lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

A PALACE TOO FAR259Several years ago, one of the most interesting Hsipaw experiences used to be a visit to thefading 1924 Shan palace-villa in the company of the charming Mr Donald, nephew of SaoKya Seng, who had been the area’s last sawbwa (Shan prince). Sao Kya Seng vanishedduring the 1962 military takeover, an event powerfully described by his wife, Inge Sargent,in the book Twilight over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess. History in Myanmar hasa habit of repeating itself. In 2005 Mr Donald was himself arrested and sentenced to 13years in prison. The dubious charges were of ‘operating as an unlicensed tour guide anddefaming the State’, but few doubted it was part of a coordinated crackdown on triballeaders. In 2009 Mr Donald was conditionally released, but with nine years probation.Reportedly the probation conditions specify that if he so much as talks to a foreigner he’llbe sent back to jail. So please don’t think it a clever wheeze to visit him by climbing overthe heavily chained palace gates. If you want to get an idea of the palace’s design, a saferalternative is to head to Hsipaw’s Don Bosco Catholic Seminary, whose main building wascreated by the same architect in a similar 1920s suburban-English style.Sunset HillVIEWPOINTFor sweeping views across the river and rightover Hsipaw, climb to Thein Daung Pagodaalso known as Five Buddha Hill or, most popularly,Sunset Hill. It’s part of a steep ridgethat rises directly behind the Lashio road,around 1½ miles south of Hsipaw. Cross thenew river bridge, follow the main road leftthen take the laterite track that starts with atriple-crowned temple gateway around 300mbeyond. There’s a small English sign at thegateway. The climb takes around 15 minutes.At the time of research it was possible to loopback to central Hsipaw along a horribly dustyroad on the river’s east bank, passing an attractivetimber monastery building beforecrossing the river on a pontoon bridge northof the sports field. However, the pontoons arescheduled for removal during 2011 or 2012.Bawgyo PayaBUDDHIST TEMPLEFive miles west of Hsipaw, this pagoda isof great significance to Shan people andgets overloaded with pilgrims who arriveen masse during the annual Bawgyo PayaPwe culminating on the full moon day ofTabaung (February/March).The pagoda’s current incarnation is aneye-catching 1995 structure of stepped gildedpolygons, within which the dome supposedlyincorporates genuine rubies. The nametranslates loosely as ‘Dad come and get me’,and the original pagoda was built centuriesearlier by a heartbroken Shan king who hadmarried off his daughter, warrior-princessSaw Mun La, to the Burmese king as partof a Shan-Burma peace deal. The Burmeseking adored her but, as the seventh wife inhis harem, her presence and growing favourcaused trouble. Jealous concubines set aboutdenouncing her as a spy. The king didn’t fallfor the lies but realised that he’d better gether out of his court before the other wivesmurdered her. The plan should have worked,but on the long, arduous route back to herfather’s court she fell ill. The Shan king wassent for but arrived to find her already deadof a mystery sickness. The point where shedied became the site of a pagoda to underlineShan-Burmese friendship.It’s beside the Hsipaw–Kyaukme road:you’ll get a brief glimpse from the right-handwindows of any Kyaukme- or Mandalayboundbus.2 ActivitiesHikingEach of the guesthouses can organise guides(around K10,000 per day) to take you ona range of fascinating treks into the hillsabove town visiting Shan, Palaung and Lisuvillages. Mr Charles Guest House (p 260 ) isespecially well organised and most eveningsthere’ll be someone sitting on the front terraceto answer questions about the variousoptions. Generally a next-day departure ispossible if you don’t want anything too adventurous.Pankam (see boxed text, p 262 ) isa good one-/two-day choice. Trekking withouta guide is less satisfying (very few villagersspeak English) but it is possible – getsomeone to write down your destination inlocal script before departing. Most villageshave motorcycle tracks too, so it may bepossible to pay a villager to drive you backif you’re fed up, though finding a bike isn’talways straightforward.MANDALAY NORTHERN MYANMAR TO LASHIO ACTIVITIESHSIPAW