lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

ers accessed from pathways cut around 25feet vertically down into the limestone. Thebuddha images are larger and far newer thanthose of the main site but the intriguing overalleffect is of a Buddhist Disneyland set in aminiature Petra. Squint at Hpo Win Daungas you return and you might see why localsthink the hill looks like a reclining buddha.8 Getting There & AwayThe fastest access to the sites from Monywa isto cross the Chindwin River by boat then continue23km west (the caves are 6km southwest ofthe main Pale road). From Strand Rd in Monywa,simple open-top ferry boats take locals acrossthe Chindwin River for K200 each but foreignersmust charter a whole boat, K2500 each way forup to fi ve people plus K700 per motorbike. Boatsrun approximately 6am to 8pm.Once across, waiting jeeps (carrying up to sixat a pinch) want K15,000 return including waitingtime. Motorbike drivers on the west bankwon’t take foreigners due to the jeep monopolybut you can bring a bike (and driver) across withyou. Renting a chauffeured motorbike costsaround K8000 return (plus boat charges).Visiting by taxi/motor-trishaw from Monywa(K20,000/35,000 return) you’ll need to crossthe big Chindwin Bridge. That adds 9 extra milesbut allows a stop at the brilliantly perched ifbrash Shwe Taung Oo pagoda for 360-degree river and plain views. The route alsopasses some apocalyptic copper-mining shackvillagesbacked by a vast industrial-scale openpit. By motorbike you could go out by boat, backby bridge (K10,000 plus boat charges) and enjoysunset from Shwe Taung Oo.Myingyan¨m='"¨x®%066On the Ayeyarwady River 45 miles north ofNyaung U (towards Mandalay), sprawlingMyingyan (sorta rhymes with ‘engine’) seesvery few travellers, as the major bus routesavoid the bumpier roads that pass throughtown. Some cycling groups pedal through,and occasionally long-distance boats stop atthe Ayeyarwady River docks.Most famous for its big prison, scrappy Myingyanboasts only a couple of slim reasons topause here. About 1 mile east of the bus station,across the railway line, is the Bodhi DatTaw Taik (meaning ‘depository of Buddha’srelics’), where you can see relics (teeth, hair,bone and even skin) of saintly monks downthe ages housed in what was once the walk-insafe of a British colonial bank; you’ll be givena torch to peer at the relics stored in jars inthe gloomy interior.Roughly 1 mile south of the town’s centralmarket, via the north–south Mandalay–Meiktila Rd, is the Soon Lu Kyaung, a smallmonastery where you can see the remains,draped in monastic robes, of the reveredmonk Soon Lu Sayadaw. He died in 1951,though his body is (relatively) well preserved.4Sleeping & EatingOne Star Drive In Inn GUESTHOUSE $(%21389; Myo Pat St, 16th quarter; r per personK8000; a) This odd group of bungalowson a dusty side street is about half a milesoutheast of the bus station. Mattresses arethin, and in the less than appealing attachedbathrooms the showers are cold.New Sein Moe BamawRestaurant CHINESE $$(7/96 8-St; h10am-9pm) A block west of thebusy central market, this serviceable restaurantoffers standard, just edible fried rice,noodles and vegies – most of the patronsseem more interested in downing K600mugs of beer. Next door, on the corner, is theMr Tea teahouse.8Getting There & AwayFrequent buses and pick-up trucks leavefrom the station just east of the Myingyan toMeiktila road, a couple of blocks south of themarket. Services go to Meiktila (back/front seatK1500/3000, three hours, half hourly 4am to2.30pm) and Mandalay (K2000, fi ve hours, eightor nine daily). A pick-up goes to Nyaung U (back/front seat K1500/3000, 2½ hours, 11am).The slow daily train between Mandalay andBagan stops in Myingyan.YANGON–MANDALAYHIGHWAYThere are two routes buses and cars ply betweenYangon and Mandalay: the pot-holedold Hwy No 1, which some call the ‘highroad’ (though it runs west of the Shan Hills);and the new Yangon–Mandalay Expressway,dubbed the ‘big road’. Neither are particularlygorgeous drives but both provide access toa couple of places of interest en route to thenorth: the former capital of Taungoo and themodern-day ‘royal capital’ of Nay Pyi Taw, avisit to which plunges you into the deepestdepths of the bizarre.135YANGON–MANDALAY BAGAN & CENTRAL MYANMAR HIGHWAY SLEEPING MYINGYAN& & EATING