249MYITKYINA & THE UPPER AYEYARWADY8NORTHERN MYANMAR8NORTHERN MYANMARAROUND SHWEBOSt, with many beer stations in the northern
quarter and along Yan Gyi Aung St.
Eden Culinary Garden CHINESE $
(Aung Zeya St; veg/meat mains K1500/2500;
h7am-9pm; E) The English-language menu
is a rarity, typical Chinese fare comes in large
portions with soup and small salad, and the
Western ‘breakfasts’ include hamburger.
The restaurant’s pleasant courtyard twinkles
with fairy lights in the foliage though it isn’t
really quite a garden.
SSD Garden CHINESE $$
(Shwekyettho Pagoda Rd; mains K2000-4000;
h11am-9pm) Peaceful and spacious with sim-
ilar food to Eden but little English.
Melody Music Garden BEER STATION $
(Yan Gyi Aung St; draught Tiger K750; h9am-10pm)
Ice-cold beer and partially obscured moat
views. Bring mosquito repellent.
8 Information
TSS Internet (Ben Shwe Thi St; per hr K400;
h8am-last customer) Connection better at
night
8 Getting There & Away
Bus
MAIN BUS STATION
Mandalay At least hourly until 3.30pm (K1700,
three to four hours). Bumpy sections.
Monywa Minibuses plus some buses at least
hourly from 5am to 1pm plus 3pm (K1100, 3½
hours). After the potholed first hour the route
is smoother and offers a very attractive view
of rural life.
MARKET AREA
Kyaukmyaung Departs roughly half-hourly on
decent asphalt (K500, one hour).
Train
Mandalay Departs 7.05pm, midnight, 2am and
6.10am (ordinary/1st class $2/4, 3½ to five
hours)
Myitkyina Via Naba (for Katha) and Hopin
(for Indawgyi Lake). Departs at 3pm, 7.25pm
and 10.17pm (cheapest). Fast train (ordinary/
upper/sleeper $11/26/29) departs 7am, arrives
8pm; doesn’t stop at Naba.
8 Getting Around
A trishaw or motorbike ride from either station
to the centre costs around K1000. Hotel staff
can often arrange informal bicycle hire.
Around Shwebo
HANLIN
POP C4000
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An almost imperceptible rise means that
the diff use, very attractive village of Hanlin
(Halingyi, Halin, Halim) sits very slightly
above the pan-fl at surrounding plains. For
centuries this geographical advantage was
deeply signifi cant and the site has been in-
habited for millennia. The few foreign visi-
tors who do brave seriously rough roads to
get here, come to visit the area’s various
archaeological diggings. But before leaving
Shwebo be sure to visit Shwebon Yadana
and warn the archaeological offi ce there that
you will be visiting Hanlin. Otherwise, your
unannounced arrival is likely to conjure up a
band of police, immigration offi cers and as-
sorted try-to-help guides, scrambling to fi nd
someone who can sell you a ticket and verify
your identity.Archaeological Zone ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
(admission $5, free with Shwebon Yadana ticket)
Crowning the rise above Hanlin village and
surveying the plains for a surprising dis-
tance, archaeologists have found large, low
sections of brickworks that once formed
part of a wall enclosing a complex that was
2 miles wide and 1 mile long, dating back
to the Pyu era (4th to 9th centuries AD). In
total there are, so far, 32 excavation sites
scattered over many miles, many of which
have yielded pottery and coins from various
epochs. Several excavated grave sites can
be visited. To nonspecialists, these tend to
look relatively similar (metal-roofed barns
covering in-situ skeletons whose depth is a
guide to their antiquity), so if you don’t want
to spend hours seeing everything, consider
making a beeline for Site 29 where one can
still see the ornaments and weapons with
which the bodies were buried.
The excavations are thinly spread over
several square miles, so you’ll need wheels.
To fi nd the way, an archaeology department
fi xer should accompany you (K1000 extra)
but if you can’t cope with an all-in-Burmese
experience, freelance local guide Toe Myint
can speak basic English and may off er to ac-
company you for around K5000. Key-hold-
ers at each sub-site also expect a tip, which
is a good way of benefi ting the community
(your $5 entry fee goes to the government’s
archaeology department).