256
NORTHERN MYANMAR
MANDALAY TO LASHIO
To get here from Pyin Oo Lwin take
the main Mandalay highway. In Anisakan
town take the second asphalted turn right
(signposted) and keep right past the fi rst
large pagoda. At the end of this road a pair
of basic shack-restaurants mark the start
of a forest trail along which the falls’ base
are reached by a 45-minute trek. While
the way isn’t too diffi cult to fi nd, employ-
ing one of the sales kids as guide (K1000)
can prove helpful especially if taking the
‘alternative’ route back (very steep, almost
a climb).
The falls are best photographed in af-
ternoon light from the lower view-terrace
of the fabulous (but government affi liated)
Dat Taw Gyaik Waterfalls Resort (%50262;
cottages $250) on other side of the amphithe-
atre. Each of its eight luxurious wooden bun-
galows comes with a stocked drinks cabinet
and a large balcony equipped with loungers
and a two-person spa tub from which to en-
joy partial waterfall views. To fi nd the resort
take the easternmost asphalted turn north
off the Mandalay–Pyin Oo Lwin highway in
Anisakan (signposted for a meditation cen-
tre) and turn left immediately after crossing
the railway.CyberCity NEW TOWN
About 12 miles south of Pyin Oo Lwin at
Yatanarpon, CyberCity is part university
town, part 21st-century Potëmkin village
where most of the numerous high-tech fac-
tories are said to be just shells with sign-
boards and oddments of trade waste left
conspicuously outside to look genuine. The
long term idea is to incubate industries hereand attract inward investment once interna-
tional sanctions fade.TOWARDS KYAUKME
If you’re driving to Kyaukme/Hsipaw, none
of the following is more than a 2-mile detour
from the main road but visiting by public
transport will prove awkward. A round-trip
half-day tour by motorcycle-taxi to all of the
above from Pyin Oo Lwin should cost around
K10,000. Sites are reviewed from west to east.Aung Htu Kan Tha Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE
Although only fi nished in March 2000, this
dazzling pagoda is by far the region’s most
impressive religious building. It enshrines
an enormous 17-ton white-marble buddha
statue that fell off a truck bound for China
in April 1997. After several attempts to re-
trieve the buddha failed, it was decided that
the statue ‘had decided to stay in Myanmar’.
Eventually cranes were used to yank him up
the hill and a dazzling new golden pagoda
was built for him. He is now draped in gilt
robes and sits in a temple interior that’s an
incredible overload of gold. The pagoda is
on a hilltop, just south of the Lashio-bound
highway, around 15 minutes’ drive beyond
Pyin Oo Lwin’s vast Defense Forces Techno-
logical Academy compound. If you reach the
toll gates you’ve gone half a mile too far.Pwe Kauk Falls WATERFALL
epâ"ek;k'ert®xân'
(admission K500, camera fee K300) Called
Hampshire Falls in British times, Pwe Kauk
is a fan of small weirs and splash pools rath-
er than a dramatic waterfall but the forest
glade setting is pretty. A series of little wood-
en bridges, souvenir stands and children’sTHE GOKTEIK VIADUCTA highlight of the long, slow Mandalay–Lashio train ride is the mighty Gokteik Viaduct
(gut'qip't®t;") about 34 miles northeast of Pyin Oo Lwin. Constructed in 1901 by contrac-
tors from the Pennsylvania Steel Company it bridges the Gokteik Gorge, a densely forested
ravine that cuts an unexpectedly deep gash through the otherwise mildly rolling landscape.
At 318ft high and 2257ft across, it was the second-highest railway bridge in the world when
it was constructed, and remains Myanmar’s longest. Trains slow to a crawl when crossing
the viaduct to avoid putting undue stress on the ageing superstructure, which, despite
some 1990s renovation work, still creaks ominously as trains edge their way across.
In either direction, the best views are from north-facing windows, that is the left side
if you’re heading towards Lashio. It’s also visible through the trees for some time as the
train winds down from the plateau and there are fi ne views from parts of Gokteik station
(near the viaduct’s western end) but beware that the train only stops there very briefl y.
Theoretically taking photographs of the viaduct is banned for ‘security reasons’, but in
reality nobody seems to care.