193KENGTUNG & BORDER AREASSIGHTS & ACTIVITIESEASTERN MYANMARSIGHTS & ACTIVITIESEASTERN MYANMARKENGTUNG (KYAINGTONG)and travel to the border areas is still subject
to government restrictions.
Kengtung (Kyaingtong)
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The second-biggest city in Shan State, Keng-
tung (Kyaingtong), pronounced ‘Cheng
Dong’, is the capital of the Golden Triangle
region and one of the most attractive towns
in Myanmar. In culture and appearance,
it feels closer to the hill towns of northern
Thailand and southern China, and the vast
majority of the town’s residents belong to
one of several Tai ethnic groups: Shan, Tai
Lü, Tai Khün and Tai Nuea.
For years, Kengtung was caught in the
crossfi re between rival drug lords, but peace
has returned to the quiet, pagoda-lined
streets. The rugged terrain of eastern Shan
State contributes to the sense of isolation –
Kengtung is an outpost of development in a
sea of largely deforested mountains, where
Wa, Eng, Shan, Akha and Lahu tribal people
follow a way of life that has changed little in
centuries. Needless to say, treks to hill-tribe
villages are a major attraction.
1 Sights & Activities
The Central Market draws people from all
over the Kengtung district, including tribal
people from the hills. The market has lots of
stalls selling food and household items, in-
cluding the coins, buttons, beads and threads
used to decorate tribal costumes. Twice a
week, there’s a water-buff alo market on the
road leading to Taunggyi. You probably won’t
be able to fi t a buff alo into your backpack but
it’s interesting to watch the traders haggling
for the best price on a used beast of burden.
The old British enclave in Kengtung was
centred on the small Naung Tung lake, a
popular spot for morning and evening strolls.
There are several decaying colonial buildings
above the lake shore, including the hand-
some Colony House (Mine Yen Rd). On the
road leading towards Taunggyi, the Roman
Catholic Mission and Immaculate Heart
Cathedral have been providing an education
for hill-tribe orphans since colonial times.
Monasteries & Temples
If there were many more Buddhist monaster-
ies in Kengtung, people would have nowhere
left to live. The town’s many monasteries are
called wat rather than kyaung, and local
monks wear both orange and red robes, re-
fl ecting the close cultural links to Thailand.
The gilded stupa of Wat Jong Kham
(Zom Kham) rises majestically above the
centre of town. Legend dates the wat to a
visit by Gautama Buddha but a more likely
date for the stupa is the 13th-century migra-
tion from Chiang Mai. In the middle of the
traffi c roundabout below Wat Jong Kham,
Wat Mahamuni (Maha Myat Muni) is a clas-
sic Thai-style wat with a richly painted inte-
rior. Just north of Airport Rd, Wat In con-
tains a stunning collection of ancient gilded
wooden buddha images in all shapes, sizes
and positions. Chinese residents of Kengtung
worship at the appealing Chinese Buddhist
temple near the immigration offi ce.
Pointing dramatically towards the moun-
tains on a ridge overlooking Naung Tung
lake, the 60ft-high standing buddha statue
known as Ya Taw Mu is probably the most
distinctive landmark in Kengtung. Next
to the statue is a small Cultural Museum
(h10am-4pm Tue-Sat; admission $2) with cos-
tumes, farming implements and other tribal
objects, some inexplicably painted silver.
Potentially interesting, but when we visited
no-one knew where the key was.
You can see the dome-shaped stone Mau-
soleums of the Tai Khün Princes on the
east end of Mine Yen Rd. Day Trips Around Kengtung
The hills of eastern Shan State are dotted
with the villages of the Eng, Lahu Akha,
Palaung, Loi, Lishaw, Shan and Wa tribes,
many of which can be visited on guided
treks from Kengtung.
At research time, overnight trips were
not allowed, and you will need to obtain ad-
vance permission from Kengtung’s immigra-
tion offi ce to visit any of the below.
The most popular destination is Pin Tau,
only 9 miles north of town, where it’s pos-
sible to visit the villages of several tribes in
a single day.
Ho Kyim, approximately 10 miles south
of Kengtung, is home to several Loi and
Akha and Lahu villages. And Wan Nyek
and Wan Saen, near the Chinese border at
Mong La (miu='"lC"), are two villages where
the Loi people still live in traditional long-
houses.
Loi-mwe (lây'emâ), 20 miles southeast of
Kengtung, functioned as a second-tier hill
station in the British era and you can still
see a number of fading colonial build-
ings and a 100-year-old Catholic church.