lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

IRRAWADDY DOLPHINSThe Irrawaddy dolphin is one of Myanmar’smost endangered animals. Thissmall cetacean has a short, roundedsnout like a beluga whale and huntsusing sonar in the turgid waters oflakes and rivers. In the past, dolphinsand humans were able to coexist quitepeacefully – there are even reports ofdolphins deliberately herding fish intonets – but the use of gill nets and thepoisonous run-off from gold mining hasdriven the dolphin onto the criticallyendangered list. A 2003 survey estimateda population of just 59 dolphinsin the river for which they are named.Yet sightings do still occur and since2005 a 45-mile stretch of river south ofKyaukmyaung has been designated asa dolphin protection zone.can shelter as many as 60 potters working athand-turned or foot-turned wheels. Visitorsare generally welcome to nose around andyou’ll also see kilns, drying yards and pilesof rough clay being chopped.4Sleeping & EatingKyaukmyaung has one ultra simple guesthouse(per person K1500) but it isn’t licensedfor foreigners so you’ll normally be expectedto sleep in nearby Shwebo, 18 miles west.However, the plodding local police will usuallymake exceptions if your river ferry happensto arrive here at an antisocially latehour. The guesthouse, unmarked in English,is down an alley just inland from themain junction (riverside and Shwebo roads).Almost at the ferry jetty, the restaurantmarked with a diamond graphic is run bylocal character Sein Win who speaks someEnglish.8Getting There & AwaySouthbound Katha–Mandalay express boatsusually get here midafternoon, arriving at acentral jetty three minutes’ walk north of NondoZedi. IWT river ferries also stop here but timingscan be highly erratic. Buses to Mandalay(K2200, four hours) via Shwebo (K500, onehour) depart at 5.45am, 6.45am and 7.45amfrom the market area, just inland from NondoZedi. Other buses and pick-ups to Shwebo leaveat least hourly until 3pm.Shweboer¯.ui%075 / POP C40,000Between 1752 and 1755, the leader of littleMoksobo village, Aung Zeya, revived Burmeseprestige by fighting off both Manipuriand Bago-Mon armies. Rebranding himselfKing Alaungpaya (or Alaungmintayagyi), hisshort reign transformed formerly obscureMoksobo into glittering Shwebo (‘GoldenLeader’), which became, until his death in1760, the capital of a newly reunified Burma.These days Shwebo makes relatively littleof its royal history and few foreign touristsbother making a special excursion to see itsrecently reconstructed palace. However, ifyou’re jumping off an Ayeyarwady ferry atKyaukmyaung, Shwebo makes a pleasantenough staging point from which to reachBagan (via Monywa and Pakokku) withoutreturning to Mandalay. Shwebo is locallyfamed for snakes and thanakha (see boxedtext) and some visitors consider it goodluck to take home some earth from ‘VictoryLand’, as Shwebo has been known sinceAlaungpaya’s time.1SightsShwe Daza PayaBUDDHIST TEMPLEAs you approach from the south, centralShwebo’s skyline is given a very alluringdazzle by a collection of golden pagodaspires. These cluster around the extensive,500-year-old Shwe Daza Paya and lookequally evocative when viewed from therooftop of the Win Guest House. Closer to,however, the complex feels a little anticlimactic.Across the road, Chanthaya PayaSHWEBO THANAKHAWherever you go in Myanmar you’llfind hawkers selling thanakha, thesandalwood-like logs that are groundto a paste and smeared on the skin asubiquitous sun-block and moisturiser.However, Shwebo’s thanakha is consideredthe country’s sweetest smelling,forms the subject of a famous folk songand if you want a gift to delight guesthousegrandmas elsewhere in Myanmar,you won’t find better. You’ll find itsold on the southern approach cloisterto Shwe Daza Paya.247MYITKYINA NORTHERN MYANMAR & THE UPPER SLEEPING SHWEBO AYEYARWADY & EATING SLEEPING & EATING