lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

INDAWGYI LAKE241About 110 miles southwest of Myitkyina, placid Indawgyi is the largest natural lake inMyanmar. The lakeshore is ringed by rarely visited Shan villages, and the surrounding IndawgyiWetland Wildlife Sanctuary provides a habitat for more than 120 species of birds,including shelducks, pintails, kingfishers, herons, egrets and the Myanmar peacock.The serene Shwe Myitsu Pagoda, on an island off Nam Tay village, seems to floaton the surface of the lake. The central, gilded stupa was constructed in 1869 to enshrineBuddha relics transported here from Yangon. Pilgrims visit in droves for the Shwe MyitsuPwe, held during the week before the full moon of Tabaung (March), at which time thelake waters are low enough for a walk along a seasonal causeway to the pagoda.During festival time you might be allowed to camp or bed down at Nam Tay monastery.At other times, however, the only licensed guesthouses are 12 miles away inLonton. Both are pretty basic. Indawa 2 (per person $10) has three rooms with attachedbathroom and is owned by a military family. Indawmaha (per person K7000) has eightrooms in a stilt building right at the water’s edge but is even more simple. Boat driverswant around K70,000 for day trips around the lake, or K20,000 for a return trip to thepagoda. Land-based tours around the lake shore are much cheaper.Two of the daily Myitkyina–Mandalay trains stop in Hopin, which is roughly halfwaybetween Myitkyina and Katha. From Hopin, overloaded pick-ups leave very occasionally forthe excruciatingly uncomfortable 28-mile trip to Lonton (K3000, 3½ hours). The alternative,chartering a 4WD for a three-day, two-night trip from Myitkyina (return or dropping you inKatha), will likely cost several hundred dollars. There’s a very rough road that continues allthe way to Khamti via the casino-filled jade-mining boom town of Hpakant (Pakkan) butforeigners can’t go anywhere beyond Nyaung Bin without very hard-to-score permits.BoatThe daily express boat, TO Sinbo, departsaround 8.30am (local/foreigner K4000/8000,fi ve hours) from Talawgyi pier. That’s a 20-minute,K5000 three-wheeler ride from town. InSinbo you’ll usually need to stay the night in theultra simple guesthouse before continuing nextmorning to Bhamo. For more information onboat travel, see p 239 .BusThe only bus route open to foreigners is the Myitkyina–Bhamoroute (K12,000, six hours) leavingMyitkyina at 7.30am from a dusty bus stand,just north of the centre off Tha Khin Net Phay Rd.Before getting aboard it’s essential to preparefi ve photocopies of the visa and ID pages fromyour passport to hand out at the various checkpointsen route. Attractive scenery.TrainThere are three daily trains to Mandalay (ordinary/upper/sleeper$10/27/30). Fast train‘38 Down’ departing 4.30am should arrive inMandalay at 8.30pm. The slower ‘56 Down’(departs 9.45am) and 58 Down (departs 1.45pm)stop at Naba (for Katha, ordinary/upper $4/11,9½ hours) and Hopin (ordinary/upper $2/6, 4½hours) where you could hop out for a few daysto make the very off-beat excursion to IndawgyiLake (see boxed text). All three trains stop inShwebo (Mandalay fares apply). Ordinary class isdesigned for sardine wannabes. Bring a blanketfor the cold nights, and motion sickness pills forthe incredible bouncing over warped rails.8Getting AroundMotorised three-wheelers (called thonbeecars:thoun means ‘three’, bein means ‘wheel’) carryingup to four people charge K3000 to/from theairport, K6000 to the boat jetty for Sinbo.Staff at the Xing Xian Hotel rent two bicyclesto guests. The YMCA can show you a nearby stallthat rents motorcycles for K10,000 per day.Around MyitkyinaMYIT-SON & JAW BUM¨mc'z®uAbout 27 miles north of Myitkyina, Myit-Son marks the point where the Mayhka andMalikha Rivers come together to form theAyeyarwady. It’s considered a local ‘beautyspot’, though ‘intriguing’ describes the ravagedscene better than ‘beautiful’. The confluencepoint is distantly overlooked by aseries of rough snack- and teahouses, a bigdumpling-shaped golden pagoda and a traditionalKachin longhouse rebuilt as a ‘culturalemblem’. However, more interesting isthe nearby purgatory of gold-panning outfitsMYITKYINA NORTHERN MYANMAR & THE UPPER 8 AROUND AYEYARWADY MYITKYINA 8