is vis- Pick-ups leave for Kalaw (K2500) regularly ible from the market area. A large military To Padah-Lin To Lawksawk (38km) To Mandalay Caves Kyong SHAN throughout the day and into the early eve- base outside the town is an incongruous (145km) 41 STATE 43 ning.
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