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262NORTHERN MYANMAR MANDALAY TO LASHIOKhaing Dhabyay (%80349; Mandalay Rd), YeShin (%80159; Namtu Rd) and helpful DuhtawadiCafe (%80116; Lanmataw St), which can alsoorganise taxis when cars are available. Apartfrom services listed here, other through busesbetween Lashio/Mu-se and Mandalay often stopfor lunch or snacks at Ah Kong Kaik (‘MyanmarTraditional Food’; cnr Namtu & Bogyoke Rds).Magwe/Pyay 9am from Khaing Dhabyay(K12,000/16,000).Mandalay Departs at 5.30am (air-con expressesfrom Duhtawadi, Yetagon and Ye Shin,K5000, around six hours), 6.30am (slow busfrom Duhtawadi), 9am (air-con from KhaingDhabyay, K5000) continuing to Magwe(K12,000) and Pyay (K16,000).Kyaukme Departs from Duhtawadi corner(K1000, one hour) at 8am, 9.30am, 11am,noon (air-con ex-Lashio), 3pm, 4.20pm (air-conex-Lashio). There’s also an 8am minibus fromPwai (Namtu Rd).Yangon A Mangshwe Pyi bus bound for Yangon(K14,500, 15 to 18 hours) calls at the KhaingDhabyay shop around 1pm.Shared TaxiMandalay (front/back seat K13,000/11,000,whole car K45,000) from the Duhtawadi Cafearound 7am.PANKAM VILLAGE TREKKyaukme Charter only, K25,000.Lashio Charter only, K40,000.TrainHsipaw’s tiny train station is across the tracksfrom the end of Thirimingalar St.Eastbound Departs 3.15pm for Lashio (lower/upper class $2/4, 4½ hours)Westbound Departs 9.40am to Mandalay($4/9) via Kyaukme ($1/2), Naungkhio ($1/2)and Pyin Oo Lwin ($3/6).8Getting AroundTrishaws rides start from K500; they wait bythe market. Bicycles can be rented from MrCharles and Nham Khae Mao guesthouses.Saifha (%80566; Minepon St; h7am-5pm)rents out 125CC motorcycles for betweenK8000 and K10,000 per day. So do Mr Charlesand Nham Khae Mao guesthouses.Around HsipawNAMHSANnm'¾cm'POP 32,000 / ELEV 5249FTHigh in the Shan Hills, Namhsan is a fascinatingridge-top town that looks out overThe sizeable, traditional Palaung ridge-village of Pankam makes a deservedly popularshort-trek destination from Hsipaw. While other villages have better views, a key advantagehere is that the charming young head man, O Maung, speaks good English and hisfamily readily offers bed-and-dinner to walkers in their archetypal teak home (K6000 perperson). Walking up from Hsipaw takes around five hours at a very modest pace, crossingflat fields before climbing through timeless stilt-house hamlets including Na Lowe, NaMuu, Man Piet and Beng Puie. In each Shan settlement en route you’ll find a kin-gyiao, awooden phallus placed above a buried urn of vegetable oil to ensure field fertility. Villagesare protected from evil spirits by gateways with crossed wooden knife symbols. And, besidethe main temple in Pankam, you’ll find a classic shrine-box where a nativity-style dollscenedepicts the legendary bestowal of tea seeds upon the Palaung in the 12th century.The Buddha-like figure represents Burma’s ‘traveller king’ Alaungsithu who had cometo the Shan mountains in search of rubies, before eventually turning into a powerful natspirit after his murder in 1167! Here, Alaungsithu is seen handing out tea seeds to kneelingPalaung leaders. One such chief, embarrassed by the hole in his black baggy trousers,covered the hole with one hand and so rudely received the gift with the other – politenessrequired receiving gifts with both hands. This jolly legend gave rise to the Palaung namefor tea, Lapet, a contraction of Latopet (one hand). And to this day the Palaung tribe seetea cultivation as a semi-divine raison d’etre – as well as good business.From Hsipaw there are several ways to visit Pankam: as part of a multiday trek, hikingout and back in two days, or trekking in one day then engaging one of the villagers to runyou back on a motorbike (around K3000 to Hsipaw, but K8000 back). With a guide (recommended)you can start by simply crossing the fields northwest of Mr Charles GuestHouse. Without a guide it’s easier to take the road towards Mandalay for 1 mile thenbranch right beside a lone noodle shack where the main road swerves sharp right at thefar edge of Hsipaw. Then keep asking!