lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

PeopleThe north is sparsely populated and ethnicallycomplex, with many minority groupsdominating a series of pro- and anti-governmentlocal administrations and regionalarmed forces.Northeast of Mandalay you’ll find manyShan people (as in eastern Myanmar; seeboxed text, p 196 ) along with the related Waand the Palaung who see themselves semireligiouslyas the guardians of Burmese teaproduction (see boxed text, p 262 ). Lashio andseveral other border areas have large Chinesepopulations who mostly retain their languageeven after generations of living in Myanmar.North of Mandalay lies Kachin State where‘minorities’ (notably Kachin and Shan) forman overall majority. Shan folk here are dividedinto five subgroups all prefixed ‘Tai-’. Meanwhile,as an ethnic term, Kachin is generallysynonymous with speakers of the Jingpaw(Jingpo) language. However, by Myanmar’sofficial definition, it also covers at least fiveother groups including Rawang and Lisu. TheLisu language is written in a sci-fi capitalisedLatin script with many inverted letters and‘vowel-free’ words (hello is ‘hw hw’). Over thepast century, many Kachin and a majority ofLisu have converted to Christianity, their formeranimist beliefs now largely reduced tocolourful folklore as seen in two great festivalsat Myitkyina (p 236 ).In the Himalayan foothills are minusculepopulations of various Tibetan tribal peoplesincluding the Taron, Asiatic pygmies who nownumber barely a dozen and are limited toNaungmun in Myanmar’s northernmost tip.Dangers & AnnoyancesSince Burma’s independence, the north haswitnessed a whole smorgasbord of low-leveluprisings and ethnic separatist movements.Tourists won’t be allowed near any flashpoints so for most visitors these are a politicalcuriosity rather than a serious danger, thoughthe closure of whole areas of the region is anobvious annoyance. Many insurgency conflictsthat had rumbled on since the early1960s, were mothballed after a 1994 ceasefirethat brought de facto recognition of ethnicadministrations over the areas their armiescontrolled. The KIA (Kachin IndependenceArmy) is still said to control most of KachinState away from main rivers and rail lines.Shan rebels continue to fight sporadicallywith the United Wa State Army (UWSA), oneof the formations that emerged after the 1989TRAVEL RESTRICTIONSA large percentage of the vast andpotentially fascinating northern regionis essentially inaccessible to foreignvisitors without special permission.The main exceptions are areas along orclose to the Mandalay–Lashio road andtowns along the Ayeyarwady betweenMandalay and Myitkyina. You can alsolink Mandalay and Myitkyina by railwaybut not by road. With suitable permits(allow several weeks’ preparation) additionaloptions include expensive fly-intours to the Himalayan foothill areaaround Putao, and an accompanieddrive from Lashio to Mu-se for the Chineseborder crossing. Linking Lashio toMyitkyina via Bhamo might look sensibleon a map but it requires permitsand also uses a road that’s so horriblydegraded even locals avoid it. Foreignersare seriously discouraged fromvisiting the ruby-mining town of Mogokand jade-mining sin city of Hpakant(Pakkan).implosion of the Burmese Communist Party.Quite who’s fighting who can change dramatically,as was seen after 2008 when thecontroversial new constitution demandedan end to private armies. The previously progovernmentUWSA and autonomous Kokang(an ethnic Chinese grouping) both baulkedat the idea of turning their forces into borderguards under Myanmar Army command. Theresult was a major government army assaulton Kokang in 2009.MYITKYINA & THE UPPERAYEYARWADYSnaking across Kachin State like a fat yellowpython, the mighty Ayeyarwady Riverprovides the main transport route betweena series of gently interesting port towns,isolated villages and gold-panning camps.While no individual sight is world beating,the journey itself is a stepping down of gearsthat many visitors find unforgettable. Unlikeboat rides from Mandalay to Bagan, ferrieson the upper Ayeyarwady are used almostentirely by locals. Slowly chugging days providean opportunity to interact with localpeople in a way that is often impossible on235MYITKYINA NORTHERN MYANMAR& THE UPPER AYEYARWADY