lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

most likely have to hire a tuk-tuk (K5000) ormotorcycle taxi (K3500) from Hpa-an.Kawgun CaveCAVEek;¾8ân'"8UU(admission K3000, camera K500) Ferreted awayin these remote southern hills is a secretgallery of Buddhist art and sculpture. The7th-century artwork of the Kawgun Caveconsists of thousands of tiny clay buddhasand carvings plastered all over the walls androof of this open cavern.Down at ground level newer buddha statuesstand and recline in various lazy positions.This gallery was constructed by KingManuaha after he was defeated in battle andhad to take sanctuary in these caves. Impressiveas it is today you can only imagine whatit was like a few years back, before a cementfactory, in its quest for limestone, started dynamitingthe nearby peaks – the vibrationscaused great chunks of the art to crash tothe floor and shatter.Yathaypyan CaveCAVEres¾¨pn'8UJust over a mile away from Kawgun Cave andbuilt by the same exiled king, is the YathaypyanCave, which is a proper cave rather thana cavern and contains several pagodas as wellas a few more clay wall carvings. If you’rethere during the dry season (approximatelyNovember to April) and have a torch you cantraverse the cave, which takes about 10 minutes,after which you’ll emerge at a viewpoint.Kyauk KalapMONASTERYekY;k'klp'Standing proud in the middle of a small, artificiallake is Kyauk Kalap, a tall finger of sheerrock mounted by one of the most unlikelypagodas in Myanmar. The rock offers greatviews of the surrounding countryside andnearby Mt Zwegabin, and is allegedly the bestplace to see the sunset over this mountain.The compound is a working monastery andis closed every day from 12pm to 1pm to allowthe monks to meditate. The 30 or so monkshere are vegetarian and free vegetarian foodis served from the temple from 9am to 5pm.The monastery is also where the highlyrespected monk U Winaya, whose solid supportof democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi iswell known in Myanmar, first resided. U Winayapassed away several years ago and hisbody was entombed in a glass case at ThamanyatKyaung, another monastery about25 miles southeast of Hpa-an. On one night inApril 2007, the monk’s body was stolen (allegedlyby soldiers) and has yet to be recovered.To get to Kyauk Kalap, you can hire a motorcycletaxi from Hpa-an (K2500) or takea motorised trishaw from Hpa-an marketarea to Kawd Kyaik village (along the roadto Mawlamyine) for K500. From there it’s aneasy 10-minute walk.The descent down the east side of themountain takes around 1½ hours, and fromthe bottom it’s another 2 miles to the mainroad from where you can catch a pick-uptruck back to town. The whole trek takesroughly six hours or about half a day.To get to the mountain, there’s a pick-up(K1000, Monday to Friday) at 8am on OhnTaw St in Hpa-an, in front of the high school.You’ll be dropped off at the Zwegabin junction,where it’s a 15-minute walk through avillage to the base of the mountain on thewest side past hundreds (1150 to be precise –don’t believe us? Get counting!) of identicalbuddha statues lined up row after row. Alternatively,a motorcycle taxi from Hpa-an to thebase of the mountain costs K2500. It’s possibleto overnight on the floor of the monasterycompound on the summit (give a healthydonation), which means you can also appreciatethe fantastic sunsets. Hiring your owntransport – someone to drop you off on oneside and pick you up on the other – makeseverything run smoother.Saddar CaveCAVEzdÌn'8UThis huge cave is simply breathtaking. As youenter the football stadium-sized cavern you’llbe greeted by (what else?) dozens of buddhastatues, a couple of pagodas and somenewer clay wall carvings, but the real treatlies beyond these relics. In absolute darkness(bring a torch; otherwise for a donation ofK3000, they’ll turn on the lights for you) youcan scramble for 15 minutes through blackchambers as high as a cathedral, truck-sizedstalactites and, in places, walls of crystal.To add to the general atmosphere, thousands,possibly hundreds of thousands, ofbats cling to the cave roof. In places thesquealing from them is deafening and theground underfoot becomes slippery withbat excrement!Emerging at the cave’s far side, the wondersonly increase and the burst of sunlightreveals an idyllic secret lake full of ducks andflowering lilies hidden in a bowl of craggypeaks. There is another cave on the far side ofthe lake that is actually half flooded, but local109KAYIN SOUTHEASTERN STATE 8MYANMAR 8 AROUND HPA-AN