EYEWITNESS TRAVEL MYANMAR BURMA 0 E K a 9WETHALI l a d a n 8 MRAUK U ng NSODAN STR 550 Min Bya RAKH 35 PA 25 M SITTWE AHA photographs (AYKAB) detailed maps illustrations B EYEWITNESS TRAVEL MYANMAR (BURMA) EYEWITNESS TRAVEL MYANMAR BURMA Author David Abram Contents How to Use this Guide 6 Produced by Bigmetalfish Design Services Project Manager and Designer Sunita Gahir Project Editor Ankita Awasthi Tröger Author David Abram Photographer James Tye Illustrators Peter Bull Art Studio, Arun Pottirayil For Dorling Kindersley Ltd Publishing Director Georgina Dee Publisher Vivien Antwi List Manager Kate Berens Executive Editor Michelle Crane Senior Cartographic Editor Casper Morris Cartography Manager Suresh Kumar Senior Cartographer Subhashree Bharti Cartographer Reetu Pandey Senior DTP Designer Jason Little Senior Picture Researcher Ellen Root The colossal standing Buddha of Bodhi Production Controller Charlotte Cade Tataung, near Mandalay Printed and bound by Vivar Printing Sdn Bhd First American Edition, 2014 Introducing 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Myanmar Published in the United States by Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., 345 Hudson Street, New York 10014 Discovering Myanmar 10 Copyright © 2014 Dorling Kindersley Limited, London A Penguin Random House Company Putting Myanmar All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, on the Map 16 no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. A Portrait of Myanmar 18 Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. Myanmar Through A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. the Year 44 ISSN 1542 1554 ISBN 978 1 46541 711 4 The History of Floors are referred to throughout in accordance with Myanmar 48 American usage; ie the “first floor” is at ground level. The information in this DK Eyewitness Travel Guide is checked regularly. Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is as up-to-date as possible at the time of going to press. Some details, however, such as telephone numbers, opening hours, prices, gallery hanging arrangements and travel information are liable to change. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this book, nor for any material on third party websites, and cannot guarantee that any website address in this book will be a suitable source of travel information. We value the views and suggestions of our readers very highly. Please write to: Publisher, DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, Dorling Kindersley, 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL, UK, or email: [email protected]. A traditional Burmese dance performance Front cover main image: Pagodas of Old Bagan in front of the great Thatbyinnyu Temple at Yangon’s Karaweik Palace Distinctive leg-rowing Intha fishermen of Inle Lake, Eastern Myanmar Monks in a long-tailed boat being rowed past the Nga Phe Kyaung monastery on Inle lake, Eastern Myanmar Myanmar Travelers’ General Index 242 Area by Area Needs Acknowledgments 253 Myanmar at a Glance 62 Where to Stay 198 Phrase Book 254 Yangon 64 Where to Eat and Drink 206 Bago Region 88 Shopping in Western Myanmar 100 Myanmar 216 Bagan Archeological Entertainment in Zone 116 Myanmar 220 Mandalay Region 138 Sports and Outdoor Activities 222 Eastern Myanmar 162 Survival Guide Northern Myanmar 178 Practical The clear turquoise waters of the pristine Southeastern Information 226 Myanmar 186 Ngapali beach, Western Myanmar Travel Information 236 Mandalay’s Mahamuni Buddha, one of Myanmar’s most venerated Buddha statues The magnificent Ananda Temple in the Bagan Archeological Zone 6 HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE This Dorling Kindersley Travel Guide helps Area is the main sightseeing section, which you to get the most from your visit to covers all the important sights, with photo- Myanmar. It provides detailed practical graphs, maps, and illustrations. Information information and expert recommendations. on hotels, restaurants, shopping, enter tain- Introducing Myanmar maps the country and ment, and outdoor activities is found in its areas, sets them in their historical and Travelers’ Needs. The Survival Guide has advice cultural context, and describes events on everything from travel and medical through the entire year. Myanmar Area by services to banks and communications. MYANMAR AREA BY AREA 101 Myanmar Area by Area WESTERN MYANMAR The country has been divided Western Myanmar encompasses two very different regions, each with its own distinctive geography and culture. The Delta, immedi- ately west of Yangon, has since British times served as the country’s into eight areas, each with a sepa- rice bowl – a vast patchwork of green paddy fields crisscrossed by canals fed by the silty waters of the Ayeyarwady as it splits into a myriad tributaries on its way to the ocean. Farther north, a spine of rate chapter. The most interesting jungle-covered hills separate the Delta region from the narrow coastal strip of Rakhine State, heartland of the former kingdom of Arakan. places to visit have been num- In the Delta, travel generally means long The region remains one of the least boat journeys for local people, but since developed parts of Myanmar, despite the sinking of a government ferry in March the fact that it holds two of the country’s bered on a Regional Map at the 2012, foreign tourists have been obliged prime visitor attractions: the evocative to reach the region’s capital, Pathein, by archeological site of Mrauk U, and Ngapali road. Apart from the chance to sample beach, whose vivid turquoise water and begin ning of each chapter. the atmosphere of the coastal wetlands, gleaming white sand eclipse every other the main incentives to make the trip are coastal resort in the area. Ngwe Saung and Chaungtha, a pair of Ngapali’s relaxed feel can make it hard low-key beaches on the Bay of Bengal, to believe that towns farther north have the nearest seaside resorts to the city of seen outbreaks of com munal vio lence in Yangon. The fertile Delta region was the recent years. In 2012, attacks on Rakhine area that, in May 2008, bore the brunt of Muslims, known as Rohingyas, left scores Cyclone Nargis, the worst tropical storm of people dead and forced thou sands to to have hit Myanmar in living memory. flee their villages; clashes in 2013 spread It caused catastrophic damage and left as far south as Thandwe. This has led to Introduction more than 138,000 people dead. curfews and occasional travel restrictions Rakhine State, in the far northwest in the Rakhine capital, Sittwe (Aykab). At The landscape, history, and corner of the country, has always main- the time of writing, however, no permits 1 tained an uneasy relationship with the were required to visit Mrauk U, a day’s Burmese population of the central plains. journey up the Kaladan River from Sittwe. character of each area is described here, showing how the region has developed over the centuries and what it offers to the visitor today. 164 MYANMAR AREA BY AREA EASTERN MYANMAR 165 Fields of golden rice stubble spread below the misty blue ridges separating Mrauk U and the Lemro River The clear blue waters of the Bay of Bengal at the exquisite Ngapali beach near Thandwe Exploring Eastern Myanmar Most of this region lies within Shan State, the largest administrative division in Myanmar, extending from China’s Yunnan province in the north east to the borders of Thailand and Laos in the south east. Inle Lake is easily accessible to visitors, and the busy market town of Nyaungshwe on its northern fringes makes an ideal base for boat trips. To the west, the former colonial hill station of Kalaw is the Regional Map recom mended departure point for treks through the surrounding minority villages. Farther north, Hsipaw is a much less frequented This shows the road network and trekking hub, with trails leading through a variety of different terrains 2 and ethnic zones, as is Kengtung in the east, from where day trips can be made on foot to Golden Triangle villages. Local markets across the gives an overview of the entire region provide opportunities to meet minority people, who travel Detail of wood carving, Hsin down from the hills dressed in their traditional finery on market days. Khaung Taung Kyaung, Pindaya region. All the sights are numbered A long-tailed boat on Inle Lake moving past the l oating gardens of the Intha Sights at a Glance 1 Inle Lake pp166–8 2 Nyaungshwe here and there are also useful tips Bhamo Muse 3 Kalaw 4 Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp Si U 5 Taunggyi Mabein on getting around the area. Kunlong 6 Kakku Kutkai 7 Wineries around Inle Lake Shweu 8 Pindaya Caves pp174–5 Mongmit Namtu 9 Hsipaw LASHIO Pangwaun 0 Lashio Mogok q Kengtung T h Mandalay a n l w HSIPAW i Kyaukme n ( Tangyan S a l Nawnghkio Mongyai w e e Detail of a carving at the n ) Pangsang y remote Buddhist site of Kakku A patchwork of i elds in the countryside around Kalaw ad Sights at a Glance lists all the aw Kyethi t kh o Mansan Mong Hsu Mong Mandalay D Yang Pankaytu SHAN chapter's sights, following the Hsadaw N Monglar Mong Kung a m am w p N l i a Mong numbering on the Regional Map. Getting Around n Ping As most of the roads in the region are in Lawksawk KENGTUNG Ywangan Leikha Kunhing a dismal state, flying is the best way to Mong reach the principal hubs – for example, PINDAYA CAVES Yawng the jour ney from Mandalay to Inle Lake WINERIES AROUND Shan Mong Mang is a grueling nine hours by bus, but only INLE LAKE Namsang Mong Hpayak Meiktila 40 minutes by air.