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lock inland from there are the hotels on abusy new road but behind there is an areaof tree-shaded footpaths and alleys thatforms an intriguing pottery district. Here, inhousehold compounds, Shwebo’s archetypaltau ye-u (drinking water pots) and subu(football-sized piggy banks) are formed andfired in kilns of carefully heaped rice-husks.An Daw PayaBUDDHIST TEMPLEThis eye-catching ornate pagoda lies in a ruralmainland field, directly across the riverfrom Shwe Baw Kyune and around 2 mileseast of central Shwegu. Motorcycles chargeK1000 to get there but finding one to comeback can be tricky.4Sleeping & EatingTwo guesthouses face each other whereBhamo–Mandalay buses stop. Mya MyintMo (%52134; per person K4000) is the betterdeal but given the bureaucratic headachethat hosting foreigners causes the owners,you shouldn’t expect an over-enthusiasticwelcome. Rooms are basic, but survivable,turquoise boxes sharing simple bathroomfacilities. It’s 10 minutes’ walk from the jettyarea: walk west, turn left at the roundaboutthen right and it’s 50yd beyond the entranceto Mingala Monastery amid a gaggle ofteahouses and snack stalls.8 Getting There & AwayFast boats leave for Bhamo (K7500, 2½ hours)around 1.30pm and Katha (K9000, four hours)around 11.30am. Foreigners may not take theother local village-to-village boat services.Curiously, Shwegu agents were prepared to sellus tickets on the normally locals-only Bhamo–Mandalay bus services that arrive southboundaround 3pm. However, we have no confi rmedreports of any foreigner successfully completingthe Shwegu–Mandalay trip by road.8 Getting AroundFrom a logging jetty 300yd west of An Daw Paya,an open longboat ferries passengers across toShwe Baw Kyune (K500/4000 per person/boat,four minutes). A much more convenient option isto charter your own boat directly from Shwegu’scentral jetty taking around 15 minutes each way.A K10,000 return charter should include severalhours’ wait while you explore the island.Kathaks;%074 / POP C12,000Literature lovers and boat bums may enjoythis small but lively Ayeyarwady port town.It’s a forced stop if you’re travelling the riverin fast-boat hops, a pleasant optional hop-offif you’re on the IWT ferry, and there’s a raillink to Mandalay if you’re fed up with the riveraltogether. The guesthouses and variousboat ticket sales booths are close togetheralong three short central blocks of StrandRd, the attractive curving riverside road.1SightsIn 1926 and 1927, Katha was briefly home toBritish colonial police officer Eric Blair. Betterknown by his pen name, George Orwell,Blair used the outpost as the setting for hisnovel Burmese Days. Several Orwell-relatedbuildings that featured in the book are stillstanding but none are marked as such andnone are commercialised tourist attractions,so ask politely before trying to barge in. Thehalf-timbered former British Club, now usedas an association office, is tucked away 100ydbehind the 1924 Tennis Club on a street appropriatelycalled Klablan (Club St). A blocknorth the 1928 DC’s House was actuallycompleted just after Orwell’s stay but its unmistakablestyle would fit McGregor and itssorry state of decline is symptomatic. Threefamilies now live within and Daw Wei WeiDwin sometimes shows visitors into the original(much decayed) hall-drawing room. Twoblocks south, Orwell would have lived at thecomfy, two storey police commissioner’shouse, which is still used as such (so it’s notadvisable to knock on the door). Directlynorthwest, the Orwell-era St Paul’s AnglicanChurch collapsed in 2007 and has nowbeen replaced by a new church part-sponsoredby troops from the Royal Sussex Regimentin appreciation of the hospitality theyreceived in Katha during Christmas 1944.There are several attractive temples at thesouthern end of town near the prison.4Sleeping & EatingOnly two of Katha’s guesthouses accept foreigners.Neither have private bathrooms noroffer breakfast. Both are within 60yd of eachother on the riverfront and both are best (albeitnoisy) if you can score one of a handfulof rooms with river views.Ayarwady Guest House GUESTHOUSE $(%25140; Strand Rd; per person K5000-7000) Thebetter of the two, the Ayarwady is an oldwooden rooming house with half-heartedlywhitewashed hardboard room dividers, butthe better options have windows and clean-245MYITKYINA NORTHERN MYANMAR & THE UPPER SIGHTS KATHA AYEYARWADY SIGHTS