235MYITKYINA & THE UPPER AYEYARWADY
NORTHERN MYANMAR
NORTHERN MYANMARPeople
The north is sparsely populated and ethni-
cally complex, with many minority groups
dominating a series of pro- and anti-gov-
ernment local administrations and regional
armed forces.
Northeast of Mandalay you’ll fi nd many
Shan people (as in eastern Myanmar; see
boxed text, p 196 ) along with the related Wa
and the Palaung who see themselves semi-
religiously as the guardians of Burmese tea
production (see boxed text, p 262 ). Lashio and
several other border areas have large Chinese
populations who mostly retain their language
even after generations of living in Myanmar.
North of Mandalay lies Kachin State where
‘minorities’ (notably Kachin and Shan) form
an overall majority. Shan folk here are divided
into fi ve subgroups all prefi xed ‘Tai-’. Mean-
while, as an ethnic term, Kachin is generally
synonymous with speakers of the Jingpaw
(Jingpo) language. However, by Myanmar’s
offi cial defi nition, it also covers at least fi ve
other groups including Rawang and Lisu. The
Lisu language is written in a sci-fi capitalised
Latin script with many inverted letters and
‘vowel-free’ words (hello is ‘hw hw’). Over the
past century, many Kachin and a majority of
Lisu have converted to Christianity, their for-
mer animist beliefs now largely reduced to
colourful folklore as seen in two great festivals
at Myitkyina (p 236 ).
In the Himalayan foothills are minuscule
populations of various Tibetan tribal peoples
including the Taron, Asiatic pygmies who now
number barely a dozen and are limited to
Naungmun in Myanmar’s northernmost tip.
Dangers & Annoyances
Since Burma’s independence, the north has
witnessed a whole smorgasbord of low-level
uprisings and ethnic separatist movements.
Tourists won’t be allowed near any fl ash
points so for most visitors these are a political
curiosity rather than a serious danger, though
the closure of whole areas of the region is an
obvious annoyance. Many insurgency con-
fl icts that had rumbled on since the early
1960s, were mothballed after a 1994 ceasefi re
that brought de facto recognition of ethnic
administrations over the areas their armies
controlled. The KIA (Kachin Independence
Army) is still said to control most of Kachin
State away from main rivers and rail lines.
Shan rebels continue to fi ght sporadically
with the United Wa State Army (UWSA), one
of the formations that emerged after the 1989
implosion of the Burmese Communist Party.
Quite who’s fi ghting who can change dra-
matically, as was seen after 2008 when the
controversial new constitution demanded
an end to private armies. The previously pro-
government UWSA and autonomous Kokang
(an ethnic Chinese grouping) both baulked
at the idea of turning their forces into border
guards under Myanmar Army command. The
result was a major government army assault
on Kokang in 2009.MYITKYINA & THE UPPER
AY E YARWADYSnaking across Kachin State like a fat yel-
low python, the mighty Ayeyarwady River
provides the main transport route between
a series of gently interesting port towns,
isolated villages and gold-panning camps.
While no individual sight is world beating,
the journey itself is a stepping down of gears
that many visitors fi nd unforgettable. Unlike
boat rides from Mandalay to Bagan, ferries
on the upper Ayeyarwady are used almost
entirely by locals. Slowly chugging days pro-
vide an opportunity to interact with local
people in a way that is often impossible onTRAVEL RESTRICTIONSA large percentage of the vast and
potentially fascinating northern region
is essentially inaccessible to foreign
visitors without special permission.
The main exceptions are areas along or
close to the Mandalay–Lashio road and
towns along the Ayeyarwady between
Mandalay and Myitkyina. You can also
link Mandalay and Myitkyina by railway
but not by road. With suitable permits
(allow several weeks’ preparation) ad-
ditional options include expensive fl y-in
tours to the Himalayan foothill area
around Putao, and an accompanied
drive from Lashio to Mu-se for the Chi-
nese border crossing. Linking Lashio to
Myitkyina via Bhamo might look sen-
sible on a map but it requires permits
and also uses a road that’s so horribly
degraded even locals avoid it. Foreign-
ers are seriously discouraged from
visiting the ruby-mining town of Mogok
and jade-mining sin city of Hpakant
(Pakkan).